Apple Habit Feature
I aimed to designed a feature into apple that helps post-graduates help navigate their life and habits after graduatuation. I wanted to use cognitive science principles specifically in the habit formation theory to help guide my design decision and process.
Context
Depression and anxiety among young adults aged 18 to 25 have steadily increased over the past decade. A recent study revealed that 34.8% of postgraduates experience anxiety. A common trigger for this is the transition out of college, where young adults often feel lost without the structured schedules they were accustomed to during their studies. Many postgraduates struggle with feelings of unmotivation and the challenges of adjusting to life after college.
User Research
User Interview To Discover Life After Graduation.
I've carried out user interviews to discover how their productivity and mental health after post graduation. I targeted post-graduates who are looking to enter the work force and based my question on 3 criteria: Emotions, Productivity, and day in the life.
Changes In Routine
After college, graduates life changes even if it's from moving to a new city or moving back home. The new routine leaves uncertainty for graduates.
Feeling Hopeless
Many graduates are looking for their first job and many of them are feeling a sense of hopelessness on landing their first job.
Confused and Unsure
Graduates feel unsure and overwhelmed with what they are going to do next and causes them to feel unorganized.
Transition
College allows students to live in a structured environment of education. Adjusting to being an adult has many challenges of responsibilities.
Problem
Post-grads Struggle With Daily Schedule Post-Degree.
Post graduate students struggle with a sense of schedule after they completing their degree. They struggle with a lack of structure, making it challenging to seamlessly incorporate these habits into their daily lives, ultimately hindering their ability to successfully initiate and sustain new habits.
Cognitive Science
Habits Are Formed Through 4 Steps.
Habits originate from our behaviors and take shape when a stimulus prompts an individual to perform an action, which is then followed by a rewarding experience. Through repeated occurrences, our behaviors gradually transform into habits. The process of initiating a habit involves four key steps: stimulus, action, reward, and repetition.
Stimulus
A cue to prompt the individual
ex. Waking up
Action
The desired habit
ex. Brushing teeth
Reward
A positive feeling after completing
ex. Fresh and clean mouth
Repeat
Continue repeating first 3 steps.
How Will Guiding Post Graduates To Create Good Habits Benefit Them?
Motivation
Can be a source of pride because graduates realize they will have the power to improve their life.
Reduce Anxiety and Stress
Brings a sense of structure and predictability to their lives by fostering routine and consistency.
Improves Self Esteem
Allows graduates to engage in activities that make them feel good and gives them a sense of meaning.
Ideate
How Can We Integrate Technology Into The Graduates Lives?
I noticed that writing a list with time management was the key to integrating human behavior into task completion. By breaking down tasks with allocated time slots, individuals gain a practical and organized approach, enhancing productivity and reducing the cognitive load associated with larger, complex objectives.
Humans often write a list for a way to organize and perceive information.
Completing a task boost self esteem and confidence.
Making a list
Time Management
Timers helps humans focus on the task at hand trying to get as much done in a task in the set amount of time.
What Do I Want To Achieve In This Feature?
Integrate the habit formation theory
Incorporate the 4 steps of habit formation to guide the users into forming positive habits.
Ease of use
Ensures that users will be able to organize their task and create allocated time.
Design
Bringing The Solution To Life.
I aimed to design an Apple feature that seamlessly integrates into post-graduate lives, addressing each of the four steps of habit creation. Users can create a list of habits they wish to form, and the task repeats with an alarm feature prompting them to initiate the task.
The Stimulus
Notification
The presence of a notification popup serves as a cue for users to engage in their tasks. This feature is crucial, as the notification initiates the habit formation process.
The Action
Tasks
A list of tasks arranged in a time specific order to facilitate users in efficiently organizing their daily task list.
Reward
Completion
Users’ will gain a positive feeling as they complete a task off their list. A task list will also allow users to organize their daily tasks.
Repeat
Alarm
Users’ can set alarms when they create their task allowing the habit to be repeated. This feature also serves as the stimulus aiding the users to turn their behaviors into a habit.
Home Screen
Users have the option to the option to press “Edit” to edit current task or press “+” to create a new task.
Delete or Edit Tasks
Upon clicking “Edit” the user can delete or edit their current tasks.
Task Details
The user will provide a task name, time for the task, an option for duration task and sound of alarm.
Alarm Time
The user can pick the time that they want to be notified for a habit and the days for it to be repeated.
Conclusion
Learnings & Outcomes
I pursued this project to help dig deeper into how I can use cognitive science principles to design solutions to help the users. Specifically, I applied habit formation theory to understand how users can build and sustain better habits over time. By leveraging concepts such as triggers, routine, and reward loops, I designed solutions that encouraged consistent engagement and reinforced positive behavior.
This approach highlighted the importance of understanding how the human brain works and their natural tendencies and behaviors.