Life Rhythm - Productivity Mobile App
Automate Routines, Sync Calendars, Productive apps, and Track the progress of daily activities in one app.
PROJECT SUMMARY
I understand how hard it is to cope with daily challenges, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and take care of tasks in a timely manner without deprioritizing ourselves and our loved ones. That's exactly why I designed, Life Rythm.
Life Rythm is a productivity mobile app, designed with IOS Shortcuts to create an automated routine that intertwines work calendar, workout, chores, music, etc., and records progress to measure success. Depending on the routine, users will receive a notification of the activity that is due and directs them to the linked app, eg., Apple Books for reading time, Headspace for meditation, etc.
This project was done independently under the guidance of my IDF mentor Catherine Hicks.
Timeline: 3 weeks - 80 hours
Skills/Tools Used: Secondary research, User research, Sketching, Sketch, InVision & Figma.
Role: End-to-end UX/UI Designer
Responsibilities: User Research, Concept ideation, User flows, Visual design, Prototyping, User Testing, Design iterations, and Quality assurance
PROBLEM
Why do users fall out of their routines and feel unproductive?
01
Unable to create a balanced work-life routine
Inability to have an organized routine that enables a sustainable work-life balance and motivates one to keep up with it
02
Too many productive things to keep a track of
Users use multiple apps to track their fitness activity, meditation, productivity & diet planning but find it very cumbersome to keep track of it
03
Work first attitude compromises body and soul
Inability to include healthy habits/hobbies into the routines usually sidelines us in a busy schedule
SOLUTION
How can we help users achieve a balanced routine and keep up with it?
01
Gamification Rewards to achieve Goals
Give virtual rewards and appreciation to keep the user motivated to reach their goals
02
Automated routines with unified progress tracking
IOS Shortcuts integration to prioritize productive apps and allocate time to stay organized with a unified tracking system.
03
Integrate personal and professional into one
Better time management by Calendar integration to avoid overlaps in schedule and stay updated with events like birthdays, appointments, etc.
METHODOLOGY
USER RESEARCH
User Interview: I conducted individual virtual interviews with 4 participants to understand
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How they maintain their daily routine and a productive lifestyle?
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How do they develop new habits and stick to them?
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What would they do to organize their lives better?
What Users said?
“I would love to be constantly reminded to take breaks to quiet my mind "
“I have a hectic work life and I usually forget to make time for my fitness routine"
“I download almost 10 apps a week to learn or explore but just forget to incorporate them in my routine"
“My goal is to automate my life so I have time for things and people that matter "
COMPETITOR'S ANALYSIS
By Identifying the Key competitors and evaluating their strategies I found that Streaks was the only direct competitor with most of the advanced features like Shortcuts automation and and Data sync from health app. However, it's more of a habit building/breaking app than a routine management which syncs your daily work, meetings, chores and habits in a unified routine.
PERSONAS
College students (16-28 years) who have a hard time balancing their academic assignments with hobbies and personal time.
Super Mom (28-45 years) who has a hectic work life and kids to take care of.
Juggling between the two they usually neglect their own well-being.
Key Findings
Integrate
Link apps with Shortcuts, so they can share data in fewer clicks
Automate
Pass info between your apps with workflows and increase efficiency
Innovate
Build processes faster and get more done
Sync
Log routine tasks automatically when completed
AFFINITY MAPPING
On investigating the results of the primary and secondary research, I was able to draw common problematic areas which I categorized using affinity mapping. I synthesized my findings under 4 categories based on the main functions that could increase productivity and help maintain a routine.
SKETCHES
I brainstormed and sketched out ideas based on users’ needs and pain points. It was important to focus on the onboarding to get the user familiar with the product and help them set up a routine or two. Hence, after a quick walkthrough users were asked to Sign up to continue the onboarding.
Onboarding
Product Screens
SITE MAP
Using the sketches of the app and impersonating user flow I mapped out the Site Map. The flows range from signing up to setting up routines and integrating calendars and other apps for quick actions.
WIREFRAMES
Once user flows and information architecture had been established, I began to build out the key pages that would be needed to create the app.
BRANDING
For the branding, I wanted the logo and the colors to depict balance and be in sync with the properties of the product. I sketched out various options and finally derived a logo that is simple yet impactful.
DESIGN SYSTEM
Being an IOS app it was crucial to follow IOS guidelines and I kept that in mind for everything I designed, including colors, fonts, and spacing.
I chose different colors for each category for easy visual organization and a peppy relatable look, like Surf blue for Fitness, Lilac for Entertainment, Vintage Rose for Skincare, and so on.
PROTOTYPE
OVERVIEW OF MOBILE APP
I created a high-fidelity prototype in Figma, here's a user flow walkthrough to demonstrate the app hierarchy and features.
Onboarding
A quirky walkthrough to show the App's capabilities and features.
Weekday Routine
Once the Sign up is completed, the users are asked to set up their wake up time and if they would like to be briefed on their day's schedule. Further a new habit selection option is given to help users get familiarized with the product and the actions they could take for each category. For ex., playing music in the background at their set meditation time.
Add Routine
Users can always adjust, add or delete a routine as needed. There are some pre-set routines users can take up or create their own custom ones. When adding a new routine the relevant apps are suggested that could be linked directly, users can also add apps from the App Store. This helps in easy automation and reinforcing a routine consistency.
Sign Up
After a Quick walkthrough we moved to Sign up followed by Calendar integration to bring in an existing schedule. This helps merging work calendar as well as person calendar into a unified routine so users could smartly allocate time to other habits.
Weekend Routine
Yes, we understand having one fixed routine isn't an answer to your problem because weekdays are different from weekends. Hence, we ask the users to figure the activities they'll like to add to their weekend separately. For ex., Calling your Parents could be a simple weekend routine where you set up time and add contact, when you get a notification at the set time all you gotta do is Swipe right.
USABILITY TEST
Now that I was ready with a prototype, it was time to test the usability. I invited 4 users who were previously interviewed to test the app. The testing was done remotely via Zoom video calls and users were given access to the screen so I could observe their actions first hand.
My objectives for usability testing were:
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Test if the users could onboard efficiently.
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Observe if Users could add a routine successfully.
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Test if the Apps's user flow is intuitive and easy to use.
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Find any areas of confusion and difficulties users face while using the App.
Test Findings:
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90% User's successfully completed the tasks
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Most users appreciated the simplicity of the platform
Angela
Accounts Manager
"I love the idea of automating life routine, this is going to save me so much time in my day and still keep me productive"
Jagbir Kaur
Consultant
"It's amazing how it integrates my work calendar and allows me to adjust routine as needed"
Meg Lu
Production Manager
"I can't wait to have a real product to start incorporating in my chaotic life where work and kids take up my complete day"
FINAL PROTOTYPE
Click below to explore the Figma prototype
LEARNING AND OUTCOMES
As someone who wasn’t very familiar with app extensions and Siri shortcuts, I had to learn a lot through research to gain a more solid understanding of the technicalities. This project helped me work in set IOS guidelines and making sure the accessibility is addressed at every step. Also, learnt how you can manage your notifications to achieve goals in a single click.
Both secondary and primary research were key in getting up to speed with the market and being able to empathize with other’s experiences, especially since I haven’t gone through those experiences myself just yet.
Overall, this project was a lot of fun to work on - building an app from start to finish, and incorporating a new technology (Shortcuts) that I’ve never worked with before. It was interesting to discover how much technology has advanced and learning more about its capabilities and limitations, and look forward to continuing to see how it evolves in the future.