Reimagine To-do Lists:
Tackle Procrastination Through Stress Management
What to look for?
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How did I tap into psychology research to transform how we tackle procrastination?
Project Info
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Timeline
2 months
Role
UX Designer
Team
Individual Project
Methods
Desktop research
Competitive analysis
Wireframing
Paper prototyping
Interactive prototyping
User testing
Overview
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An alarming trend of procrastination…
Procrastination is more alarming than ever, especially among younger people, as we live in a modern world with numerous distractions and temptations. It leads to decreased productivity, high level of stress and missed opportunities.
More than just a to-do list…
Chunk is a productivity application that transforms the traditional to-do list model. It helps reduce procrastination and enhances productivity by strategically managing stress through tasks of varying difficulty levels.
End Results
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Label task difficulty and group them
Chunk enables you to create tasks and assign a difficulty level. It organizes your tasks into categories of easy, medium, and hard. You can always reassign tasks to different categories after creating them.
Break down a task and categorize subtasks
Chunk allows you to break down any task, whether a newly or previously created, into manageable subtasks. You can then assign difficulty levels to these subtasks and they will be grouped accordingly.
Monitor your stress level
Chunk enables you to create tasks and assign a difficulty level. It organizes your tasks into categories of easy, medium, and hard. You can always reassign tasks to different categories after creating them.
System recommends tasks that mediates stress level
Chunk intelligently recommends tasks by assessing your stress levels, suggesting challenging tasks when stress is low and easier ones when high, aiming to maintain a moderate stress level for optimal productivity.
Research
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The real culprit of procrastination
Procrastination has long been misinterpreted as a time management issue. However, research indicates that time management is just a minor factor whereas stress is the most significant culprit.
Stress vs. Productivity
In-depth research into psychology has uncovered the relationship between stress and productivity. The research shows that maintaining stress at a moderate level optimizes the flow experience and enhances performance.
A gap in the market
Research shows stress as the primary cause of procrastination, yet most to-do list-based productivity apps focus solely on time management, overlooking stress. On the other hand, apps addressing stress only target wellness not productivity.
This presents an opportunity to adapt stress-management used for health, to mitigate procrastination and boost productivity.
Design Concept
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Break big tasks into smaller ones and use them as blocks to manage stress
Chunking is the technique of dividing large tasks into manageable subtasks. The subtasks, each with its own level of difficulty, serve as flexible blocks to regulate stress. When stress is too high, an easier subtask can alleviate it; when stress is too low, a more demanding subtask helps raise it.
Reimagine the workflow
The system lets users organize tasks by difficulty and start on them. After completing a task, it recommends the next one based on the user's current stress level.
The logic behind the recommendations is straightforward: suggest challenging tasks when stress is low, easier tasks when it's high, and a break when stress becomes overwhelming.
Concept Validation
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How do I test and validate the concept when such a product requires user data and algorithm to function?
I conducted a user test with 4 participants, using the Wizard of Oz method to simulate the product experience and evaluate the design concept where I acted as the system to observe and notify users.
Have participants create tasks and label their difficulties using paper prototypes.
Situate the participant in a room with a smartwatch to collect physiological data and a smartphone to receive notifications.
Have the participant begin a task they choose while I stay in another room, claiming that I'm observing their physiological data.
After some time, I will send a notification to their smart phone, stating their current level of stress and recommend task based on it.
Before
Users receive notifications whenever their stress levels are too high or too low, disrupting their workflow.
After
Users receive recommendations upon completing and checking off a task, suggesting them what to tackle next.
Before
Users are notified by the system about their current stress levels and the appropriate difficulty level of tasks they should engage in.
After
Users are presented with specific task recommendations within the suggested difficulty level, helping to minimize decision fatigue.
Usability Testing
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In-app tutorial for smooth onboarding
After the concept testing phase, high-fidelity prototypes were developed, and I performed usability testing with 4 users.
The primary usability challenge identified was that users found it difficult to understand the app's concept and mechanisms, including some niche terminology, and struggled with how to begin using its features.
Before
A static screen without navigation cues, leaving new users confused about the app’s mechanisms, terminology, and features.
After
Dynamic, in-app tutorials with tooltips that guide new users to understand app's underlying mechanism and how to use it effectively.
Final Design
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Splash & Onboarding
Main Screens & Variations
Impact
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A huge increase in SUS
I conducted SUS testing before and after implementing interactive tutorials, which led to a SUS score increase from 61 to 75, 23% improvement.
More than just numbers
A conversation with a participant revealed that the app’s concept significantly improved her productivity and reduced her procrastination. She now independently manages her tasks using the app’s framework.This personal testimony underscores the practical impact and potential success of the app in real-world scenarios.
Reflection
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Power of research-informed design
This project broadens my understanding of research and makes me appreciate it even more. The interdisciplinary insights from empirical psychology studies motivated me to ideate solutions that bridge scientific research, realistic problems, and user experience and inspires the final design. Grounding my design in empirical research not only guided my creative process but also enhanced the credibility and impact of the product.
Be creative in prototyping
I liked the part where I creatively found a way to test the design concept without technical efforts, even though it involved data and algorithms. It’s dangerous for designers to view "prototyping" solely as using Figma because prototyping encompasses many possibilities and can be far more impactful. In the design process, where there are always constraints, resourcefulness and creativity in prototyping are crucial because it allows for effective validation and refinement before moving to development.