Intervention Study
STORYBOARDS
STORYBOARD 1
Description: Storyboard 1, focuses on the insight that a better self-image leads to a more productive person. In this intervention, the participant is checked-in and validated in their emotions. When they are writing their TO-DO list they are reminded to be kind to themselves. Additionally, we have provided them with words of encouragement when constructing their To-Do list and throughout the day. At the end of their day, we would want to check in on them, and remind them that they do not need to complete everything, that tomorrow is another day. This intervention goal is to uplift the participant and validate their emotions as they navigate the stress of their day. All these check-ins would be via text/notification reminders.
Pros:
- The participant is encouraged throughout the day, potentially motivating them. This is important because we want to encourage participants to accomplish tasks.
- The participant is validated in their emotions which could potentially help them feel seen.
- This intervention promotes self compassion, which could potentially lead to better mindset when approaching their to-do lists.
- This intervention could potentially reduce stress and burnout by reminding the participant that not everything needs to get done. This fosters a sense of comfort and
Cons:
- The encouragement may not be personalized enough, leading to generic phrases that are rendered essentially meaningless.
- It is dependent on external validation which is potentially counterintuitive to trying to promote validation within oneself.
- It can be overwhelming to see notifications if the participant has not completed anything on their to-do list, this can cause further anxiety for the participant.
- This intervention requires a lot from the participant because viewing oneself in a better light requires a substantial amount of time and external resources.
Storyboard 2
Description: “Win the Day” is an AI-driven productivity tool designed to help users make meaningful progress toward their long-term goals. Users input their 2, 5, and 10-year goals, along with their current schedule, priorities, and standing. The system then generates a personalized, itemized list of three key tasks each day—tasks that will have the most impact in moving them forward. By focusing on just three achievable actions, users can reduce decision fatigue, combat procrastination, and ensure they’re consistently working toward their aspirations in a manageable way.
Pros:
- They are given tailored daily tasks based on the user’s long-term goals, schedule, and priorities, ensuring maximum relevance and efficiency.
- Instead of being overwhelmed by endless to-dos, users are given few tasks which stops them from experiencing decision fatigue
- Helps users live more intentionally towards long term goals that can sometimes be hard to visualize
Cons:
- For the tool to be effective the user needs to input quality data about their current life standing and goals which may be hard to prompt them to do.
- AI bias may affect certain goals and recommendations
Storyboard 3
Description:
This is a collaborative productivity tool where friends set a shared deadline—like a night out or a weekend trip—and commit to finishing their individual tasks before then. Each person adds their to-dos to a shared workspace, tracking progress together. The app provides reminders, updates, and encouragement, ensuring everyone stays accountable and can enjoy plans without unfinished work looming over them.
Pros:
- Friends keep each other on track, making it harder to procrastinate.
- Helps people finish responsibilities ahead of time so they can fully enjoy social plans
- A shared goal makes finishing tasks feel more rewarding and less isolating.
Cons:
- Makes it harder to claim you’re busy if you actually don’t want to go to plans which is an invasion of privacy
- If some friends don’t engage it may not be as effective
- Could encourage toxic competition with friends
Intervention Study
Description: For our intervention study, we will be texting our participants in 3 hour intervals throughout their day. First, the participant will be asked to send us a to-do list, we will let them know that they are competing with other participants throughout their day. With each 3 hour message, we will ask for their progress and/or provide the following information: 1) encouragement to complete more tasks 2) an update on how other people are doing 3) a recall to previous times they completed more or less work in previous days or in similar situations 4) a congratulations for completing certain tasks. When all tasks have been completed, or at the end of the day, users will receive an affirmation message and a reminder to “State their intentions” for the next day in order to maintain their productive momentum.
In terms of our visualizations and understanding of success, it’s heavily rooted in self reported tasks and self reported completion. For more context, our metric for “winning” is a task progression bar that visualizes the % or # of tasks completed in a given day for each user. By populating the UI with both personal and select friend progress bars, we’re able to provide an easy to understand interface that enables us to target 2 questions. Does gamification promote productivity? How does social pressure impact or hurt productivity?
The following list showcase an example of the time, and messages that will be sent to each participant of our intervention study:
9 am: “Good morning! Hope youre reading to take this day by storm!! Before you get started, please send me a quick list of all you hope to accomplish today — ( go to gym, meet with teacher, lunch w friend, 1/2 cs Pset, go to psych office hours…).
- This message starts the day early for the participant, reminds them to think about their goals/tasks for the day and helps them jumpstart their morning.
12 pm: “What have you accomplished so far!”
- Going into or out of lunch, this message reminds the reader to not slump during the day, and if classes were on their to-do list, it will help them feel a sense of accomplishment. Furthermore, over the course of the study if there is a pattern of no strides being made to complete work by this time, it can help the participant pinpoint times in their mornings where they could be more productive going forward.
3 pm: “Any updates? Just a heads up, your friend [insert name] is already 50% done with their tasks!! Don’t let them pass you!
- This evokes friendly competition. Reminds them that there are other people close to them working, and encourages them to respond to that social pressure dispute being physically distant from peers. We included this because many of our participants claimed they have a positive response to social pressure from peers in terms of productivity.
6 pm: “You’re catching up! You’re the 2nd most productive today! Before you grab dinner, take a few moments and update us with what you’ve finished.”
- This message serves a very similar role as the 3PM message.
9 pm: “Congrats! You’re the first to reach 100% completion!! State your intentions for tomorrow or send a message to your friends to motivate them!”
- This message is the first real affirmation message of this day. Although the night isn’t over, we hope for users to have spent the day productive and look to give them a recap on their progress.
12 am: “Great work today! You and [name #1] completed all your tasks. Let’s sleep well and conquer the day tomorrow!”
- This last message is a soft reminder to end their night well in order to encourage a repeated productive day.
Data Collection Plan: For this study, we will be collecting both qualitative data and quantitative data. We will be sending out a survey at the end of each day asking questions like how they felt during this process. We also look at the percentage of completed tasks. Further, there will be a post study interview. Attached survey
Study Materials:
Introduction Document
Thank you for joining our study! Over the next four days, we will be sending you text notifications in 3 hour intervals. We will begin by asking you to construct a to-do list every morning. We want to let you know that this is a competition and you will be competing among 7 other participants. Some of the notifications will include how your fellow competitors are doing.
At the end of each day, we will ask you to fill out a survey regarding your experience. Additionally, at the end of the study, we’ll schedule a brief interview to hear your insights and ideas for change.
Our goal is to learn from your experiences and develop tools that help college students combat procrastination. Your honesty and reflection are invaluable, and we appreciate your dedication to this project!
Discussion Guide
Throughout the study, we want you to think critically about your procrastination habits.
- How did knowing about your competitors make you feel?
- What external forces impeded your productivity if any?
- How did you eventually begin or complete your to-do list, and what motivated you?
The more detail you share, the more valuable your insights will be. Don’t worry about perfection — just share your authentic experiences!
Intro and Closing Emails
Subject: Welcome to the Procrastination Habits Study!
Hi _____,
Thank you for joining our study! We’re excited to work with you to explore the habits and challenges of college students when it comes to procrastination.
Over the next four days, we will be sending you text notifications in 3 hour intervals. We will begin by asking you to construct a to-do list every morning. We want to let you know that this is a competition and you will be competing among 7 other participants. Some of the notifications will include how your fellow competitors are doing.
At the end of each day, we will ask you to fill out a survey regarding your experience. Additionally, at the end of the study, we’ll schedule a brief interview to hear your insights and ideas for change.
Look out for reminders and tips as we begin. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out at any time!
Best,
Subject: Thank You for Participating!
Hi _____,
Thank you for dedicating your time and energy to this study! Your reflections on procrastination habits have provided valuable insights that will help us understand the challenges students face and how we might create strategies to address them.
We hope the experience was insightful for you, too, and that it gave you new perspectives on managing procrastination. If you have any additional thoughts or feedback, we’d love to hear from you.
Thanks again for participating in this study!
Best,
