Just One Thing!
Anti-procrastination app for students
2024
Brief
JOT! is an anti-procrastination task management app with a focus on gentle, positive encouragement.
This was an solo academic design project that began with user research and ended with a mid-fi prototype.
My role
User experience design, prototyping, user interviews, user testing, branding
DISCOVER
THE PROBLEM: STUDENTS FIND IT HARD TO MANAGE THEIR TASKS AND DEADLINES.
Well, it's probably not just students.
But as a student, you’re new to managing your time, so you’ve probably slipped up and missed some deadlines before.
Some people see this as a problem with character.
I wanted to explore it as a design opportunity.
Target users
Students that struggle to manage their time and keep up with their deadlines at school.
User research
Convenience sampling
2 participants
Semi-structured interviews
Interviewees
Y4 Communications major
Self-identified procrastinator
Takes an average of 5 modules each semester
Uses Notion to track workload
Y4 Sociology major
Doesn’t identify as a procrastinator
Takes an average of 5 modules each semester
Uses Todoist, Google Calendar to track workload
Insights
Users felt that remembering assignment requirements across classes resulted in perpetual cognitive load.
Users struggled to keep track of deadlines given at the beginning of the semester, especially towards the end.
Users found large projects, assignments and exams overwhelming, which caused them to avoid starting on work.
DEFINE
Persona
Key user tasks
The user should be able to collate assignment and exam requirements across different classes, and quickly and easily refer to it later.
The user should be motivated to complete some work every day to make incremental progress on their workload.
The user should be able to keep track of their own progress in completing tasks and easily check upcoming deadlines.
DESIGN
Feature ideation
Persuasive element: Just One Thing!
Persuasive element: Streaks
Anti-procrastination feature: Pomodoro focus mode
The solution
An anti-procrastination task management app that focuses on gentle positive reinforcement to encourage users to complete at least one task a day.
Positive feedback → Better self-efficacy → Increased performance
Why positive reinforcement?
By implementing positive feedback mechanisms, this app aims to build the user’s confidence, empowering them to do the work they are already capable of doing.
1 Peifer C, Schönfeld P, Wolters G, Aust F and Margraf J (2020) Well Done! Effects of Positive Feedback on Perceived Self-Efficacy, Flow and Performance in a Mental Arithmetic Task. Front. Psychol. 11:1008. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01008
Key user flows
Key user flow 1
Key user flow 2
Key user flow 3
Wireframes
I crafted three wireframe flows based on the three user tasks above.
DELIVER
Final prototype (mid-fi)
In the transition to mid-fidelity, I created frames for all three user tasks, but most extensively for the first user task.
Key user task 1
The user can see their streak, tasks for the week, upcoming deadlines and overdue tasks from their Home page.
The user can add a new task from the Home page.
The user can input the title and relevant information about the task.
The user can assign the task to an overarching project, like a class or a larger assignment.
The user can add the date and time for the task deadline.
The user must assign a date to complete the task, encouraging them to use time-blocking as a technique.
The user can also break the task down into smaller sub-tasks, making the task itself more manageable to complete.
The user can add tags for their own reference.
The user can then save the task, where it will appear on the Home page.
Key user task 2
The user can choose a task to focus on, as well as how many focus sessions they would like to complete.
The user will view a countdown timer and a calming animation that will encourage them to put down their phone and finish the task they selected.
Tapping the Close button will prompt an alert, allowing the user to decide if they want to end their session before the timer runs out.
(Nielsen’s Heuristic #3: User control and freedom)
On completing the focus session, the user will view an encouraging message and be prompted to either take a break or close the focus mode.
Figma files
View the wireframes
View the final prototype
Final thoughts
Even though this was an academic project, it was a fun opportunity for me to explore the power of design.
As designers, we know that design can shape user behaviour, like the infinite scroll feature Instagram introduced that led to the trend of ‘doomscrolling’.
But if design can influence user behaviour positively, what else could we solve?
Procrastination is almost always chalked up to a lack of discipline, but if we could use design to support people who struggle with deadlines, then wouldn’t more opportunities open up for them? I enjoyed exploring this idea.
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