Role
UI/UX Designer
Timeline
Sep 23 - Dec 23
Team
Individual project
Tools
Figma, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop
Problem -
Slothductive is a tool that helps users stop procrastinating, stay organized, and stay motivated to get their work done.
Why I created this product?
Procrastination is a common problem that affects many areas of life, from personal tasks to work and studies. With digital distractions and no clear structure, staying on track becomes even harder.
Seeing these challenges, I wanted to create something that boosts productivity and helps people stay organized and focused. By listening to users and understanding their needs, I aimed to develop a tool that helps cut down procrastination.
Discovery -
I started by delving into why people procrastinate and how it affects their daily lives. Using these two research methods, I gained deeper insights into their experiences and identified ways to help them overcome procrastination.
Interviews
Interviewed individuals who struggle with procrastination in study, work, and daily life to identify the emotional and cognitive triggers.
Survey
Qualitative surveys were conducted
to confirm interview insights and understand the broader impact
of procrastination.
I received 58 survey responses and found that people often delay personal tasks like household management, finances, and errands, followed by school, wellness, and work. I used these common areas of procrastination to guide my approach in creating a product to reduce procrastination and boost productivity.
81.6%
Personal tasks
55.1%
School tasks
53.1%
Work tasks
53.1%
Wellness activities
Why people procrastinate?
I also noticed that while the causes of procrastination varied, factors like lack of motivation, feeling overwhelmed, and difficulty maintaining focus were often key contributors, as observed in my interviews with four people who tend to procrastinate in different aspects of their lives.
To support this, I asked survey participants to choose multiple reasons for their procrastination and the results aligned with the interview findings, with the number one reason being feeling overwhelmed, followed by a lack of motivation, and third, distractions and difficulty focusing.
Feeling overwhelmed
71.4%
67.3%
Lack of motivation
57.1%
Distractions and lack of focus
53.1%
Lack of interest
53.1%
Task difficulty
38.8%
Fear of failure
32.7%
Lack of time
In addition to those main pain points, I discovered further insights that help explain why these challenges arise. These insights play an important role in guiding my design process to effectively address users' difficulties in maintaining productivity.
Forgetting the task
Frequent distractions often cause people to forget what they need to do, leading to overlooked tasks and delays.
Disorganized
Disorganization can stall progress by overwhelming people with messiness and confusion about where to start.
It’s just boring...
Some tasks are seen as boring, and without motivation or rewards, people tend to delay them and find them tedious.
An interesting but important takeaway from the research is how having a companion can significantly affects productivity. Many participants mentioned they are less likely to procrastinate and more productive when they are with others—whether in a co-working space, working with a friend, or in an environment where healthy competition keeps them engaged
Furthermore, from the survey, respondents shared strategies they found helpful to improve productivity, such as:
Set time limit
Break task into smaller steps
Set reminder
Set deadline
Set focus time
Design process -
I started by identifying primary needs and pain points from research, then sorted the findings into five key categories below to clarify user priorities and needs.
Need for organization
Struggle managing my time
Overwhelmed by responsibilities
Rely on reminders and alarms
Need better time management
Tidy space helps focus
Need clearer task priorities
Break tasks into smaller steps
Need structure in routines
Need for companionship
Working with others boosts productivity
Sharing tasks reduces stress
Work buddy increases accountability
Friendly rivalry boosts motivation
Urgency when working with others
Fun competition drives motivation
Encouragement helps focus
Nearby work boosts productivity
Need for focus
Distracted by surroundings easily
Lose focus and sidetrack
Use focus tools and apps
Time-blocking keeps me focused
Hard to resume after breaks
Turn off notifications
Noise-canceling reduces distractions
Uninterrupted sessions are important
Need for motivation
Often feel lazy, unmotivated
Need deadlines for urgency
Motivation drops after breaks
Encouraging words keep me motivated
Competition drives action
Celebrate small wins regularly
Co-working space boosts productivity
Small rewards maintain drive
Need for balance
Overcommitment causes delays
Struggle with work-life balance
Burn out easily
Boundaries between work and rest
Balance productivity and downtime
Manage energy and productivity better
This process allowed me to clearly identify what needs to be addressed to reduce procrastination, leading to the following summary:
Organization is helpful,
uninterrupted sessions are needed, and
what if we rely on others to boost our motivation?
Based on insights from the interviews, I created two empathy maps to better understand the target audience of frequent procrastinators, which serve as guidance for my user personas.
SAYS
Mood affects procrastination
Friends help focus on tasks
Rewards drive productivity
Don’t procrastinate on things I enjoy
THINKS
Need better time management skills
A companion boost motivation
Procrastinate on less important tasks
Worried about current lifestyle
FEELS
Less motivated in messy space
Tired, don't want to do anything
After school just want to relax
Need self-reward to boost motivation
GAIN
Motivated by competition
Organized space reduces distractions
Companion helps stay on track
Small rewards boost motivation
DOES
Easily distracted, prevents focus
Delay chores until last minute
Tired, no energy for tasks
More productive with friends or family
PAIN
Lacks motivation for daily chores and assignment
Struggles improving productivity
Feels unaccomplished and discouraged
Disorganization increases discomfort
User Persona 1
Ava Linger
SAYS
Negative thoughts cause procrastination
Switch tasks when parts are hard
Check tasks off for motivation
Need better
to-do lists, reminders
THINKS
Need better time management skills
Overambitious scheduling cause procrastination
Need validation to improve productivity
Co-working space reduces procrastination
FEELS
Overestimating abilities slows my progress
Feels stressed balancing work and life
Disappointed when goals aren't met
Frustrated when productivity doesn't improve
GAIN
Checking tasks off is motivating
Encouragement improves productivity
Uses time tracking tools to stay focused
Prioritizes tasks to reduce procrastination
DOES
Struggles sticking to schedules/goals
Delays tasks due to overthinking
Procrastinate because I can’t focus
Uses breaks to refocus
PAIN
Struggles with daily timelines
Difficulty deciding when to finish
Task prioritization challenges
Hard to concentrate at work
User Persona 2
Owen Tan
From the empathy maps, I then created two user personas that reflect the frequent procrastinators in the target audience. These personas help define the key users for the product solution and guide the design to effectively address their needs, motivations, and productivity challenges.
Wireframing -
Using the user personas as my guideline, I began ideating the product flow and developed these three task flows and the initial wireframes, each designed to tackle procrastination from different approaches, as shown below. ⇓
Task flow 1
Creating to-do lists to improve time management
Homepage
Select ‘+’ button to
add new task
Add the task name or title
Categorize the task using the label option
Set the priority level
Allocate the required hours the task on ‘Goals’ section
Set deadlines and reminder for the task
Add sub-task on the checklist to break down the task
Select ‘Add Task’ Button
After completion, check the task on the checklist
Saturday, October 23
Global Rank
12/21
November 2, 2023
Start
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23
out of 28 people
November 2, 2023
Household-chores
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5 h 58 min left
6 hours
P1
Delete Task
Task Completed
Task flow 2
Avoid procrastination through companion support and earn rewards
Homepage
Go to the 'Focus Page'
Select ‘Challenge’ button
to activate the
challenge feature
Select ‘Challenge’ button
to activate the
challenge feature
Select ‘Start’ button to start the focus mode
Set the focus time
Each participant
adds their
individual to-do tasks
Friends accepted the invitation
The task is completed as the focus time ends
Share the completed task within the challenge group
Earn rewards in the form of points and character achievements
Owen’s Focus Room
Lorem Ipsum
05:00
Give up
01:24:57
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Task flow 3
Improve productivity with competitive drive
Receive a notification that your friend surpass your ranking
Homepage
Select the task to be completed
Select ‘Start Focus’
Select ‘My Ranking’ to view the user's current standing
Select 'Ranking' option to see the leaderboard on the account page
Earn points for task completion, contributing to the user’s ranking
After completion, check the task on the checklist
wednesday 7 September
12:57
Slothductive
15m ago
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Personal
Headline
30m ago
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Headline
31m ago
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Lorem Ipsum
@loremipsum
10
Friends
148
Total points
8
Day streak
Ranking
Friends
Global
Achievement
Progress Track
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View 10 more
1/3
0/1
12/21
Task Completed
View 10 more
View Report
My Ranking
Top 10 Achievers
Add Friend
Lorem Ipsum
9890 pts
1
2
3
4
5
Lorem Ipsum
9543 pts
Lorem Ipsum
9038 pts
Lorem Ipsum
8763 pts
Lorem Ipsum
8010 pts
6
7
Lorem Ipsum
7984 pts
Lorem Ipsum
7643 pts
8
9
Lorem Ipsum
7212 pts
Lorem Ipsum
7001 pts
User feedback & iterations -
From the wireframes, I created a simple prototype and tested it with four users. A key finding was that all users struggled with the focus page, finding it overwhelming due to too many buttons or options, which led to confusion and disengagement. To address this, I simplified the design based on their feedback and implemented the changes in the iteration, as illustrated below. ⇓
Select Task
Focus
25:00
Break
05:00
Users suggest adding a chat feature on the focus page.
00:25:00
Users are confused by the focus time edit, suggest moving break settings off the page.
Solution:
Adjust the layout with a draggable slider, enlarge the focus time display, and relocate break time settings to the "more" menu for simplicity.
Solution:
Replace points display with a chat button for chat access and an 'ON' indicator when challenge is active.
Start
Challenge
Add Friends
Select Task
Focus
25:00
Break
05:00
Add Task
Invite Friend
Challenge
ON
Start
00:25:00
Add Task
Invite Friend
Challenge
ON
Start
Users are unclear on "Challenge" and "Add Friends" buttons, leading them to click "Start" before using these features.
Solution:
Enlarge and reposition icons, rename "Add Friends" to "Invite Friend", add an "Off/On" indicator for challenges, and show an "ON" display when activated at the top.
Remove the data at the top and add it inside Progress Track page.
Remove “Add New Task” button and add it inside “Select Task” option.
Solution:
Solution:
Aside from the focus page issue, users consistently clicked the share icon instead of the chat icon when asked to share their task in the chat, so I updated the design to improve navigation and reduce confusion.
When prompted to "share" to the chat room, users choose the share icon instead of the chat icon.
Solution:
Using only the chat icon on the pop-up screen and placing the share icon on the main page.
Final design -
1
HOMEPAGE
The homepage provides an overview of tasks, including categories, due dates, and priorities, where users can easily add or delete tasks, ensuring they stay organized. It also features a ranking and task completion overview to keep them on track and productive.
2
FOCUS PAGE
The Focus Page lets users set a focus timer for a task, encouraging them to stay in the app and avoid distractions by limiting access and optional companion support. Switching to another app may result in a failed session. Users can invite friends for accountability or take on a challenge for double rewards, risking point loss if they fail.
3
PROFILE PAGE
The Profile Page provides users with an overview of their progress, including streaks, total rewards (leaves), achievements, and a personal ranking system that compares users with friends and global participants, all designed to motivate task completion and encourage friendly competition.
Takeaway -
Key takeaways
Simplifying the UI is important - The initial design had too many options, which confused users. By reducing choices and distractions, navigation became clearer and more user-friendly, helping to avoid cognitive overload.
Companion feature proves effective - Based on user feedback, the companion mode was helpful in keeping users accountable and focused. Combined with the ranking system, these social and competitive elements boosted user engagement and productivity.
Next steps
Conduct further user testing - Continue user testing to validate improvements and simplify navigation.
Adjust failure handling - Based on feedback, failed tasks can demotivate users. Introduce softer consequences or alternative encouragement to improve retention.
Enhance motivation strategies - Gamification elements like rewards and rankings are effective, but personalized features such as flexible goal-setting and progress statistics could be explored further to better engage users.