Tomo

Tomo helps redirect time toward meaningful, real world activities and goals with autonomy.

It supports users in making mindful decisions during high-risk moments such boredom, breaks or before bed, when users are most likely to doom scroll on their devices and encourages them to reconnect with offline activities that make them feel present, capable, and fulfilled.

Helping people reconnect with true joy

This self-initiated project was created to explore a product concept focused on intentional behavior change by reduction in device screen time. It served as an opportunity to practice product strategy, UX design, and end-to-end product thinking outside of a client or company setting

ROLE

End to end product designer

YEAR

2025-26

The Problem

After the COVID-19 pandemic, being constantly online became the default - something my friends and I as young adults experienced firsthand.

We often found ourselves scrolling longer than we intended to, not because we wanted to, but because we didn’t know what else to do in that moment.

Over time, many of the hobbies and offline routines we once enjoyed faded away.

Most existing solutions focus on blocking apps or enforcing limits. In practice, these felt restrictive and easy to bypass, often leaving us feeling guilty rather than supported.

This led me to reframe the problem - not as how to stop scrolling, but what scrolling could be replaced with?

After the COVID-19 pandemic, being constantly online became the default - something my friends and I as young adults experienced firsthand.

We often found ourselves scrolling longer than we intended to, not because we wanted to, but because we didn’t know what else to do in that moment.

Over time, many of the hobbies and offline routines we once enjoyed faded away.

Most existing solutions focus on blocking apps or enforcing limits. In practice, these felt restrictive and easy to bypass, often leaving us feeling guilty rather than supported.

This led me to reframe the problem - not as how to stop scrolling, but what scrolling could be replaced with instead?

The Solution

I brainstormed features that aligned with Tomo’s direction and organized them using affinity mapping

Blending opportunities and empathy

Solve 1–2 problems deeply

I wanted the product to offer a clear long term value to the user

Reduce friction

Reduce user frustration through simple and quick steps

Avoid guilt and overwhelm

Use emotional design to encourage better choices

Encourage autonomy

Let user have control in decision making

Visual appeal

To curate interest and engagement

Conceptualizing

Asking my HMW questions now

How might we redirect users toward meaningful offline activities?
How might we create self-reliant accountability to sustain long term habits through encouragement rather than restriction?

I brainstormed features aligned with Tomo’s direction and organized them using affinity mapping

These high-impact, low-effort features informed the initial MVP direction and were chosen with long-term scalability in mind.

Landing my tradeoffs

Tomo does

Understand user behaviour to suggest relevant activities.
Gently encourage mindful screen use.
Promote repetition to support habit formation.
Encourage self-accountability over external pressure.

Tomo does not

Function as a meditation or anxiety-relief app.
Rely on hard social media blocking that can be easily bypassed.
Overwhelm users or induce guilt.
Make users dependent on community accountability.

Low impact

accountability buddy?

can make it limited to 3 friends to avoid overwhelm

daily encouragement

from the app - like a quote or something

streaks/rewards

for consistency

tracking goals

screen limit mindfulness but no blocking

- gentle suggestion that they are done for today and can come back tomorrow ?

Low effort

user patterns

understand when user is busy/free/energy levels based on their input so custom activities can be suggested

personalized activity suggestions + shuffling

activities to break monotony

stats encouraging good sleep

- for better cognitive function, encouraging brain to rest

adding

mindfulness

minutes during the day

anxiety/stress detection

and regulation tips?

syncing goals or tasks to calendar

linking user’s primary calendar to the app to get notifications

High impact

High effort

Tomo supports users in making mindful decisions during high-risk moments such boredom, breaks or before bed, when users are most likely to doom scroll on their devices and encourages them to reconnect with offline activities that make them feel present, capable, and fulfilled.

Mapping my user’s journey

I identified early-stage friction points to guide more intentional design decisions.

key screen, friction prone

Profile

friction prone

Surveyed - 25 users
Interviewed - 4
Target audience - early 20s to early 30s

Surveyed - 25 users
Interviewed - 4
Target audience - early 20s to early 30s

Findings

A key insight

This solidified my purpose of bringing a solution that would shift the problem from “lack of self-control” to “lack of support to choose better options in the moment”

Energy Misuse

Many users default to passive scrolling during peak productive moments, trading meaningful action for short-term dopamine at the cost of wellbeing, accomplishment, and energy.

Ideation

Exploring my way through

How did that feel?

Submit

Skip

4.5

At this stage my questions felt too vague. I wanted to solve clear, concrete problems.

Accountability?

Identity?

Behaviour change?

Motivation?

This app blocker called The Brick forces you to touch your phone to a plastic cube to lock and unlock distracting apps.
Priced at $47.

This app blocker called The Brick forces you to touch your phone to a plastic cube to lock and unlock distracting apps.
Priced at $47.

Quick stretch

4.5

Find your balance

The Unpluq Tag offers similar features.
Requires a subscription.
Priced at $80.

The Unpluq Tag offers similar features.
Requires a subscription.
Priced at $80.

My findings -

Drawbacks

User hesitation to opt for expensive tools.

This kind of shock leads to frustration rather than lasting change.

Behavior change is more sustainable when it happens gradually, through small, repeatable actions.

Constraints

Although this was a self-initiated project,
I worked within a four-week timeline for ideation and
limited resources, which shaped my decision to explore a digital, app-based solution rather than physical tools.

Current competitors

One Sec

Limitation

Limited flexibility

Limitation

Redundant, text heavy content

Limitation

Overwhelming dashboard

Limitation

Heavy blocking, lengthy setup

Strength

Easy setup, cozy UI

Strength

Strong concept to reduce doomscrolling

Strength

Comprehensive support for goals

Strength

Personalized blocker suggestions

Focus Traveller

Attentive

Lotus

This solidified my purpose of bringing a solution that would shift the problem from “lack of self-control” to “lack of support to choose better options in the moment”

Ideation

Exploring my way through

I explored multiple “How might we” questions around

Strategic Narrowing

I explored alternatives like physical blocking tools -

Landing my tradeoffs

Tomo does

Understand user behaviour to suggest relevant activities.
Gently encourage mindful screen use.
Promote repetition to support habit formation.
Encourage self-accountability over external pressure.

Tomo does not

Function as a meditation or anxiety-relief app.
Rely on hard social media blocking that can be easily bypassed.
Overwhelm users or induce guilt.
Make users dependent on community accountability.

as humans we thrive on movement, repetition, learning and small wins

balance between goals and leisure activities

removing clutter, only adding what truly helps

progress tracking is essential for habit formation

asking the “why” behind every feature idea

no forced productivity

Testing what works for the user

Testing my designs

Nav Bar

Final Design

Phase 1

Users didn’t find these intuitive.
Mixed opinions on adding supportive text with icons or not

Phase 2

Users liked the gradient circle on top of the selected tab
Suggested the pale yellow fill created a visual friction

Phase 3

I used the glass effect to match user’s familiarity with their native device.
More seamless experience. Users preferred this version

Expected impact

If Tomo’s success were to be measured these are the metrics I would consider -

Reduction in passive screen time
Habit formation consistency
Self-reported wellbeing improvement
Goal completion rate
Return-to-activity rate after nudges

My learnings

Tomo was my first product design case study and a learning curve that was not linear. Through 3 months of designing Tomo from scratch I learned a lot about myself as a designer.

Some included -

Taking all decisions as the sole designer on this project really expanded my mind into thinking from the perspective of all stakeholders and removing bias from my design.
The real problem can be hidden underneath all those insights. Initially I envisioned Tomo to be a low touch app but data and market research helped shape my idea into a much better ideation.
A good design system ensures 70% less hard work therefore my focus moving on will be to create high quality scalable design systems.

Future of Tomo

To make Tomo a more holistic app I would consider exploring advanced gamification and personalization.
Deeper analytics to help users better understand what works for them.
Desktop companion app to support users during work or study sessions, enabling nudges and goal tracking across devices without increasing phone dependency.

Know when to pause

Get notified as you approach your screen limits and choose a more mindful break.

Personalization

Personalize your goals, choose activities, and track your progress.

Friction free onboarding

Tomo enables a quick, effortless setup while clearly communicating the app’s purpose.

Nav Bar

Phase 1

Users didn’t find these intuitive.

Mixed opinions on adding supportive text with icons or not.

Phase 2

Users liked the gradient circle on top of the selected tab

suggested the pale yellow fill created a visual friction.

Phase 3

I used the glass effect to match user’s familiarity with their native device.

More seamless experience with supportive text. Users preferred this version.

Understanding the Problem

Surveyed - 25 users

Interviewed - 4

Target audience - early 20s to early 30s

The Unpluq Tag offers similar features.
Requires a subscription.
Priced at $80.

Conceptualizing

A key insight

Energy Misuse

Many users default to passive scrolling during peak productive moments, trading meaningful action for short-term dopamine at the cost of wellbeing, accomplishment, and energy.

Know when to pause

Get notified as you approach your screen limits and choose a more mindful break.

This app blocker called The Brick forces you to touch your phone to a plastic cube to lock and unlock distracting apps.
Priced at $47.

Tomo

Helping people reconnect with true joy

Expected impact

If Tomo’s success were to be measured these are the metrics I would consider -

Reduction in passive screen time
Habit formation consistency
Self-reported wellbeing improvement
Goal completion rate
Return-to-activity rate after nudges

My learnings

Tomo was my first product design case study and a learning curve that was not linear. Through 3 months of designing Tomo from scratch I learned a lot about myself as a designer.

Some included -

Taking all decisions as the sole designer on this project really expanded my mind into thinking from the perspective of all stakeholders and removing bias from my design.
The real problem can be hidden underneath all those insights. Initially I envisioned Tomo to be a low touch app but data and market research helped shape my idea into a much better ideation.
A good design system ensures 70% less hard work therefore my focus moving on will be to create high quality scalable design systems.

Future of Tomo

To make Tomo a more holistic app I would consider exploring advanced gamification and personalization.
Deeper analytics to help users better understand what works for them.
Desktop companion app to support users during work or study sessions, enabling nudges and goal tracking across devices without increasing phone dependency.

Opaque drop down

Users indifferent to opaque dropdown notifications

suggested glass effect to match native device.

Opaque lock screen

Opaque lock screen notifications preferred for ongoing activities/goals for better accessibility.

Glass effect drop down

Created as per user preference and familiarity.

Social Contradiction

Social Contradiction

Users often fear missing out online, yet feel more grounded and fulfilled when engaging offline.

Public environments = natural regulators

Users often fear missing out online, yet feel more grounded and fulfilled when engaging offline.

Public environments = natural regulators

Loss of Identity

Constant online comparison erodes self-worth, leaving users disconnected from their own goals and timelines.

Self-Control Failure

Self-Control Failure

Users understand healthy screen habits but struggle to sustain them alone, indicating a need for supportive—not punitive—forms of accountability.

Users understand healthy screen habits but struggle to sustain them alone, indicating a need for supportive not punitive forms of accountability.

Loss of Identity

Constant online comparison erodes self-worth, leaving users disconnected from their own goals and timelines.

Cognitive Blind Spot

Cognitive Blind Spot

Users don’t report declines in creativity or problem-solving, but do report reduced attention and listening.

“Mental sharpness” is perceived selectively.

Users don’t report declines in creativity or problem-solving, but do report reduced attention and listening.

“Mental sharpness” is perceived selectively.

Accountability?

Motivation?

Identity?

At this stage my questions felt too vague. I wanted to solve clear, concrete problems.

Drawbacks

User hesitation to opt for expensive tools.

This kind of shock leads to frustration rather than lasting change.

Behavior change is more sustainable when it happens gradually, through small, repeatable actions.

Blending opportunities and empathy

Solve 1–2 problems deeply

I wanted the product to offer a clear long term value to the user.

Reduce friction

Reduce user frustration through simple and quick steps.

Avoid guilt and overwhelm

Use emotional design to encourage better choices.

Encourage autonomy

Let user have control in decision making.

Visual appeal

To curate interest and engagement.

My constraints

Although this was a self-initiated project,

I worked within a four-week timeline for ideation and

limited resources, which shaped my decision to explore a digital, app-based solution rather than physical tools.

Asking my HMW questions now

How might we redirect users toward meaningful offline activities?
How might we create self-reliant accountability to sustain long term habits through encouragement rather than restriction?

Friction free onboarding

Tomo enables a quick, effortless setup while clearly communicating the app’s purpose.

Personalization

Personalize your goals, choose activities, and track your progress.

Reduced search fatigue with access to primary function on home page.

Intentional hierarchy to promote regular use.

Simple navigation to avoid clutter.

Quick feedback and personalization

Gentle nudges when you want to make mindful choices.

Track rest, develop better and sustainable habits.

4 welcome screens to gauge early engagement.

Quick onboarding with 7 screens to avoid overwhelm.

Current competitors

One Sec

Focus Traveller

Attentive

Lotus

Strength

Personalized blocker suggestions

Limitation

Heavy blocking, lengthy setup

Strength

Easy setup, cozy UI

Limitation

Limited flexibility

Strength

Strong concept to reduce doomscrolling

Limitation

Redundant, text heavy content

Strength

Comprehensive support for goals

Limitation

Overwhelming dashboard

friction prone, limit steps to maximum 3

Loss of Identity

Constant online comparison erodes self-worth, leaving users disconnected from their own goals and timelines.

Self-Control Failure

Users understand healthy screen habits but struggle to sustain them alone, indicating a need for supportive not punitive forms of accountability.

Behaviour change?

Thank you!

ROLE

End to End Product Designer

TIMELINE

Aug 2025 - Oct 2025