I’m a member of the Arctic Fox team. We are researching the study habits of high schoolers, in search of solutions that may improve their ability to focus. To this end, I created a proto-persona largely modeled after a certain interviewee (initials NB). The profile of NB is given below.
Name: NB
Role: High school student
Goal: Become a more productive student. Focus on the main tasks at hand.
Conflicts
- Lacks the discipline to study before pursuing leisure activities.
- Difficulty focusing in certain environments, such as at school and on the train.
- Technologies needed for work — such as her laptop — are also sources of distraction.
- Switching between different platforms when studying is exacerbating.
- Inability to focus on key points. For example, she would try to skim an article for its main points but ends up reading every word.
Attempts to solve
- Putting her phone away before studying.
- Tried the 25-minute work / 5-minute break tactic, but stopped using it because she would rather get things done in one go.
Setting and environment: At home
Tools and skills: She uses her phone and laptop for study purposes. For example, if she has questions about schoolwork, she might take a photo and text her friends for help. She does assignments using her laptop.
Routine
- Wake up around 6:30 AM.
- Take the train to school (which runs from 8 AM—3 PM).
- Take the train back home.
- Do homework and pursue leisure activities (with dinner around 6 PM).
- Go to bed around 9—10 PM.
After creating the persona, I constructed a journey map modeled after NB’s response when asked to walk us through her workday. The columns represent various activities in NB’s routine, including attending school and commuting home by train, starting on her homework, having dinner, studying for a test, and going to bed. For every phase, I describe NB’s emotional state; her actions, thoughts, and feelings; as well as the pain points relevant to her struggle to focus or accomplish tasks. NB’s journey map is given below.
