Description
I am a member of the Arctic Fox team, and we are studying high schoolers’ inability to focus. One interesting theme—primarily seen in one of our participants with initials S.H.—was that of desiring a noisy environment for working. My group and I initially expected our participants would feel better focused in quiet, calm environments, but S.H. expressed enjoying louder spaces. There is a notable contradiction here: S.H. finds noisy environments to be comfortable and ideal for her, while simultaneously experiencing increased distractions in this kind of environment. I decided to create my proto-persona around this type of person to further explore this contradiction.
Proto-Persona
Name: S.H.
Role: High school student
Goal: Make homework fun and enjoyable
Motivation: Used to working around a large, talkative family, which is fun but distracting at times. When not around family, she is motivated to similarly make working more enjoyable
Conflict:
- Fun to do work around family but they can be very distracting, too
- Watching movies while working can lead to distraction for short periods, especially when an entertaining scene comes on or when watching a more captivating movie
- Does a good job staying off technology and social media when working near friends or family, but gets distracted instead by socialization
- If homework isn’t fun, tries to do things that are more fun instead, such as reading a book, or cleaning her room or even the entire house
Attempts to solve:
- When distracted, looks at the clock and tries to return to work in 10-minute intervals. For example, if she gets distracted at 5:31, she tries to resume work at 5:40
- Tells family members she has to get back to work after a conversation is over
- Working with music or TV to make work more enjoyable
Environment:
- Almost never works at her desk. Uses desk for stuff in her room that she doesn’t have a place for
- Typically works in bed, in living room on the couch, or in kitchen at the counter. Therefore often works with others in the room
- Sometimes works with friends
Tools: Usually works on her computer, but occasionally has paper-only assignments
Skills:
- Usually works well in a noisy environment
- Often gets tasks done quicker than anticipated
Journey Map
