UX RESEARCH + PRODUCT DESIGN / APP REDESIGN

Make room for focus.
And for real life.

A more flexible Opal experience that helps people protect their attention while making room for everyday interruptions.

8 WEEKS / TEAM OF 2 PRODUCT DESIGNERS

01Discover

02Define

03Develop

04Deliver

PROJECT CONTEXT / THE CHALLENGE

Focus does not happen
in perfect conditions.

Opal helps people limit distractions through app blocking, scheduling, and screen-time controls. Our redesign explores what happens when those controls meet changing motivation, work messages, and everyday responsibilities.

THE PROCESS / DOUBLE DIAMOND

Understand the friction.
Make room for a better response.

The case study follows four stages: exploring the existing experience, defining different focus needs, developing and testing alternatives, and bringing the refined interactions together.

Double Diamond process moving through Discover, Define, Develop, and Deliver

01 / Discover

Existing app review

100+ app-store reviews

Competitive analysis

02 / Define

Two focus mindsets

Journey mapping

Design opportunities

03 / Develop

Effort–impact mapping

Feature exploration

Usability testing + iteration

04 / Deliver

Refined interactions

Four prototype walkthroughs

Reflection + next steps

01 / DISCOVER / EXISTING EXPERIENCE

The controls exist.
The flexibility is harder to find.

We examined how people set up restrictions, start focus sessions, and leave a session when their needs change.

Block lists

People manually choose which apps to block or allow.

Modes

Preset modes ask people to choose a fixed level of control.

Focus sessions

Restrictions depend on a planned period of focus.

Breaks + overrides

Breaks allow flexibility, but can also weaken commitment.

01 / DISCOVER / REVIEW ANALYSIS

Motivation changes.
The system needs to respond.

We synthesized 100+ App Store and Google Play reviews. Recurring themes pointed to a mismatch between fixed restrictions and the situations people actually face.

Real-life access matters

People sometimes need quick access to apps for work, communication, or everyday tasks.

Motivation is not constant

Strict rules are harder to follow when motivation falls or a task becomes difficult.

Overrides can become the default

When restrictions feel impractical, people may bypass them or stop using the system.

01 / DISCOVER / COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

Looking beyond blocking.

We compared Flora, Be Present, Freedom, and Anko to explore how other focus tools approach usability, motivation, and control.

ANKO

FLORA

FREEDOM

BE PRESENT

02 / DEFINE / TWO FOCUS MINDSETS

The same restriction
can create different problems.

The research was synthesized into two goal-oriented personas: one needs support with less effort; the other needs stronger commitment and accountability.

Mike

EMPLOYEE / PARENT

“I want the system to understand my behavior automatically.”

GOAL: Stay focused without missing important communication or adding more setup to an already busy day.
FRICTION: Frequent notifications, automatic phone checking, and work communication make it difficult to disconnect.
DESIGN NEED: Lower the effort of staying focused.

Sima

STUDENT / STRUCTURED LEARNER

“Distraction happens when my brain wants to escape difficult work.”

GOAL: Maintain deep focus, stay connected to the task, and see meaningful progress over time.
FRICTION: Easy bypasses weaken her system. Self-imposed rules feel less reliable than social commitment.
DESIGN NEED: Make commitment easier to sustain.

02 / DEFINE / JOURNEY MAPPING

The hardest moment is
getting back to the task.

Mapping adoption, focus, distraction, return, breaks, and advocacy showed where support is useful—and where the experience creates friction.

AdoptionFocusDistractionFocus timeBreak timeAdvocacy

Mike, Employee, Married

Opens Opal, reviews his focus settings, and sets a session around his work routine.

Works on his laptop while checking necessary emails or work messages.

Gets pulled by stress, boredom, family interruptions, or notifications, then checks his phone.

Sees the Opal reminder, realizes he is off-task, and returns to the work task.

Takes a short break, uses allowed apps, checks news/social media, or responds to family needs.

Reviews progress and may recommend the app if it fits his real work-life needs.

Sima, Student, Single

Sets app categories and connects Opal to her study routine.

Starts a focus session and works through her laptop.

Reaches for her phone or shifts to small side tasks.

Notices the reminder and returns to her main task.

Takes a planned break and checks allowed apps.

Reviews progress and shares the app if it helps her stay consistent.

Setup feels like extra work

Users already feel mentally overloaded, so manually choosing apps, schedules, and rules can feel like another task instead of support.

Blocking does not always match real life

Strict blocking can conflict with necessary work, study, family, or communication needs, making the system feel unrealistic.

Easy bypass breaks trust

When restrictions are too easy to unlock, the system loses power and users feel like the app is not actually helping them stay committed.

Distraction starts before users notice

Users often pick up their phone automatically during stress, boredom, difficult tasks, or small pauses before they fully realize they are distracted.

Returning to focus is the hardest moment

After distraction happens, users need help re-entering the task without guilt, shame, or complicated steps.

Breaks can turn into avoidance

Break time is useful, but without clear limits, it can easily become long scrolling, extended app use, or task avoidance.

Progress is not always meaningful enough

Users need to see evidence that the system is actually helping them, not just blocking apps. Progress should feel personal, visible, and motivating.

Before focus

Reduce setup effort and connect the session to a clear purpose.

During disruption

Offer understandable choices for interruptions, breaks, and returning to the task.

Over time

Make progress feel meaningful and support accountability.

02 / DEFINE / DESIGN CHALLENGE

How might we support focus
without making everyday
interruptions feel like failure?

The direction: flexible controls, a clear reason to return, and support that helps people stay in charge of their attention.

03 / DEVELOP / PRIORITIZATION

Choose useful changes
that can fit into everyday life.

We used an effort–impact matrix to compare concepts by potential user value and implementation feasibility. The matrix helped narrow a broad set of ideas into a focused redesign.

HIGH IMPACT / LOWER EFFORT

Screen-time goals people can adjust

More visible screen-time controls

Peer alerts around broken streaks

Black-and-white screen option

HIGH IMPACT / HIGHER EFFORT

Task list or calendar connection

Clearer break choices and reasons

Goal reminders after distractions

Habit tracking and small-task notes

LOWER IMPACT / LOWER EFFORT

Emergency access option

Screen-time preview before focus

Loud blocked-app warning

Focus insights from tracking data

LOWER IMPACT / HIGHER EFFORT

Additional focus modes

Routine planner for parents

Prioritization guided which concepts to explore; the final prototype brought together a smaller set of related interactions.

03 / DEVELOP / DESIGN RESPONSE

Five responses to the
friction we found.

The redesign connects clearer session controls with purposeful focus, peer support, and easier access to daily limits.

Pause a session

Step away for longer interruptions while keeping the option to resume.

Start with a task

Use a to-do list to make the purpose of a focus session visible.

Find peer support

Use social accountability to help maintain motivation and commitment.

Adjust daily screen time

Make the total screen-time control easier to notice and change.

Explain an exit

Prompt people to reflect on why they are leaving a session.

03 / DEVELOP / USABILITY TESTING

What looked clear to us
was not always clear to users.

Participants encountered the designs without guidance. Their first impressions revealed two issues: competing actions in the focus view and unclear session controls.

Can people find the break controls?

OBSERVED

The density of actions made the focus screen feel overwhelming. People did not always recognize which controls mattered in the moment.

REVISED

Reduce secondary actions and move them into an edit flow. Keep essential session controls visible.

Can people start or manage a session?

OBSERVED

Multiple “+” icons were ambiguous. People confused adding time with creating a session and missed the distinction between session types.

REVISED

Separate current and upcoming sessions, and make the primary action easier to recognize.

03 / DEVELOP / ITERATION 01

Bring the focus back
to the focus session.

BEFORE

Too many competing actions

Several controls competed for attention and made the essential session actions harder to identify.

AFTER

A simpler focus view

Secondary actions move into an edit flow. The main session controls remain visible.

03 / DEVELOP / ITERATION 02

Make session management
easier to read.

BEFORE

An unclear session structure

People had difficulty distinguishing regular and prepared sessions, while repeated “+” controls created uncertainty.

AFTER

Clearer session management

Current and upcoming sessions are separated, with a clearer call to action and more recognizable controls.

04 / DELIVER / FINAL DESIGN

A more flexible way
to stay with your intentions.

Four prototype walkthroughs bring the redesigned experience together: support from others, a clear purpose for each session, understandable interruption controls, and goals people can adjust.

01 / PEER SUPPORT

Keep accountability close.

Notify friends when broken streaks become more frequent, bringing social support into the focus experience.

02 / TASK PLANNING

Give each session a purpose.

Add a to-do list or connect tasks to a calendar so there is a clear reason to begin—and return to—focus.

03 / SESSION CONTROLS

Make room for interruptions.

Distinguish Stop, Pause, and Break so people can choose how to step away from a session.

04 / DAILY GOALS

Let goals adapt to the day.

Make the daily screen-time goal easier to access, personalize, and adjust when needs change.

REFLECTION / WHAT I LEARNED

Support should make people
feel more in control.

Managing screen time is an emotional experience as well as a productivity task. This project shifted my attention from enforcing a limit to helping people navigate the moments when focus becomes difficult.

Design for real life

Interruptions, breaks, and responsibilities are part of the experience. Flexibility needs to be intentional and easy to understand.

Make choices legible

Small interface decisions—labels, grouping, and the number of visible actions—can change how people interpret a screen.

What I would test next

Evaluate the revised flows again, including how people understand pause versus break and how they want peer notifications to work.