Headway
Timeline
Feb - April 2025
10 weeks
Role
UX Researcher
UI/UX Designer
Art Direction
Tool
Figma
Photoshop
Google form
Miro
Headway is an intelligent productivity tool designed to support adults with ADHD in overcoming workplace challenges. It helps users better plan, execute, and complete their tasks, while gaining awareness of their behaviors and building healthier work habits.
Problem
Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common condition that often begins in childhood and is assumed to fade with age. However, the challenges of adult ADHD can become even more pronounced. Especially in workplace, ADHD symptoms such as trouble starting tasks, difficulty focusing, disorganization, and poor time perception can lead to ongoing frustration and challenges.
But adults with ADHD are more than potential when supported by a tool that truly understands how they think, work, and thrive.
Discover
Desk Research
ADHD affects a large number of adults, yet only a small portion receive proper diagnosis and treatment, while most remain undiagnosed and unsupported, experiencing significant challenges in the workplace.
≈ 6.0%
of U.S. adults, equating to 15.5 million individuals, have a current ADHD diagnosis in 2023.
Only 15%
of adults with ADHD are both diagnosed and treated with medication.
87%
of employees with ADHD report that their condition negatively impacts their careers.
User Surveys
To understand the work patterns, challenges, underlying causes, and needs of adults with ADHD, I conducted extensive online surveys and recruited several users for in-depth interviews and discussions.
Behavior
Goal
Pain Point 1
Short Focus & Easily Distracted
Pain Point 2
Poor Time Management and Perception
Pain Point 3
Initiation & Entering a Focus State Challenge
Pain Point 4
Lack of Energy and Motivation
Boost motivation and maintain consistent energy to complete tasks.
“I struggle to accurately estimate, and manage time, often underestimating task duration, with procrastination and low productivity causing further derailment.”
“My Dopamine-driven brains making uninteresting or overwhelming tasks lack the mental rewards needed for sustained focus, leading to procrastination and shutdown.”
“I often lack the energy to start uninteresting tasks, overestimate the difficulty of unstructured work, and take longer to transition into deep focus.”
“I experience fluctuating focus, frequent distractions, and task switching, leading to time extension and reduced work quality.”
Maintain sustained attention and minimize distractions to complete tasks more efficiently.
Accurately estimate time requirements, plan effectively, and stay on schedule
Start tasks more easily and transition smoothly into a focused working state.
How might we create a productivity experience that help ADHD workers stay focused, organized, and productive with greater ease in daily work?
Solution
Headway
Headway is a comprehensive intelligent work companion that helps adults with ADHD plan effectively, stay focused during execution, track progress, and stay on schedule to task completion, enhancing productivity and foster sustainable work habits.
Plan & Track
Focus
AI Companied
Reflect
Feature #1
Smart Task Management & Tracking
After users simply enter a task, it will be auto-refined by AI. It also helps break tasks down into manageable steps for steady progress.
Home
Users start their work with Home, where they can see everyday’s tasks, monitor productivity and focus in real time, and use ADHD-friendly tools like a notepad and time map.
Calender
Users get tasks auto-scheduled based on subtasks and deadlines, saving the effort of manual prioritization.
⅔
Long tasks are automatically divided into multiple sections.
Users can choose to manually schedule their tasks.
Workspace
Easily track progress at a glance
Learn estimated task duration based on past work efficiency
Maintain engaged motivated by the adaptive reminder
Start task-specific focus session directly from task panel
User Journey
Back to the Process
Define
Notion
Clickup
TickTick
Todoist
Monday.com
Asana
Screens captured while testing competitor tools
Martet Research
While today's productivity tools offer robust solutions for structured workflows and self-driven users, they often fail to address the challenges faced by adults with ADHD. This gap highlights the opportunity to create tools specifically tailored to their unique cognitive patterns and work styles.
Develop
Information Architecture
The information architecture organizes the platform into intuitive, user-centered flows, supporting ADHD users in managing tasks, maintaining focus, and staying productive with clarity and ease.
User Testing
User testing was conducted with four ADHD users to evaluate the platform’s usability, providing key insights for refinement.
Goal
Evaluate the effectiveness of core features and workflow of MVP for ADHD users, while identifying key improvements and design refinements.
100%
Participants like the goal-oriented task execution connection from task panel to focus mode and the video mode for work supervision
75%
Participants valued the automatic task scheduling feature for reducing the effort of manual planning.
Observations
Key Learning
Emotion Regulation
ADHD users are prone to emotional challenges, so it is crucial to design with emotional support in mind.
Rewards and motivation
the current service lacks timely rewards and encouragement.
Understand Productivity
Help users understand their work habits and rhythm.
Refinement
#1 Task window refinement
In the focus session, the inaccurate progress bar was removed and tasks were refined collapsible and removable.
Before
After
Social Media Strategy Development
Progress
58%
Estimated 3h left
Start
25:00
Next: 5min break
Pomo
Stopwatch
Video
Subtask 3: Develop content calendar
Pomodoro
AI
Social Media Strategy Development
Subtask 3: Develop content calendar
45:20
Need help?
Ask me
#2 AI toolkit expansion
Added mental support and task guide features to the AI assistant page based on users' reported emotional challenges and task difficulties.
Before
After
Features
Task Creation
Easily add new tasks and break them down
Workflow Suggestions
Task prioritization and daily plan for efficiency
Progress Analysis
Update your task status and remind schedule
Summarize Location
Instant overview of your workspace
#2 Improved analytical insights
Updated the analytics page to include summarized insights and trend graphs for more intuitive knowledge of work patterns.
Before
After
Overview
6
Today’s Completion
74%
Total Rate
90%
Today’s Rate
82
Total Completion
You took an average of 3 hours longer than estimated to complete tasks, that’s okay! Try giving yourself a bit more buffer time to stay on track.
+3h
Estimated
Today’s Goal
5h
Today’s Focus
186h
Total Focus
12
Today’s Pomo
831
Total Pomo
Design System
The design system follows a clean and minimal aesthetic, aiming to create intuitive, ADHD-friendly design and a modern intelligent brand tone.
Blue boosts concentration and dopamine
You were distracted 4 times within the first 10 minutes today— this may indicate difficulty settling into tasks or high sensitivity to notifications.
Ask Headway intelligence for advice on this
Ask me
Mission Statement
Empower adults with ADHD to take control of their work and thrive.
Reflection
Designing for Neurodiversity Requires Both Empathy and Systemic Thinking
Designing for ADHD means understanding emotional and cognitive struggles, while building structured systems that respond to them with clarity, flexibility, and care.
Applying Visual and Interaction Design to Support Cognitive Accessibility
Every visual choice, from color to layout, was made to enhance clarity, reduce distraction, and support dopamine-driven motivation which is critical for ADHD users.
Addressing Real Human Challenges Through Purpose-Driven Design
Purpose-driven design means responding to the emotional and behavioral realities behind productivity. This project reaffirmed that real impact begins with real human needs.
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