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

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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.