How might we design a productivity app that harnesses dopamine-driven habit formation while providing personalized control over workflow?
Problem Statement
Many existing productivity apps fail to sustain user engagement, primarily because they don't align with how users naturally build habits. As a college student, I have personally struggled to find a system that keeps me accountable without feeling rigid or uninspiring. My peers also report difficulties in managing time and staying focused, often facing burnout due to inefficient productivity methods. The good news is that based on psychological principles, we know how to create stronger habits. Based on this, I wanted to explore how to leverage the brain’s dopamine reward cycle to allow users to manage their productivity better.
After a literature review gave insight into the Candy Crush Effect, a term used to describe how games leverage the ludic loop to reinforce positive behaviors through dopamine stimulation, I conducted a 12-question survey (distributed the survey through University of Washington Slack and Discord channels, LinkedIn, and Instagram).
The survey collected quantitative and qualitative data on students’ productivity habits, struggles, and their experience (or lack thereof) with productivity apps. The key findings included:
63.2% had never used a productivity app before, indicating that existing solutions were unappealing or ineffective
31.6% wanted to be 2-3 hours more productive per day, with 26.3% wanting 3-4 hours more, showing a strong demand for solutions that enhance efficiency
“Forest” was the most used productivity app, likely due to its gamification element, reinforcing that users find engagement strategies valuable
Users prioritize flexibility and prefer an app that adapts to their workflow rather than penalizing them
Productivity is a personal experience: a user’s experience must be supported rather than forcefully shaped.
I reached out to 13 respondents for interviews who were chosen due to a unique answer to ensure all thoughts and opinions were heard. I focused on understanding what motivates users to be productive, their pain points with current methods, and how they define success with productivity — through affinity mapping, I synthesized responses into three major themes:
1. Productivity is personal.
People have different methods of staying productive (handwritten to-do lists, apps, mental tracking)
Productivity is heavily influenced by environmental factors: some prefer silence, others with background noise
Task-tracking preferences vary: some find Pomodoro timers helpful, while others prefer timers or stopwatches
2. Motivation is driven by emotion, not just logic.
Visualizing accomplishments increases motivation. Users felt more encouraged when they could see their progress in an engaging way
A lack of accountability leads to procrastination. Many expressed that they struggled to take the first step in getting started with tasks
3. Gamification needs to feel meaningful, not forced.
Users liked the idea of rewards, but only if they felt connected to their progress
People were not motivated by purely cosmetic badges or points; they preferred interactive and story-driven games
Social accountability was polarizing - some found it helpful, while others felt it added pressure
To meet both user needs and create retention, give the user complete control through app personalization driven by research-supported strategies.
Research
Ideation
Balancing research-driven decisions while creating engaging gamification.
To address users’ need for personalization (1. Productivity is personal), I designed a system that adapts to different work styles rather than enforcing a rigid structure. To ensure flexibility, I focused on individual achievement-based gamification rather than competitive or collaborative elements, allowing users to engage with productivity in a way that feels natural to them.
Inspired by the Candy Crush ludic system, I introduced a Dodo character that “travels” as the user studies, providing visual progress tracking as a response to users' motivation being driven by emotion and the effectiveness of seeing accomplishments (2. Motivation is driven by emotion, not just logic).
To reinforce engagement without making gamification feel forced (3. Gamification needs to feel meaningful, not forced), users collect Dodo companions by consistently completing study sessions, creating a long-term engagement loop rather than relying on arbitrary rewards like points or badges.
A/B testing helped refine these ideas. Deciding to remove a traditional navigation bar for example helped improved focus and usability, making the app feel more intuitive.
Final Solution
A gamified solution that incorporates personalization and gamification to increase a user’s motivation for productivity and promote user retention.
1 minute showcase of features
The home screen is designed for clarity and ease of use, drawing from classic game mechanics to make productivity engaging. To create a sense of continuity and accomplishment, the Dodo’s backpack stores key items like a passport and Dododex, where users track the Dodos they’ve helped through study sessions. Dodos become playable characters over time, unlocking after multiple successful study sessions, encouraging long-term engagement.
After selecting “Study Map” on the home screen, users choose from different levels within their current environment. Each level represents a study session with a predefined duration (e.g., 1 hour, 10 hours), providing structure without rigidity. Users can then select their preferred time-tracking method (Pomodoro, regular timer, or stopwatch) ensuring the system adapts to individual productivity styles rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach.
Once a study session begins, users can swipe between three key screens designed to support focus and workflow. Music control to connect and adjust music without disrupting their session, a calming break screen where the Dodo peacefully walks, and a task management page to view, add, and check off tasks seamlessly.
Addressing a common frustration with competitor apps, sessions continue even if users temporarily leave the app (e.g., to answer a message), with a slight slowdown at 0.25x speed instead of penalization. This ensures that Prododo works with users’ real-life needs rather than against them.
The opportunity to pitch an idea to Design for America, get approval, and build my own design team was a dream come true. Initially, having all eyes on me for answers was intimidating, but I’m proud of how I quickly adapted to my role and responsibilities.
As someone with a research background, I was thrilled to insist on a data-driven approach as it’s something I’ve seen overlooked in other projects. Tying our design choices to psychological principles ensured we met user needs while maintaining an engaging experience.
Collaborating with a team of designers with different experience levels taught me how to align perspectives, facilitate discussions, and balance structure with creativity. Since all team members were students at the University of Washington, scheduling and differing work paces also required active coordination. One of my biggest takeaways was learning the importance of design system consistency, as early component creation would have saved time and ensured cohesion.
What I Would Do Differently
The stats, calendar, and tasks sections were a bit overlooked and ended up lacking the same polish as the rest of the app. Even though they weren’t as exciting to design, they were critical for usability and should have been prioritized earlier.
More structured timeline management: Aligning team members on a clearer roadmap earlier in the process would have helped prevent last-minute adjustments.
More iterative user testing: Time constraints limited our ability to conduct thorough usability testing. Testing with more users at different stages would have refined features and interactions earlier.
If given more time, I’d love to:
Refine and test gamification mechanics to optimize engagement over time
Enhance personalization features, allowing users to tailor their productivity methods more deeply
Expand accessibility and platform support, ensuring usability across different devices and needs
Analyze long-term retention data to understand user engagement beyond initial adoption
Despite the challenges, seeing Prododo come to life through collaboration, research, and iteration was incredibly rewarding. This project reinforced my passion for bridging psychology and design and I look forward to applying these lessons in future work!
Reflection