Reimagine To-do Lists : Tackle procrastination through stress management

Reimagine To-do Lists : Tackle procrastination through stress management

Reimagine To-do Lists : Tackle procrastination through stress management

Designed an end-to-end AI tool that helps tutors guide students more effectively during live sessions through smart suggestions, step-by-step solutions, and adaptive questioning.

Product Type

Personal Project, Mobile App,

Duration

Jan 2023 - Feb 2023
(1 month)

Jan 2023 - Feb 2023
(1 month)

Team

Bill Guo (Product Manager)
Zach Levonian (ML Engineer)

Responsibility

Research, Product Strategy,
Prototyping, User Testing

Overview
Overview
Overview

Problem

Problem

Problem

An alarming trend of procrastination…

An alarming trend of procrastination…

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.

Solution

Solution

Solution

More than just a to-do list…

More than just a to-do list…

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.

Label task difficulty and group them

Label task difficulty and group them

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

Break down a task and categorize subtasks

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

Monitor your stress level

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

System recommends tasks that mediates stress level

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
Research
Research

Secondary Research

Secondary Research

Secondary Research

The real culprit of procrastination is stress

The real culprit of procrastination is stress

The real culprit of procrastination is stress

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.

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 general performance.

Competitive Analysis

Competitive Analysis

Competitive Analysis

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.

How might we manage stress at a moderate level, thus minimizing procrastination and maximizing productivity?

How might we manage stress at a moderate level, thus minimizing procrastination and maximizing productivity?

How might we manage stress at a moderate level, thus minimizing procrastination and maximizing productivity?

Ideation

Design Concept

Design Concept

Design Concept

Break big tasks into smaller ones and use them as blocks to manage stress

Break big tasks into smaller ones and use them as blocks to manage stress

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. 

After going through 3 iterations in prompt engineering where I simultaneously evaluate input and output to find the most effective prompt that lead to most reliable ideas, I successfully generated over 200 ideas within just 1 hour.

Reimagine the workflow

Reimagine the workflow

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.

After going through 3 iterations in prompt engineering where I simultaneously evaluate input and output to find the most effective prompt that lead to most reliable ideas, I successfully generated over 200 ideas within just 1 hour.

Concept Validation
Concept Validation & Prototype

Prototype

Prototype

Co-design with End Users

Prototype

Wizard of Oz the experience

Wizard of Oz the experience

Wizard of Oz the experience

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.

Although the design direction is clear, we were unsure what kind of content output would be most helpful and meet tutors' needs. To develop a tool that's useful for them, we conducted 5 participatory design sessions, inviting tutors to build the copilot together.

Refinement

Refinement

Refinement

  1. Revising the recommendation logic for more context-aware and effective suggestions

Before

Although the design direction is clear, we were unsure what kind of content output would be most helpful and meet tutors' needs. To develop a tool that's useful for them, we conducted 5 participatory design sessions, inviting tutors to build the copilot together.

Users receive notifications whenever their stress levels are too high or too low, disrupting their workflow.

Although the design direction is clear, we were unsure what kind of content output would be most helpful and meet tutors' needs. To develop a tool that's useful for them, we conducted 5 participatory design sessions, inviting tutors to build the copilot together.

After

Although the design direction is clear, we were unsure what kind of content output would be most helpful and meet tutors' needs. To develop a tool that's useful for them, we conducted 5 participatory design sessions, inviting tutors to build the copilot together.

Users receive recommendations upon completing and checking off a task, suggesting them what to tackle next.

Although the design direction is clear, we were unsure what kind of content output would be most helpful and meet tutors' needs. To develop a tool that's useful for them, we conducted 5 participatory design sessions, inviting tutors to build the copilot together.

Before

Although the design direction is clear, we were unsure what kind of content output would be most helpful and meet tutors' needs. To develop a tool that's useful for them, we conducted 5 participatory design sessions, inviting tutors to build the copilot together.

Users are notified by the system about their current stress levels and the appropriate difficulty level of tasks they should engage in.

Although the design direction is clear, we were unsure what kind of content output would be most helpful and meet tutors' needs. To develop a tool that's useful for them, we conducted 5 participatory design sessions, inviting tutors to build the copilot together.

After

Although the design direction is clear, we were unsure what kind of content output would be most helpful and meet tutors' needs. To develop a tool that's useful for them, we conducted 5 participatory design sessions, inviting tutors to build the copilot together.

The output table includes a step-by-step guide, encouragement, and leading questions.

Although the design direction is clear, we were unsure what kind of content output would be most helpful and meet tutors' needs. To develop a tool that's useful for them, we conducted 5 participatory design sessions, inviting tutors to build the copilot together.

  1. Establishing an onboarding process that clearly explains the concept to users.

Introducing the "chunk" feature

Although the design direction is clear, we were unsure what kind of content output would be most helpful and meet tutors' needs. To develop a tool that's useful for them, we conducted 5 participatory design sessions, inviting tutors to build the copilot together.

Introducing the monitor page

Although the design direction is clear, we were unsure what kind of content output would be most helpful and meet tutors' needs. To develop a tool that's useful for them, we conducted 5 participatory design sessions, inviting tutors to build the copilot together.

Design System
Concept Validation & Prototype
Hi-fi Prototype
Concept Validation & Prototype

Optimized for mobile - still recommend desktop to view images more clearly 🖥️