The Mindful Planner

Help users plan their days to live balanced lives and reach their goals

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My Role:UX/UI, User Research
Tools Used:Sketch, Principle
Overview:Many people want to live more balanced lives while also reaching their work and life goals. They read self-improvement books, but find it challenging to implement the principles on a consistent basis or at all. Since planning is key to achieving the life they desire, there is an opportunity to create a planner that helps them apply the principles to their daily lives.
Challenge:Design a day planner grounded in key self-improvement and wellness principles that helps users plan their days optimally.
Independent ProjectDuration: 2 months (app), 3 months (physical planner)

I created a day planner that helps users move from knowledge of key productivity and wellness principles to implementing them in their daily lives. Integrated into the framework of the planner, the key principles support the whole person - bringing them the clarity they need to achieve their work and personal goals and ensuring they have the fortitude to get there by strengthening them mentally, physically and emotionally.

RESEARCH

The productivity and wellness principles that are the foundation of the planner were identified through secondary research. Books such as The One Thing, Essentialism and Finish were referenced as well as websites such as WebMD and Inc.

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CONCEPTING

The paper version of the planner was explored first.

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Early iterations of the day planning worksheet

USER RESEARCH

Research Participant #1Female, has difficulty finding a planner that fits her needs.


Insights:

1

Good Usability

Found planner intuitive with creative and clear terminology used for section titles.

2

Improve Clarity

Hour time markers can be defined more clearly to avoid scheduling confusion.

3

Provide More Flexibility

Prefer open space rather than a numbered section for writing down reflections.

The feedback was incorporated into the design and the planner was tested with another user who used the planner for three weeks. After each week, the user provided feedback which informed further design iteration.


Research Participant #2
Female, needs guidance on how to plan her time.
Insights:

1

Effective

Using the planner, she had more clarity on her priorities and was more productive with her time.

2

Know the "Why"

Knowing the intention behind each part of the guided planning process was valuable.

3

Opportunity to Simplify

Opportunity to make the planning process more lightweight.

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APP DESIGN

The research insights provided a good starting point for the app’s design.

SITEMAP

For consistency with the physical planner, the sitemap is based on the planner’s framework.

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TASK FLOWS

Planning and reflecting on the day are key parts of the planning process so it was important to map out the task flow for each.

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LOW FIDELITY WIREFRAMES

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From left to right: Calendar, Planning, Scheduling Tasks, Adding a Task and Reflecting on the Day.

UI DESIGN

The app seeks to have a soothing, calming and clean look to convey mindfulness and be pleasant for users to use to plan their days.

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HIGH-FIDELITY MOCK-UPS

The screens with the look and feel applied.

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PROTOTYPE OF DRAG-AND-DROP SCHEDULING INTERACTION

The app makes scheduling items from the users’ task list a breeze through a quick and easy drag-and-drop interaction once the initial planning process has been completed.