TakeFive
Building a microbreak tracking & reminder app
Responsibilities
Product Design, Prompt-Driven Development
Timeline
2 Months
Platform
iOS
Why TakeFive?
There’s no shortage of productivity apps. Tools like Forest, Session, and Focus Keeper are built to help people work longer and avoid distractions.
But many people struggle with the opposite problem — they don’t take breaks.
Even when users know breaks improve focus and reduce strain, they often ignore reminders and push through fatigue. Most productivity apps aren’t designed for this behaviour.
Purpose & problem space
I wanted to challenge myself to improve my product design skills, so I decided to build a mobile app prototype using Figma Make.
I brainstormed ideas for apps and searched for existing user problems. I settled on designing a microbreak tracking and reminder app. Microbreaks are 1-5 minute pauses that are scientifically proven to reduce tiredness, protect against repetitive strain injuries, and increase energy.
Make taking and logging microbreaks feel effortless and natural for users?
Gently remind people to take microbreaks, without interrupting deep work?
Help people create a habit of taking regular microbreaks?
My roles
I led the project on my own, managing product design, research, prototyping, branding, illustration, and MVP development using Figma’s vibe coding tool, Make.
Challenge #1
Communicating the idea
TakeFive’s onboarding helps users get started by gathering essential setup details and explaining the app’s benefits. I focused on making TakeFive’s purpose immediately clear to users and ensuring that entering key information felt easy and intuitive.
Challenge #2
Alerting, not diverting
Author of Deep Work, Calvin Newport suggests that distraction or diversion from tasks can decrease productivity by 50%. In order to avoid drops in productivity, TakeFive allows users to block hours with no interruptions.
Do Not Disturb
Block out deep work and meetings.
Users will receive in-app microbreak reminders inside a bottom sheet modal.
TakeFive notifications are always gentle, and phrased as suggestions rather than instructions.
Challenge #3
Making it stick
To help form the habit of microbreaking, TakeFive allows users to track their microbreak activities and frequency. I introduced variable rewards that tie the intended behaviour to tangible in-app achievements, reinforcing the habit and increasing its stickiness.
Microbreak analytics for users to dig into.
Style guide
I created a style guide with foundational design system elements to reduce decision fatigue and ensure visual consistency as I added new features and screens.
Try it for yourself
Below is iteration 3 of the TakeFive prototype. You can receive reminders, log microbreaks, collect achievements, and start streaks! The only thing you can't do is receive push notifications.
User testing
Due to TakeFive being a personal project, I was limited to two user testing sessions. While a larger sample would have given more confidence, even this small round of testing surfaced a valuable insight for future development.
One participant explicitly said they'd have expected a timer to appear once they started a microbreak. This was a useful signal — a count-up timer would give users a natural sense of how long they've been away from their screen, helping them decide when they've rested enough. A count-down timer would require users to pre-set a duration, making microbreaks more rigid and structured — something the research argues against.
Future roadmap
If I had more resource I would look at four projects to improve TakeFive.
Count-up timer
A count-up timer keeps the user informed and respects the user's own sense of when they're ready to return.
Add your calendar
Adding a calendar would remove the need for users to set Do Not Disturb hours, eliminating a repetitive task.
Intentional animation
For example, Joulez could dynamically get more drained the longer time goes on without a microbreak — encouraging users to break more.
Database integration
Learnings
Round pegs for round holes
Smarter prompting
