I based this persona off of my interviews, my own experience, and conversations with my friends at Stanford!
| Before the Pause | Deciding to Pause | During the Pause | After the Pause | |
| Think | I need to keep moving to stay on track | I should take a break, but I can do other things | I’m still being productive! | I didn’t really rest, but it’s not like I can stop now. |
| Feel | Slightly overwhelmed but mentally busy | Restless and guilty about stopping | Stimulated but distracted | Still tired and even maybe a bit frustrated |
| Do | Finishes one task and opens another tab | Reaches for the phone or switches apps | Multitasks and scrolls through her messages, her Slack notifications | Jumps straight into the next task |
| Environment | Desk with laptop open and phone nearby | The same workspace. She does not get up for her break. | Multiple screens and notifications | Same posture and context, nothing really changes. |
| Social Factors | Other people around her also look busy and seem productive. | There is pressure to respond quickly to her friends and her emails. | Maintaining a digital presence | Productivity norms (like what she sees in the people around her) continue her work |
| Painpoint | Her overall cognitive load is quite high | She has anxiety about wasting time | Her attention is all over the place, doesn’t know what to do during the break | All of her stressed continue – the pause didn’t do anything. |
