TaskTime!
Overview
TaskTime! is a productivity application designed with procrastinators' needs in mind, with tools to help users build better habits and stay motivated to get things done.
Project Details
Duration: 8 weeks
Tools: Figma, FigJam
Role: Research, Ideation, UX Design, UI Design
Team: Ploypat Prakailerdluk, Tanaporn Lawsuriyont
Background
The topic of Procrastination had initially piqued my interest around 3 years ago during the pandemic. I noticed the change in behavior in myself and my peers around me as we started to put things off for later as we struggled through online classes. This led me to dig deeper and study the behavior at its roots, and I ended up doing a project raising awareness for the topic as my thesis as well. For this project in particular, I want to revisit the topic, take it a step further, and try to provide a solution to this behavior.
Problem
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Procrastination is an extremely harmful habit that is very difficult to overcome, it can negatively affect many different aspects of a person’s life.
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Procrastinators often look for ways to improve their behaviors once they start to feel the consequences of their actions but often fall back into their old toxic habits.
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Improvement relies heavily on an individual’s commitment and willingness to change.
Goal
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Design a solution that provides the functions and features helpful to procrastinators who seek improvement.
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Create an engaging experience that helps users stay motivated and commit to their goals.
Empathize
Understanding the cycle
Procrastination is a behavior that stems from task avoidance, often triggered by negative feelings that come with the task itself.
Procrastinators would look elsewhere for temporary relief from this negativity. Enjoying these distractions for a long period of time results in a rush at the end, when time is running out. At this stage, the procrastinator would be extremely stressed and spend all their time up to the very last minute working on that task.
In the end, once the task is completed on time, the feeling of achievement and satisfaction offsets the stress and panic felt previously, making it likely that this cycle will begin again.
Interviewing Procrastinators
The issue of procrastination is a very complex one, and can manifest differently depending on the person, so we wanted to conduct an in-depth user research to learn more about each person’s procrastination. The findings from these interviews, along with other research done up to this point, will serve as the foundation for this project.
Research goals
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Have participants always been procrastinators? If not, then are they aware of when this behavior started?
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Did the pandemic affect their procrastination behaviors?
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The reason behind each person’s procrastination, are they aware? How much do they want to change?
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How have participants dealt with procrastination in the past? What methods or applications have they tried?
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Everyday problems caused by procrastination
Target Group
For this foundational research, we narrowed down our target groups to students and freelancers, who have to manage their own schedules and work at their own pace.
Methodology
Participants were interviewed via Zoom, each sessions were recorded to be reviewed again later.
Participants
We have conducted a total of 8 interviews, with 3 freelancers and 5 students with moderate to extreme procrastination issues.
Each participant's procrastination level was evaluated by their responses in the interview.
Interview Findings
After the interview was conducted, we went back and replayed each recording to make additional notes on each participant's responses to each question, so they could be easily summarized later.
Insights: Procrastinator Behavior
From the interview, we have summarized the common key points that multiple participants have mentioned in relation to their behavior:
All participants self-identified as procrastinators. They also all mentioned that this behavior has become an issue in their daily life, and it is constantly causing harm in many ways.
Most participants' procrastination was affected by the pandemic (either triggered by or worsened noticeably)
Participants have tried using to-do lists or planners but always struggle to keep up with the tasks they've set for themselves.
The lack of companionship or communication with others contributes to procrastination.
Participants feel no sense of urgency and are very unmotivated when deadlines are far away.
Insights: Suggestions from procrastinators
Some type of incentive or achievements were suggested as helpful tools to motivate procrastinators.
Most participants think reminders are helpful, but preferences on how they'd like to be reminded varies.
Define
Persona
With what we learned from the interviews and research, we came up with a persona to represent our target audience.
USer Journey
A procrastinator's behavior usually follows the same timeline. The main area in this journey that we aim to fix is the "Planning" phase, and eliminate the panic and stress at the end of the journey.
How Might We...?
After defining the problem, and identifying target users, we came up with the
"how might we..." statements to best represent the core of this project.
How might we help procrastinators stay motivated and complete tasks that they set for themselves?
User Needs
Key Features
A sense of real time
Display large clock on the interface
A sense of companionship while working
Option to enter focus sessions with others
See current progress
Progress bars and user statistics
Encouragement to finish tasks
Earn points and maintain streaks to level up
Engaging visual elements / Gamification
Themed elements, characters, avatars.
Ideate
Initial Brainstorming
After sketching out ideas based on the user needs, what we came up with was similar to a mix between a to-do list and a focus application
However, our main value proposition that sets us apart from other applications in the market is that we offer a sense of companionship, which can be very helpful for users who seek the extra pressure and are motivated by competition.
Competitive Analysis
After we decided on the solution, we went and explore similar applications that are currently available. We compared four great to-do list applications, and studied one popular focus-centric application to learn about their strength and weaknesses, to adapt and apply to our own application.
There are already a lot of to-do list applications on the market, and many of them are extremely well designed. And while most of them are already designed to maximize productivity, they do not cater directly towards procrastinators and their specific needs.
Improvement opportunity / takeaways
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An engaging visual/clear themes can keep users interested
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Gamification and reward system to motivate users
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Allowing users to track their progress can boost their morale
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Keep the layouts and elements simple to avoid overwhelming users
1. Swallow the frog
the idea is that when facing a challenging or unappealing task, like swallowing a frog, it is best to do it first and just get it over with.
Highlighting and encouraging users to complete their most important tasks first
Implementation:
2. Pomodoro Technique
A time management method which includes 25 minutes of focused work and intervals of 5 minutes break.
Implementation:
Offer as a timer option in
focus sessions
3. 21/90 Rule
This is a concept that states that doing something consecutively for 21 days can turn it into a habit, and doing so further for 90 days can make it a permanent lifestyle change.
User level system: Users must complete daily goals to earn streaks of 5, 21, and 90 days respectively to proceed to the next level.
Implementation:
Research based solution
In addition to the fundamental research about procrastination as a behavior itself, we also dug deep into the psychology of procrastination, why it happens, and how to overcome it.
While there are no easy fixes for this habit, there are some common methods and concepts that have been proven to help with this issue.
User Flow
Initially, we planned out two main user flows, accessing each main feature of the application:
(Click to view full images)
1. User logs in for the first time and creates a task
2. User selects a task to complete in a solo focus session
Sitemap
Wireframe
After the main features were planned and the sitemap was laid out, we started to put together a wireframe to form the structure of the application, focusing first on the main screens.
Reward System & Gamification
The reward system and gamification aspect of this application has been on our mind from the start. We we made sure to consider it carefully, in order to balance out the seriousness of the task execution of the application, making it more appealing to users.
Exploring ideas
We explored many possibilities, including storytelling, themes, badges, and levels.
Ultimately, because there are already many complicated features in this application, we decided to scrap the complex systems we came up with, and keep the reward system as simple as possible to not further overwhelm users.
User Levels and Avatars
The reward system we decided to implement for this application is centered around the user's level and avatars. Each day, users will have to complete their daily goal to earn a streak. collecting a certain amount of streaks will allow users to reach the next level and unlock a new avatar.
This is supported by the 21/90 rules of building a habit and making changes
Currency
There will be one form of currency in the application, which users can earn by completing tasks and participating in focus sessions. This currency can be used to buy accessories for customizing their avatars.
The avatars that represents each level of users, along with a selection of accessories available, can serve as a fun aspect for users to enjoy. Moreover, seeing and comparing unique customized avatars can create a sense of competition in the "Companion Focus" feature as well.
Usability Testing
Before moving on to the design, we created a complete lo-fi prototype to test out the basic functionality of the application and figure out if anything needed to be added or eliminated. We then conducted a round of usability tests on 5 participants to get some feedback on the early concepts.
Research Questions
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Which focus options do users prefer (Focusing Solo or with companions/To-do-list: Short Term Plan/Long term Plan) Users have any problems or suggestions, or not?
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How long does it take for a user to set up their daily task?
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How do users feel about the current task set up process of the application?
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How would users navigate companion focus features?
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Do users feel motivated by the reward system?
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How do users feels about the features offered by our application?
Target Group
At this stage, we have narrowed down our target group further to procrastinators seeking to improve themselves and build good habits.
Methodology
Participants were interviewed via Zoom, each sessions were recorded to be reviewed again later.
As we're conducting the usability study with the lo-fi prototype, we decided to do a moderated study, to be able to guide participants and make sure we get feedback throughout the whole flow.
Prompts
Results & Iterations
After the usability test, we went and analyzed the problems that surfaced during the session, as well as any additional comments mentioned by the participants. We've identified 8 main changes that can be made, and have sorted them out and grouped them by priority so we can tackle the biggest issue first.
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Priority 1 changes includes inconsistencies and decisions that results in confusion and made navigation hard for users
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Priority 2 changes includes additions that could greatly enhance the features of the application
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Priority 3 changes includes nice-to-have fixes.
Design
Logo & Identity
What's in the name
For the name of this application, we want something firm, concise, and spontaneous. "TaskTime!" covers the basis of our application perfectly.
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“Task” refers to the to-do list, which is the main function of the application.
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“Time” highlights the importance of time, as well as the time users would spend on the focus feature.
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"!" represents the urgency of the tasks, as well as the priority markers used throughout the application.
Early Designs
For the visuals, we want the application to be basic and easy to understand, with minimal distractions while also being fun to engage with. We also want the overall design to resemble the look and feel of traditional handwritten to-do lists - with checkboxes and lines as the main elements.
The logo
Because we already had a look and feel, and the layout we want in mind, the early UI designs are very similar with small tweaks to try out what works and what doesn't in the design.
Avatar Design and Art Direction
With the bold texts and a lot of border lines, we wanted to balance out the seriousness with some friendly and fun elements, to create a more enjoyable experience for users.
For this, we created a character to serve as a mascot, appearing in artwork throughout the app. In addition, this character will serve as users' avatars as well, and different versions can be unlocked as users reaches a new level.
Sketches
Final Design
Design System
Colors
Typography
Iconography
Buttons
Components
User Interface
To do list - Home
Projects
Profile
Focus
Solo Focus
Companion Focus
Prototype
Plan the Day!
At the beginning of each day, the user's first task of the morning is to plan out their day.
Completing this small task will give users a sense of accomplishment and motivation to start the day off strong.
Home page
Users can sort and filter their tasks to keep them organized and avoid getting overwhelmed by a long list.
As the day goes by, users can add new tasks to their to-do lists, as well as cross off the tasks they’ve completed. By doing so, users will gain rewards.
Projects
Projects, or a collection of tasks spread out over a period of time, are summarized and shown on the bottom of the home screen as a gentle reminder of ongoing plans. Users can view the full details and create new projects in the ”Projects” Tab
Focus
In focus mode, users can set up a timer to dedicate a certain amount of time to spend on a task. Depending on how successful the session was - if the tasks have been completed as planned - users will gain rewards accordingly.
Focus - Companion
For users who struggle to keep focused on their own, or are motivated by a sense of companionship and competition, “Companion mode” can provide extra pressure. In this mode, users will see other users participating in the session and their overall progress as well.
Levels and Rewards
On the profile page, users can view their progress and statistics, as well as their daily goals to meet in order to get to the next level. Users must maintain streaks where they finish their daily goals for a certain amount of days to get to the next level. With each level, users will unlock a new avatar they can customize by purchasing accessories with the reward currency they receive from completing tasks and participating in focus sessions.
Reflection
Challenges
1. Help users fix their habits
Procrastination itself is an extremely hard habit to break, so throughout the project, there were times when were uncertain if this application would work. However, we were reassured by the participants' feedback and interest in the features. We also had to keep in mind that it is quite impossible to solve a person's procrastination entirely with an application, and our goal is simply to provide the best tools for users who want to commit to change.
2. Working as a team
Working with a partner helps a lot with giving new perspectives and extra opinions. For this project, we did most of the work together, with only a few clearly separated responsibilities. Because of this, we had spent a lot of time meeting up and discussing ideas down to very small details. In retrospect, having each person take on different roles from the start might be a more efficient way of working.
What I learned
1. Get rid of personal bias
What we think users want and what they actually need can be very different. Many times, this is revealed during tests and interviews. During the brainstorming process, before making any assumptions, we had to remember to consult the research findings and interview results for more accurate information.
2. Not every single problem needs to be solved
Each user's preferences and expectations can vary significantly, and each round of testing will bring up a lot of issues that we, as designers, might have noticed. It is important to recognize and prioritize the real issues that need to be brought to attention immediately, and remember that some minor comments can be taken into consideration without any actions taken.