I’ve been thinking a lot about how we literally navigate digital spaces. How do we make decisions when we're faced with endless buttons, links, and options? How do we make those spaces feel more like places we actually want to spend time in rather than the digital equivalent of a slot machine?

I call this concept just in time navigation.

Why we need fewer buttons and more intention

We’ve all been there. You open an app or a website and suddenly, you're flooded with options—buttons to press, dropdowns to explore, settings you might tweak, notifications to clear. The overwhelming choice isn’t just annoying—it’s intentional. It’s designed to keep you hooked, to keep you clicking and scrolling, to increase time spent on the platform because time spent means value. At least, that’s what most of these digital products think.

But what if that’s not really true? What if the constant barrage of options isn’t value at all, but noise? What if it's not about giving the user all the possible choices, but giving them the right choices at the right time?

Designing for what’s next, not everything at once

One of the interesting things about today’s web experiences is that we already have systems in place that could drastically reduce the noise. Think about those little chat widgets that pop up on a website offering help. They aren’t just sitting there because it’s nice to have a virtual assistant—they’re driven by rules. The chat shows up based on certain behaviors you exhibit on the site. It’s contextual.

What if navigation was like that? What if instead of showing you every possible button, link, or feature, your app or site gave you just what you needed next? Not a list of everything you could do, but a clear path to the next step based on what you’ve done so far.

Picture a road where the next brick only appears when you're ready to take the next step. You’re not bombarded with every turn at once; you’re guided, brick by brick, through a journey that makes sense to you. It’s about presenting the most relevant option at the moment, not overwhelming the user with everything up front.

The anti-stickiness argument

Here’s the thing: most of today’s digital products are designed with “stickiness” in mind. The goal is to keep you engaged, keep you on the site longer, interacting with more content or features. This is often justified as giving the user options.

But what if we threw out the concept of stickiness altogether? What if instead of thinking about how to keep people on the site as long as possible, we focused on helping them get in, get what they need, and get out? What if our goal was the opposite of stickiness—efficiency and simplicity?

People come to your product with specific needs. They don’t need to see every possible thing they could do; they need help finding the exact thing that solves their problem. That’s where just in time navigation comes in—it’s about creating digital experiences that feel personalized and purposeful, not overwhelming and chaotic.

A more thoughtful, cozy digital world

I’m a big believer in the idea that less is more. The fewer decisions you make someone confront, the more they can focus on the things that matter. Simplicity is about clarity. And clarity is what users crave—whether they know it or not.

Just in time navigation isn’t about making a product simpler for simplicity’s sake. It’s about acknowledging that a simpler, more intentional experience creates more value. It’s about treating digital spaces like real spaces—spaces we want to inhabit, not ones we feel trapped in. It’s about helping people get to where they need to go without making them feel like they’re stuck in a never-ending maze of options.

And ultimately, it’s about respecting people’s time and attention. That’s the true currency of any product.

What if we gave it back to them?