Since this week’s Exploration is all about personal projects, I thought it would be the perfect week to write about one of the projects I’m planning to do once this term is over and I have more free time. This project is, in essence, a to-do list, but eventually I want it to have many more features than just that.
A few years ago, a roommate mentioned that he had so many things to do but he couldn’t decide which one to do first. He said it would be nice if there was an app that would just assign him a task from his to-do list so that the decision was out of his hands. That really resonated with me and now I know why: we both have ADHD and we struggle with executive dysfunction. If you’re unfamiliar with that phrase, it basically means that we find it difficult to get started on something because we don’t know how to start or even what to start with.
The more I learn about ADHD and my own experience, the more I think an app that assigns me a task from a list of things that I want or need to do would be extremely helpful. All of the things on my list are important, but I can never decide which one is the most important (or at least the most urgent). This becomes even more of an issue when my to-do list is full of unpleasant things, like making a phone call or doing laundry.
Below, I’ve written a rough roadmap of the steps I will take to make this app and then improve it and add the functionality I want:
- Make a basic to-do list app (easy to do with online tutorials).
- Make the app randomly choose a task for you to do.
- Allow the user to assign an estimated time to each task, then allow the user to input the time they have available. The app then chooses a task that fits in that timeframe.
- Allow the user to assign deadlines. The choice algorithm will prioritize these tasks when choosing a task.
- Allow the user to rank tasks in terms of importance. The choice algorithm will prioritize these tasks when choosing a task.
After I get all of this working, I have a lot more ideas that will make this app more fun and motivating. For instance, gamifying tasks is a well-known and very effective way to keep someone interested and motivated. I think adding various rewards (chosen by the user) that are achieved by completing certain tasks or reaching milestones would be a great way to encourage users to complete their tasks.
Photo by Jeremy Yap on Unsplash
Another aspect of ADHD is the tendency to hyperfocus on tasks that you find interesting or exciting. I only mention this to explain why I am waiting until this class is over before starting to work on this project… I foresee this project taking up every little bit of spare time I have for a while, so it’s best that I wait until I don’t have any more assignments to potentially neglect 🙂
