Attune — Recovery-first focus app

A recovery-driven mobile concept that helps knowledge workers maintain mental clarity through personalised work–break rhythms.

Overview

Attune is a mobile application concept designed to support sustainable focus through personalised work–break rhythms.

A recovery-first focus tool that replaces productivity pressure with calm behavioural guidance.

Instead of optimising productivity, the concept explores how interaction design can support mental clarity and recovery without pressure, gamification, or disruptive notifications.

The project originated from a simple observation: during deep focus, people often notice fatigue only after it has already built up. The goal was to design a calm experience that treats recovery as part of sustained performance rather than an interruption.

Problem & Opportunity

Many knowledge workers work for hours without noticing fatigue, leading to reduced cognitive performance and wellbeing.

Most existing focus tools prioritise efficiency through timers, alarms, or performance tracking. These approaches can introduce urgency, interrupt flow, and create pressure around “ideal” behaviour. As a result, recovery and long-term cognitive wellbeing receive little support.

Key insight

Most focus tools optimise productivity, few support recovery.

This shifted the design direction from performance optimisation toward recovery-driven focus.

Users

Primary users: Independent knowledge workers who enter deep focus states and tend to ignore physical signals (hunger, fatigue, eye strain).

Context

• Cognitively demanding tasks requiring sustained attention

• Independent work environments with minimal external interruptions

• High sensitivity to notifications and interruptions

Needs

• Maintain mental clarity during long work sessions

• Avoid productivity pressure and performance tracking

• Receive gentle awareness of recovery needs

• Stay in control of their workflow

Success
Sustained focus with preserved energy and mental clarity throughout the day.

Design Strategy

Guiding principles

1. Cognitive sustainability - Breaks support mental clarity

2. Gentle guidance - Subtle cues instead of alarms

3. User agency - The system suggests, never enforces

Design process

I explored the space through rapid competitive review of existing focus and productivity tools and quick interaction experiments in Figma using low-fidelity wireframes. Early exploration focused on different timing and notification models, including numerical timers and alert-based reminders.

These approaches increased perceived time pressure and disrupted flow, which led to a shift toward non-numerical feedback and gentle transitions.

The final concept was developed through eight wireframe flows and nine high-fidelity UI layouts covering onboarding, focus sessions, and break transitions. Initial concepts were also discussed informally with peers to refine interaction ideas and usability.

Key Design Decisions

• No productivity metrics → Avoids pressure and evaluation

• Visual timer without numbers → Reduces urgency and supports flow

• Circular interface → Communicates rhythm rather than countdown

• Gradual sound transitions → Gentle awareness of breaks

• Low-stimulus dark UI → Supports calm interaction

Rapid prototyping with wireframes in Figma.

Experience Flow

Interaction Model

The system adapts to behaviour rather than enforcing rules:

• sessions can be extended

• breaks can be skipped

• interruptions handled without judgement

• minimal lock-screen awareness

Design Trade-offs

• Prioritised calm interaction over precise time control

• Removed numerical feedback to reduce performance pressure and urgency

• Reduced functionality to maintain low cognitive load and minimal interface

• Accepted lower behavioural control in favour of user autonomy

Rhythm setup

• Rhythm library with presets

• Custom rhythm creation