CASE STUDY - SHIPPED APP
Track all your planned and unplanned work sessions
Bursts helps you to start work without any fuss
Test iOS beta on TestFlight
Role
Product Designer
Timeline
2 Week Sprint (Dec 2025)
Tools / Skills
Figma, Cursor, Visual Design, Motion Design
OVERVIEW
What if we worked with our spontaneous focus and dopamine-seeking behavior for productivity?
Rigid schedules, task planning, and completion-based rewards create friction and shame when work sessions deviate.
Often times, I feel like I’m wasting time away due to my spontaneous nature of work. I was “off task” when in reality, I was still working; just on something else that was unplanned.
OUTCOME
Currently beta testing with users
INITIAL OBSERVATIONS
There are many ways to approach productivity tools:
Gamification and streaks
Time blocking and schedules
Social accountability
Task prioritization and planning systems
The variety of models suggests that productivity isn’t a single problem to solve, but a set of competing mental models about how work should happen.
I stumbled across ADHD productivity reels and noticed a recurring theme:
Many people were planning less and using timers more to just start working.
DESIGN GOALS & PRINCIPLES
Non-negotiable constraints throughout development
Reduce friction to start
No
Flexibility for unplanned work
Switching focus is expected and easy to do
Avoid shame-based motivator
No guilt-inducing language or feedback loop
Work with modern attention
Support focus without ignoring distraction
01 CORE EXPERIENCE
Home Dashboard
Reduce activation energy to begin working
Primary CTA visually prioritizes starting
No setup required
Goals and Focus buckets are optional context with a customizable widget-based dashboard
02 CORE EXPERIENCE
Adding Today's Goal
Set a total work goal for the day and allocate to focus buckets
Preset time chips for fast setup
Different visual modes for progress check
03 CORE EXPERIENCE
Adding Focus Buckets
Reduce activation energy to begin working
Primary CTA visually prioritizes starting
No setup required
Goals and Focus buckets are optional context with a customizable widget-based dashboard
04 CORE EXPERIENCE
Focus Mode
Timer
Timer or stopwatch mode
Randomizer reduces decision fatigue
Bursts Jar
Primary CTA visually prioritizes startingn
05 CORE EXPERIENCE
Stats and Profile Page
Timer
PRODUCT DECISIONS for MVP
While building out the app, I came across multiple product tradeoffs for shipping the MVP.
First, notable moment was the Bottom Nav Bar.
Nesting Bursts Jar within Focus Mode
Moving Focus Mode out of bottom nav and into Home
Early Iteration
I wanted the main actions of this app to be reflected in the bottom nav bar. Going to Home, Timer, and Bursts. Profile and Stats were secondary.
I also wanted a way to initiate "Start Working" from the Home Page.
Current
When Focus Mode lived in the bottom nav, starting work felt like going somewhere—which made it easy to roam the app instead of begin. Nesting Focus Mode within Home reframed focus as an action, not a place.
Similarly, separating Bursts into its own page made it feel like a reward or distraction. Keeping it within Focus Mode maintained a tight loop between working and brief, contained engagement.
Removing required setup before starting
Onboarding Flow Ommitted
Any setup before starting reintroduced the same cognitive load the product was meant to reduce. Even lightweight onboarding delayed momentum at the most fragile moment: deciding to begin.
Account creation and long-term session history were deferred to preserve immediacy so that users can start working in seconds, without committing to the product before experiencing its value.
Stats are candid observations not Streaks. Never have punishing language.
Reframing rewards into “bursts” instead of gamification
Progress is framed as candid observation rather than achievement.
Bursts were designed as ephemeral interactions instead of explicit rewards, and streaks or punitive language were intentionally excluded.
TAKEAWAYS
From Figma prototypes to Cursor prompts
With the ability to create anything, I found that having a clear set of non-negotiables and product vision was crucial. Within this 2 week sprint, I was able to direct a visual style and core function to an app. As a designer, this challenge helped me think through more of the backend logic such as storing work sessions and how designs revolve around those interactions.
seeing design changes in real time was super fun!
Moving forward to V2
I plan to flesh out more of the personalization aspect with the widget dashboard and different progress tracker visual modes. I also have a form within the profile page for any feedback or reporting of bugs. There's no one answer to the "perfect" productivity tool. I just found myself reaching for the Timer within Apple's default clock app and wished I could add organization to it.
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Let's get in touch!
I love yapping about personal projects and learning about people's side quests :)
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