Big tasks feel impossible
Breaking complicated tasks into simple, attainable goals is hard, which leads to procrastination and feeling overwhelmed.
Back to Work
Daily goals, daily wins.
A mobile app that helps people with ADHD focus and get things done, through attainable daily goals and smart reminders.
- My role
- User research, wireframes, usability testing, branding and visual design
- Team
- 3 designers and 3 developers
- Timeline
- May 2024
UI refined in 2026 - Program
- Web and Mobile App Design and Development, Langara College
01 — The problem
When everything feels urgent, nothing gets started.
Surveys and interviews showed what people with ADHD struggle with day to day. It affects their studies and work, and their stress and wellbeing too.
Distractions win
It’s hard to hold attention on a task, so work is left incomplete or forgotten, and productivity drops.
Restless energy
Hyperactivity and restlessness disturb work and study environments, and pull focus away from tasks.
The loop
Together, these challenges create a loop of frustration and feelings of defeat. The answer had to help people manage tasks, focus, and regulate their energy through the day.
02 — Why it matters
1 in 21people in Canada has ADHD, about 1.8 million
A growing need for tools that help people focus.
- 4–6%of adults in Canada are affected by ADHD
- 5–7%of children are affected
- ~25%growth in people medicated for ADHD between 2021 and 2022, as diagnoses rose after the pandemic
From the team’s market research.
03 — My role
Every stage, with a focus on UX.
I worked across the whole design process, alongside two other designers and three developers.
User research
Interviews and surveys to understand the needs of ADHD users.
Wireframes and mockups
Low-fidelity wireframes, refined with the team, then hi-fi mockups.
Usability testing
Ran and analysed tests, and iterated on what we learned.
Branding and visual design
A calming, intuitive visual identity for users with ADHD.
Working with developers
Aligned on goals to deliver a user-centred product.
04 — The idea
Three tools in one calm app.
A task manager built around how ADHD actually feels: break it down, focus on one step, and move when the body needs to.
Smart task divider
Large tasks become smaller, manageable steps, with AI suggesting the subtasks.
Wash the dishes
Rinse the dishes5 min
Scrub with soap5 min
Focus mode with timer
A timer per subtask, plus calming music, white noise or nature sounds to set the mood for work.
Step 1 of 35 min
04:12
PauseStartNext
Calming sounds
Movement tracking
Monitors physical activity and reminds users when restlessness starts to take over.
Time for a stretch?
You’ve been moving back and forth in one spot for a while. Take a short walk?
Movement reminder
05 — UX research
Testing with the people it’s for.
We ran follow-up interviews with the same person we had researched for our persona, invited them to test the Figma prototypes, and gathered feedback over video calls. Watching them use the app showed us where it got in the way.
The key challenge was simplifying the interface without overwhelming anyone. ADHD users can be easily distracted, so every feature had to earn its place, while still keeping task breakdown and movement tracking.
The landscape
Others do parts. Getchup combines them, and adds movement.
Many apps offer task planners, AI task managers or focus timers. Getchup brings them into one place, with movement tracking on top, to support productivity, focus and wellbeing together.
| Getchup | Finch | Me+ | neurolist | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task planner | ||||
| Smart task divider | ||||
| Focus mode with timer | ||||
| Movement tracking |
06 — Personas
Two students, two ways of losing focus.
Typical user
Kelcie
36 · Fine Art student at Langara College · Vancouver, BC
Kelcie lives with ADHD, so organising her daily tasks can be hard. She uses calendars, alarms and notes, and breaks work into short-term goals to avoid procrastinating. She prefers structure but finds repetitive tasks boring. Music without lyrics helps her concentrate, and biking, walking and swimming help her release energy.
Frustrations
- Estimating how long tasks take, and often spending longer than planned
- Concentrating in noisy environments
Goals
- Timers and reminders to stay on track
- Music or environmental sounds to keep her focus
Power user
Kevin
25 · Supply Chain Management student at Langara College · Burnaby, BC
Kevin loses focus and gets bored easily. He doesn’t like doing what feels uninteresting and ends up procrastinating until the deadline, without a real strategy to fix it. He can stay focused while playing chess or watching movies.
Frustrations
- Can’t focus for long: after about 30 minutes he starts walking around
- Forgets tasks that don’t interest him
- Gets distracted by other people
Goals
- Avoid procrastinating and stay on task
- Sort tasks by importance, with a reward or consequence for finishing
07 — User flow
Five journeys through the app.
From the first survey to a finished task, and the quiet systems that keep energy balanced in between.
08 — Wireframes
Structure before colour.
Low-fidelity screens for the core journeys, recreated here from the team’s 2024 wireframes.
09 — Usability testing and iteration
Less on screen, more done.
Testing with our target audience led to three changes that made the app calmer and easier to act on.
- 01
Tasks first on the home screen
The task list is front and centre, so people can act the moment they open the app.
- 02
Today’s list only
No infinite scrolling through every task. Showing only today keeps attention on immediate priorities.
- 03
Static, not dynamic
Static elements instead of moving ones remove distractions and keep the experience smooth.
Accessibility guided every decision: a simple, distraction-free layout, clear navigation, calming colours and large touch targets, plus settings people can adjust to suit themselves.
10 — Brand identity
A tomato, a timer, and a nudge.
Logo
The name
Getchup is inspired by the Pomodoro Technique: work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break. Pomodoro is Italian for tomato. The app uses AI to break that technique into smaller, more manageable pieces for ADHD users, the way tomatoes are processed into ketchup.
Getchup = get you up, and get your tasks done.
Typography
Aa
Aa
Colour
Mint#AFCFCC
Green#006655
Pink#F1938E
Red#E3281C
The tomato is red, but red is too intense for an app about staying focused. So green leads and red is only an accent, over a cool-tone gradient designed to calm.
Illustrations
ButtonsNext taskBack to homeCompare
StartDone
Controls
DayWeeklyMonthly
Email
nam@email.com
Cards
11:00 AM
4997 Assignment
2/8 subtasks
Reminder!23 min
Please attend the meeting at 2:30 pm.
Logo, illustrations and components redrawn in 2026 from the team’s originals.
11 — Final design
The finished app.
Refined in 2026.I rebuilt the team’s 2024 hi-fi screens with tighter spacing, consistent components and clearer hierarchy. Same features, flows and content.
The home screen shows only today’s tasks, with a simple week strip. New tasks can be broken into subtasks by AI, or picked from a library of common tasks.
One step at a time: a timer, calming sounds and movement reminders, and a small celebration when the task is done.
Progress over a day, week or month, with the most and least productive times, a calendar of finished days, and gentle reminders.
Sign in, a short survey that tailors the app to the person, and a profile where reminders can be switched on or off.
12 — What’s next
Where Getchup could go.
Productivity scheduler
Planning important tasks around each person’s most productive time of day, building on the trends the app already tracks.
Advanced movement tracking
Going further than today’s restlessness alerts, building on Apple Watch and GPS tracking.
13 — Lessons
Designing for neurodiverse needs.
Understand the user
In-depth research into ADHD let us design features that directly addressed real pain points. Empathy came first.
Iterate with feedback
User feedback shaped every stage, from low-fidelity wireframes to high-fidelity prototypes.
Balance features with simplicity
The hardest part was keeping the app clean and distraction-free while still being useful. Testing taught us what to prioritise.
Collaborate early
Clear communication with the team kept the design both technically feasible and user-centred.
Getchup became a tool that helps with more than finishing tasks: it helps people keep their balance and focus through the day.
FigmaAdobe IllustratorPhotoshopAfter EffectsSlack
