Distraction to Action: Breaking Procrastination

A Comparative Analysis

By: Yosief Abraham, Chris Kelly, David Castro, & Sara Bukair

Introduction

Procrastination. It exists! It persists! It conquers! But fear no more because at Team Anteater, our mission is to help college students overcome procrastination and develop productive habits. We are designing a tool that enhances focus and efficiency, making it easier for students to stay on track and achieve their goals. 

Procrastination is a well-documented challenge with numerous existing solutions, yet it remains a persistent issue at the collegiate level. With the rise of short-form content consumption and increasing digital distractions, it’s easy to assume procrastination has a single cause and a single fix. To better understand this complex issue, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of various productivity tools currently in use, examining their unique approaches to tackling procrastination.

Existing Product Analysis

There are hundreds if not thousands of “Productivity Products” in the market today. In order to better understand the current landscape of supposed solutions, we analyzed seven competitors across both web and mobile iOS apps, focusing on a diverse range of features designed to combat procrastination. Our primary emphasis was on task management, maximizing focus, and minimizing distractions. These apps incorporate strategies such as social accountability, app blocking, goal setting, and more. Below is a 2×2 map of each app—Forest, Notion, Griply, GoalsWon, Focus Keeper, Structured, and Opal— to summarize their structure and use-case in improving productivity.  

2×2 Map

For our 2×2 map, we decided to map a product’s use for tracking goals vs tasks, and how much structure they provide in doing that. For example, some products provide rigid frameworks for productivity, while others are open-ended and require user customization.

• Notion (No-Structure + Tasks) is highly flexible but lacks predefined structures, requiring users to build their own workflow. 
• Focus Keeper and Forest (No-Structure + Goals) encourage focus through Pomodoro timers and gamification but do not provide structured goal tracking. 
• Opal, Griply, and GoalsWon (Structured + Goals) offer clear frameworks for reducing distractions (Opal) or habit-building (Griply, GoalsWon), with GoalsWon adding human accountability. 
• Structured (Structured + Tasks) provides a built-in timeline-based planner for managing daily tasks, offering a more guided approach than Notion. 

This breakdown highlights how different apps approach productivity and where gaps exist for a more integrated solution. Below is a detailed breakdown of each app—Forest, Notion, Griply, GoalsWon, Focus Keeper, Structured, and Opal— and its approach to improving productivity.

Forest

Forest is a productivity app that helps users stay productive by planting virtual trees that grow during work sessions. If users leave the app to check their phone or visit blocked sites, the tree withers, reinforcing the importance of locking-in their tasks. Forest’s target audience includes students and professionals who have a proclivity for a gamified approach to reducing procrastination. Notable features include a gamified approach to reinforce work sessions, real tree planting through virtual coins gained from work sessions, and progress tracking. Forest effectively meets the need for an engaging, aesthetically pleasing way to nudge its users to stay focused. However, a drawback of Forest includes a paywall which may not be preferable among college students. Another limitation is that there does not seem to be a task management feature, relying a lot on the self-discipline of the user. Our product will be free for its users, and will contain a task management feature to help the user be organized.  

Strengths: 

• Gamifies studying

Weaknesses:

• Paywall for premium features
• No built in task management

Notion

Notion is a versatile productivity platform that helps users stay organized by combining note-taking, task management, and database functionalities in one centralized platform. Users can create customizable workspaces to track assignments, manage their lives, and store important information. Notion’s target audience includes individuals who prefer an adaptable, all-in-one workspace for increasing productivity and organization. Some user segments include college students and professionals. Key features include highly customizable pages, collaborative tools for group projects, and an integrated task management system. Notion effectively meets the need for a centralized and visually intuitive productivity hub. However, a drawback of Notion is its steep learning curve, which may be overwhelming for new users. Notion has a difficult entry barrier which we hope to not have in our product. Another limitation is that some advanced features, such as AI-powered tools and larger storage capacities, require a paid subscription. To address these limitations, our product will prioritize ease of use while remaining free for college students. 

Strengths: 

• Very customizable and adaptable for various use cases, users, and needed
• Very useful for collaboration 

Weaknesses:

• Steep learning curve and could be hard to adapt to
• Paywall for some advanced and useful features that could support productivity

Griply

All-in-one productivity app designed to help users set and achieve their goals by integrating goal setting, habit tracking, and task management into a single platform. Griply allows users to break down larger goals into manageable subgoals, establish habits that support these objectives, and organize daily tasks to facilitate progress. The app also offers features like progress tracking with detailed charts and graphs, customizable reminders, and the ability to visualize goals by adding images. Additionally, Griply provides tools for personal development, such as the “Wheel of Life” to assess satisfaction in various life areas and the creation of a life vision statement. It’s available across multiple platforms, including iOS, macOS, Windows, and web browsers, ensuring seamless synchronization of goals and tasks across devices

Strengths:

• Holistic Approach: Connects larger life goals with everyday tasks and habits
• User-Friendly Interface
• Customization: Allows for personalized goal setting with the addition of images and custom metrics, enhancing user engagement.

Weaknesses:

• Limited abilities in free version

GoalsWon

GoalsWon is designed for individuals seeking personalized accountability to achieve their personal and professional goals. This includes professionals, entrepreneurs, students, and anyone aiming to overcome procrastination, build positive habits, and enhance productivity through daily guidance. GoalsWon addresses the need for personalized, human-driven accountability in goal achievement. While many productivity apps offer automated reminders and tracking, GoalsWon provides a human element, offering daily interactions with a coach to help users stay committed and motivated

Strengths:

• Human interaction
• Daily engagement
• Behavioral focus

Weaknesses:

• Subscription based
• Dependance on coach compatibility

Focus Keeper

Focus Keeper is a productivity app built around the Pomodoro Technique, a time management strategy that encourages users to work in structured intervals, typically 25-minute focus sessions followed by short breaks. Designed to help students, professionals, and remote workers maintain focus and reduce burnout, the app aims to improve efficiency while preventing mental fatigue. It’s simple and distraction-free interface allows users to jump into deep work without unnecessary complications. Users can customize their work and break intervals, adjust the number of Pomodoro cycles before a long break, and modify alert sounds to fit their preferences. The app also features a progress-tracking dashboard, offering insights into focus trends, productivity streaks, and session history to help users refine their work habits over time. While the core functionality is free, additional customization options and detailed analytics are locked behind a premium paywall.

Strengths:

• Simple and Easy to Use
• Customizable timers

Weaknesses:

• No task management features 
• Paywall behind insightful analytics

Structured

Structured is a visual daily planner designed to help users organize their schedules with a timeline-based layout, making task management intuitive and easy to follow. Unlike traditional to-do list apps, Structured provides a clear chronological view of the day, helping users prioritize tasks and time blocks effectively. The app is particularly useful for students, professionals, and individuals who need a structured approach to managing their time without feeling overwhelmed by rigid scheduling systems. Users can add tasks with specific start times, durations, and reminders, allowing them to plan their day down to the minute. The app features a drag-and-drop interface, making it easy to rearrange tasks, and supports calendar syncing, ensuring seamless integration with existing schedules. Additionally, Structured provides a minimalist and visually appealing design, which reduces cognitive load and makes planning feel less stressful. The premium version unlocks advanced features like recurring tasks, iCloud sync, and additional customization options. 

Strengths: 

• Seamless calendar integration that helps with workflow management
• Very nice interface and great displays/visuals that help

Weaknesses:

• Paywall behind specific features

Opal

Opal is a screen time management app designed to help users reduce distractions, stay focused, and build healthier digital habits. It is targeted at students, professionals, and anyone looking to minimize time spent on social media, messaging apps, or other digital distractions. Unlike basic screen time monitoring tools, Opal offers real-time app blocking, focus sessions, and in-depth analytics to help users take control of their phone usage. [Look at how they 1) highlight your “Time Offline” and 2) use colors to indicate potentially negative phone usage—red for Whatsapp!!] 

Users can create custom focus modes, setting specific apps to be blocked during work sessions while still allowing essential functions. The app also includes scheduled focus sessions, allowing users to build structured routines that limit screen time at specific times of the day. Opal provides detailed reports on phone usage patterns, giving users insights into their habits and helping them make more intentional decisions. The premium version unlocks advanced features such as deep focus mode, automatic app blocking, and priority app customization for a more tailored experience.

Strengths

• Provide insightful screen time and phone usage analytics
• Increases friction by providing the ability to restrict access to apps

Weakness

• Paywall for premium features
• No task management functionality in app

Summary

Our analysis of seven productivity apps highlights how different tools tackle procrastination, whether through task management (Notion, Structured), focus enforcement (Opal, Forest), or social accountability (GoalsWon). While each app offers valuable features, none of them fully integrate task organization, focus strategies, and external motivation into a single, cohesive, and effective solution. Given these gaps, our preliminary designs will be geared towards building a comprehensive productivity tool that helps students plan, stay focused, and remain accountable.