Productivity AI Design
Target Audience: Creative freelancers
Design tools used: ChatGPT, Replit Agent, Figma
Challenge: Explore how AI tools can support and extend your design practice.
The Problem
As a freelance creative, I work across multiple areas and have collaborated with clients who require diverse products. I also lead a very busy life with 2 young kids in school and after-school activities, and it is difficult to keep track of everything I need to do on any given day.
Yes. I have tried to write it down in a journal, create reminders, use productivity apps, meditate, and even do morning rituals. Nothing has really worked for me. This project provided an opportunity for me to reflect and try something different using AI.
Yes. I have tried to write it down in a journal, create reminders, use productivity apps, meditate, and even do morning rituals. Nothing has really worked for me. This project provided an opportunity for me to reflect and try something different using AI.
Guiding question
How can I get projects done more efficiently?
Time Blindness:
A core dysfunction in perceiving, estimating, and managing time, often resulting in severe difficulties with planning, procrastination and meeting deadlines
A core dysfunction in perceiving, estimating, and managing time, often resulting in severe difficulties with planning, procrastination and meeting deadlines
I think I suffer from Time Blindness because I tend to do things as they come up, and it really sucks. I prioritize my time to the things that are important for me.
Research
I looked up some studies on what may cause this, and I am not alone in this.
In order to create some data, I started a Creative Workflow Journal in which I kept a record of my activities, emotions, energy, and focus for a week. One of the biggest insights was not knowing where or how to start.
I answered 10 questions that focused on the tasks of the day and looked back at the energy spent on those tasks.
In order to create some data, I started a Creative Workflow Journal in which I kept a record of my activities, emotions, energy, and focus for a week. One of the biggest insights was not knowing where or how to start.
I answered 10 questions that focused on the tasks of the day and looked back at the energy spent on those tasks.
Idea 1
A productivity app that captures how this might help people with a lot of things going on and helps them figure it out through the mess that is life. This
Prototype 2 - AI Chatbot
I want to train my own chatbot to help me keep track of the various tasks I have throughout the day by analyzing my energy, focus, and tasks.
I want the system to help interpret emotional and workflow context to help the user keep their decision tree as simple as possible. Taking chunks out of the big task at hand, a bit at a time, will reduce the overall feeling of anxiety and indecision-making.
I want the system to help interpret emotional and workflow context to help the user keep their decision tree as simple as possible. Taking chunks out of the big task at hand, a bit at a time, will reduce the overall feeling of anxiety and indecision-making.
This diagram shows how the AI system could help offload some of the cognitive load to reduce the overwhelming pressure of making a decision. Ideally, this helps a user be aware of some of the little things that can feel like a win and build some momentum in a day.
Input Analysis
The input analysis takes in the users energy level (physical energy), focus level (mental energy) and overall state of mind. It is important to contrast this against the responsibilities and the things one is avoiding. The available time is the final piece to determine what a user is capable of doing in a certain time period.
Context Interpretation
The AI identifies patterns like:
- User is cognitively overloaded.
- Avoided task has high activation energy.
- User does not have capacity for deep work.
- User is cognitively overloaded.
- Avoided task has high activation energy.
- User does not have capacity for deep work.
Response Generation
Instead of a giant to-do list that just repeats everyone you just said... This AI outputs:
- One realistic next step
- One reason why
- One momentum goal
This reduces a user's anxiety, removes the ambiguity of the user's priority, and figures out the right activation energy for a task. Ideally, it can help a person map out what to take care of now and what should be left for a time that they can give to deep focus tasks.
Workload.ai Chatbot
Using Replit to create the user interface, I had to quickly figure out how to use the API and have it be a live chatbot. The Replit Agent is their own AI bot that helps designers and web developers
Demo