Commutime

An app that is designed for commuters

UX Design | User Interface | Time Management

01 Background

Smartphone Addiction

of people use their smartphones solely for personal use for five to six hours a day.

of interviewees stated that they overuse their smartphones.

People often complain about needing more time and being unable to accomplish their desired activities. However, many individuals always find time to scroll through their smartphones.

"Our time has become fragmented, but the things we need to do, the tasks we have to complete, are not fragmented. That's why we often feel like we don't have enough time to do those things that require continuous, uninterrupted blocks of time to accomplish."

Loss of Fragmented Time

2021 Annual Subway Ridership

Nearly half of the commuters want to learn or read information about their industry using their devices. 15% select "reading books for learning," and 16% select "think and process work-related matters."

54% of employees believe that long commuting time is a major factor affecting career development, learning, and self-improvement

Fragmented Commute time = A Year of Your Life

Average Time of Workplace Commutes

02 User Research

The college students in NYC expressed the wish to use commute time to learn extra, while the employees in Beijing hoped to take a rest.

Subsequently, they all emphasized the effectiveness of utilizing the fragmented time to make the most of their subway journeys.

Interview

Observation

Make efficient use of the commuting time on the subway. Utilize it for effective studying or relaxation, ensuring the commute is not a burden.
Reduce excessive social media scrolling and subway gaming. Learn integrated information instead of browsing entertaining videos or unhelpful and unmemorable posts on social media.
Minimize distraction from crowd noise to focus on the target goals and activities, but not miss the stop.

Common Goals

User 1

Simon takes the subway to go to work more than driving. He wants to take a rest during his subway commute, but it's impossible to sleep due to the crowd and noise. The commute exacerbates his daily fatigue. He hopes to make the best use of the limited time he has to recharge and handle work better. He also needs to use the subway time to manage work tasks occasionally.

Name: Simon

Age: 39

Occupation: Hotel Marketing Manager

Location: Beijing

Biography

Commuting occupies a significant portion of his time outside of work, leaving little opportunity to accomplish other personal goals of interest.

The repetitive and long daily commute makes him feel fatigued and leads to a lack of motivation. Hard to pay full attention and maximize efficiency in his work.

Pain Points

Biography

Name: Chelsey

Age: 21

Occupation: Undergraduate Student

Location: New York City

User 2

Chelsey is a college student who takes the subway to school but finds it hard to make the most of her limited time during her rides. She often immerses in social media and entertainment on her smartphone. Chelsey has many unaccomplished goals and interests that need a block of time, such as readings and GRE vocabulary.

Daily subway commutes filled with social media and games offer instant gratification, making the habit hard to break and leading to regular feelings of anxiety and emptiness.

It's hard to fully immerse in reading or listening to music because some arrival reminders are unclear through broadcast. Constantly needing to divert attention to check the location of the station and causes distractions.

Completing homework always takes precedence over engaging in extracurricular activities and pursuing additional learning opportunities, so she lacks dedicated blocks of time to explore other subjects or prepare GRE.

03 Project

An application intended to manage fragmented time during subway commutes. It allows users to effectively utilize and make the most of their travel commutes. The app assists the users in splitting significant objectives into manageable sub-goals, optimizing productivity, encouraging personal growth, and integrating scattered time on the subway to make it meaningful.

Concept: Manage Your Fragmented Time on Subway

The application aims to help users organize their fragmented time during subway commutes by generating customized plans according to their goals and commute routes. Users would enter their goals, including reading extracurricular books, studying for exams, learning a new language, or even meditation and relaxation.

The objective is not to induce learning anxiety but to encourage the efficient and rational use of fragmented time during subway commutes. The key is to make the commute meaningful, whether for learning or relaxation.