A task tracking app that allows you to keep a record of your time spent on different tasks
The idea behind Tomadoro was to create an app that motivates users and helps them grow by transforming tasks in habits. I wanted to help people feel good about their progress and gain a sense of achievement in their everyday tasks.
The app has a deliberately clean and minimalistic appearance to avoid distracting users with unnecessary clutter. This allows them to focus more effectively on their primary goals.
The main screen displays the tasks added by the user, which are colour-coded.
This increases efficiency by allowing users to quickly identify and prioritize tasks based on their colour.
The default timer is a stopwatch, allowing users to continue working without interruption, and maintain their focus when they enter a state of flow
Users can decide when to take a break based on their own judgment, rather than a pre-set timer.
Users have a summary of their progress through graphic statistics, which helps them stay on track and see their accomplishments at the end of the day, month, or year.
The timeline provides insights into the actual duration of tasks, offering a detailed view of the time spent on each task.
Users have a summary of their progress though graphic statistics, which helps them stay on track and see their accomplishments at the end of the day, month, year.
The timeline provides insights into the actual duration of tasks, offering a detailed view of time spent on each task.
The visual statistics, which allow the user to observe their progress throughout the day/ month/ year, provide an immediate sense of fulfilment while also pushing the user to continue learning. Stats can also be seen as benchmark to assess learning progress and to motivate users to keep studying.
Users can switch to a Pomodoro timer and set a specific duration that suits their needs.
The coloured disk, a visual representation of time passing, allows users to quickly see how much time they have left or how much time they’ve studied so far.
The coloured disk, a visual representation of time passing, provides users with a clear way understand how much time they have left or how much time they’ve studied so far with just a quick glance.
Users can switch to a Pomodoro timer and set a specific duration that suits their needs.
People struggle to maintain focus during tasks and have difficulty sticking to their long-term goals. It's hard to focus on intrinsic motivations when distracting ourselves becomes easier and easier with the availability of technology.
Inspired by the Pomodoro technique, Tomadoro can help users focus better by breaking down their learning time into smaller chunks, making study sessions more enjoyable, manageable, and less frustrating.
1. Users struggle to achieve a flow state during their ongoing task due to self-interruption or external triggers.
2. They delay starting or completing a task because they fear their workload will never end or find the task uninteresting.
3. Users feel uncertain about whether they have spent enough time on their project.
4. When taking a break, users intentionally or unintentionally postpone returning to their task or lose track of time, which leads to procrastination.
1. Make the most of users' time by using a timer to track tasks duration and breaks.
2. Prioritize tasks and break them down into more manageable, smaller pieces.
3. Increase users' awareness of how they spend their time by providing reports and analytics.
4. Achieve long-term peak performance by making users more aware of the importance of taking deliberate breaks.
I started by reading research papers on self-interruptions, the importance of monitoring progress in achieving goals, and the Pomodoro technique. I wanted to have a better understanding of the underlying processes of goal settings, the causes of procrastination, the motivations behind these goals, and the mindset needed to consistently accomplish them.
of task switches are caused by self-interruptions
on average, people switch tasks
Source: Gonzalez and Mark (2004)
While external triggers such as notifications or environmental cues can disrupt someone from their ongoing task, self-interruptions play a huge role in losing one's attention. Not only that, but interruptions can also have a negative impact on productivity.
Research studies show that performance degrades when attention is divided. Additionally, resumption lag - the amount of time it takes to think about your last task and resume working after being interrupted - makes it difficult to resume an interrupted task.
The next step was to conduct a competitive analysis to identify usability and accessibility issues, make a list of must-have features, and examine how others approach time management problems.
Moreover, I downloaded the main competitors' apps and started using them to find pain points, similarities, and differences, as well as to identify areas for improvements.
The competitive analysis gave me a better understanding of what users are looking for in a time management product, as well as the gaps in some of these apps.
To gain further insights and see if others pointed out similar issues, I analysed the App Store reviews of these apps and found common user concerns.
Only two apps have the option to run the timer after the set time is finished. This feature has been frequently requested by users their reviews, along with the abilitiy to skipp the timer or break. On top of that, most users find it important to label their tasks and to edit the logs.
Next, I developed a questionnaire script for the target audience, in order to find out more about what other users experience and what their needs are when using a time management app. The results confirmed the findings from the previous research methods.
With the research findings and common user requests in mind, I prioritized the features of the new app, categorizing them into four groups based on their importance.
While the sketches provided a general overview of the app, the low-fidelity wireframes helped me organize the content of each screen better and visualize the fundamental layout of the app. The high-fidelity wireframes underwent multiple iterations, resulting in a final design that is intuitive, user-friendly, and easy to learn and navigate.
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In the next step, I developed the components and the design system.
Because I wanted the numbers to have the same width and uniform spacing between them, I chose Roboto as the typeface for the app. This ensures that elements like timers are properly aligned, regardless of which numbers are displayed, and prevents layout shifts.
The design was created with the requirements outlined in the Web Accessibility Act in mind, ensuring an inclusive and accessible design for all users, including those with disabilities.
The colours provide an alternative cue for users with colour vision deficiencies, enhancing accessibility in the user experience. Users can choose from a wide range of colour schemes to categorize the tasks or distinguish between different types of tasks. The variety of colours allows for a more personalized experience.
I learned how important is to be organized within a project, as this can help you work faster and makes it easier to navigate thought.
I realized the importance of thorough research from the start of the project because it helped me identify gaps in other apps, and ensure that my decisions were built on user insights rather than assumptions. Moreover, having a design system helped me make changes more quickly and create more variation in the design.
I also realized that it's very easy to get overwhelmed by all the possible solutions and endless improvements. However, having your primary goals in mind is essential. Documenting the design process helped me stay on track, and ensured that I always have a clear understanding of what I'm trying to achive.