The Concept to the Launch
What’s the recipe for a perfect way to study?
As students and emerging professionals, we’re all too familiar with the struggle of staying focused amidst daily distractions. That’s why we’ve turned to digital tools like Google Calendar, spreadsheets, and paper planners to help us stay organized and on task. However, despite the availability of these fantastic productivity tools, we’ve still experienced moments where our focus wavers. Amidst the saturated productivity tool market, is there a need for another new tool to cater to niche goals and to-dos? With our own experiences juggling midterms, work, and finals in mind, we started looking into this question. Is there something we could create?
Which of the following time management tools do you use regularly right now?
“Google Calendar… built-in computer calendar… Notion, none, spreadsheets, notes, reminders on my phone, paper planner”
What tools or strategies help you stay organized and manage your time effectively?
“I have a mental Checklist I go through everyday. I don’t forget what I need to remember, especially the important stuff. However, If I don’t do the checklist, it’s hard to stop thinking about those things until they’re done.”
Notion
Trello
Evernote
My Daily Planner
Habitica
Monday.com
We even tested some study tools ourselves, like Notion, Evernote, Habitica, Trello, My Daily Planner.
But, we continued to research…
How often do you find yourself overwhelmed by the number of tasks on your to-do list or in your schedule?
If so, what is the reason behind your dissatisfaction with your current time management tools?
And here’s where we had a new thought.
What if it’s our approach to work?
Out of over seventy students and rising professionals we surveyed, 70% reported that they were often overwhelmed by the number of tasks and had no solution.
However, when asking if there were any features students would like to add to these tools, no new features emerged. They were all satisfied with the existing options available.
Our team started asking: Is there something in our workflow that distracts us? Maybe we have all the tools we need to finish tasks, but it’s how we use them that’s the problem. Even with productivity tools in place, distraction, poor time management, and social media use can undermine the effectiveness of any organized system.
How could your daily tasks and academic activities be made more efficient or enjoyable?
“Not procrastinating stuff (MAJOR problem)”
“I use strategies like putting my phone away, turning off notifications (DND), making set breaks and set time for work
“I occasionally put something motivational at the top of my notepad to remind me to stay focused. “
Which aspect of time management is the most challenging for you?
“Allocating time for different tasks”
“Procrastinate by binge scrolling”
“Accomplishing tasks with allotted times”
“I spend too much time on assignments”
“Managing and juggling multiple projects”
The Current Strategies
Pareto
- List current problems and identify their causes, group similar causes together and score each cause based on importance. Start addressing the problems within the group with the highest score.
- “I am a student trying to handle various personal and academic tasks, but I struggle o prioritize effectively because my assignments typically have bigger issues/causes than I think, which makes me feel overwhelmed and less confident about my judgment.”
Pomodoro
- Breaking work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. These intervals are known as “pomodoros”.
- “I am a student trying to finish homework and study for my courses, but I am not finishing any of my assignments or study decks because I am getting distracted and losing motivation to keep working which makes me feel unproductive.”
Parkinson
- When given extra time to complete a task, an individual will generally take advantage of that time, even if they don’t really need, and even it doesn’t lead to better performance on the task
- “I am a college student trying to finish assignments on time and enjoy life as well but I always spend too much time than expected on tasks because I am easily distracted which makes me feel terrible.”
Pickle Jar
- Categorize tasks by importance and work through the list in one order.
- “I am a college student trying to prioritize my tasks but don’t know the level of importance of my tasks because there are so many different types of tasks to do which makes me feel uncoordinated.”
The Key
One size does not fit all.
The issue is that one tool, study strategy, or approach doesn’t fit all situations. These approaches may need to change from day to day, week to week, or even from one study session to another. Should I set aside 25 minutes for this task, or 2 dedicated hours? Do I need to spend 45 minutes on this phone call? Is priority really important if I consider all of my tasks to be equally important?
Is there a solution that can help students keep less distracted, stop losing motivation, prioritize their tasks, understand the true scope of a task, and manage their time most effectively?
Is there a way our team can find the right approach for each task?
User Flow and User Scenario
So who could our app help?
The main target audience is current undergraduate college students who struggle with productivity. For these users, productivity can encompass various aspects, including time management, organization, and more. While our focus is on this specific audience, our application is not limited to them; others may also find it useful and applicable in their daily lives.
Meet Alexis: The Overachiever
Alexis, a junior undergraduate student, has secured both an internship and an on-campus job for the upcoming semester; managing two jobs alongside an overloaded class schedule of 20 credit hours. Despite being on track to graduate, he’s also eager to learn a new coding language, adding to his workload. Additionally, Alexis has taken on the role of president in two campus organizations due to his past commitment and connections with the members. While excited about the opportunities, he finds himself overwhelmed for the first time, seeking a tool to help him focus on prioritizing tasks and managing his busy days effectively.
- Feeling overwhelmed for the first time, Alexis struggles to manage his busy schedule effectively and prioritize tasks.
- Alexis seeks a tool that enables him to focus on one task at a time with a specific time availability to help him fill in the gaps in his busy schedule.
Meet Avery: The Procrastinator
Avery, a senior undergraduate student, accelerated her graduation by taking college courses during high school and overloading her freshman and sophomore years. Now only needing two elective courses each semester and almost finishing her senior thesis, she initially expected an easy semester. However, neglecting deadlines and working ahead, she now finds herself overwhelmed with catching up on lectures, completing homework, and preparing for exams as the semester is almost done. Struggling to break the habit of procrastination, Avery wants a new method to start working.
- Avery procrastinated and is now overwhelmed with catching up on lectures, completing homework, and preparing for exams.
- She is now struggling with her workload and is seeking a solution to break her procrastination habit and just get started.
Low Fidelity
And here’s where the brainstorm started. We started by taking an example, let’s say four big tasks to handle in the last busy, crazy, stress-filled week of the semester. How can we use all four methods to tackle those tasks?
How do we get people to focus on the app instead of just scrolling through social media? How can we make a system that makes people want to work? And how do we make it work for each person’s needs?
We kicked things off using Figma and kept going. We came up with a way to guide students and professionals through their work step by step. And by the end, we had a system that told them exactly where to start.
The Name
Our name was in a constant iteration process. As our research evolved, so did the title.
Understanding that we were working in tandem with other productivity apps out there, our aim was to help students get back on track. As UR time, our aim was to better help you manage your time. Now, our aim is to get you to find your groove, flow, and focus.
Ultimately, we’re here to help you find your next focus.
NexFocus
The Final Launch
For students and professionals who want to stay organized and distraction-free, our productivity tool is your trusted assistant that tackles distractions while you focus on your goals.
Looking Ahead
Designed for you, our team has extended our application to the high fidelity stage. Looking forward in our capstone, we would test development to bring our prototype out of Figma into proper software and application.
We believe we are just at the starting place. Embrace NexFocus to achieve balance in both your work and personal life.