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FocusWatch: a watchface that measures your focus — a UX case study
Modern smartwatches measure physical activities pretty well — but how about mental activities?
Disclaimer: Apple prohibits the publication of custom watchfaces on their App Store — this project is an exploration of an idea, not created for an actual deployment on the Apple App Store.
Project Background — Night owl vs. Early bird
As a night owl, I’ve never imagined myself sustaining a morning routine that starts even at nine in the morning. Yet here I was, serving in the Republic of Korea Army, waking up at 6 AM and sleeping at 10 PM every day for nearly two years. To be frank, I never really enjoyed this particular early bird routine, until I came back to Carnegie Mellon.
Prior to my military service, I always found myself working late until 4 AM, and waking up at around 10 AM. This unhealthy habit proved not only to be unproductive but also bad for my health and my grades (9:30 AM lecture? Never attended any of them). However, what’s more concerning is that such toxic habits are a worldwide phenomenon among students — pulling all-nighters come with some heroic entitlements. In some colleges *cough CMU*, working late hours has become an inevitable part of the campus culture.
Fast forward to 2019, I felt a need to change up my sleeping habit, and I thought I’d give the early bird routine from the military a try. I worked on my assignments until 10–11 PM, by then which I would start to procrastinate on social media and YouTube. But instead of continuing on for hours, I shut my laptop and went to sleep — slept for 7 good hours, woke up at 6 AM (I know, the magic of sleeping early!), and continued my work in the morning.
Results were amazing. I almost didn’t procrastinate, I was able to focus better and get things done quicker, but also, most importantly I completed…
