Innovative design—Describe your new design, app, service, product, etc.

This new functionality included by default with any smartphone operating system will help users stay motivated to fulfill their goals, keeping them accountable. It will push non-removable (cannot be swiped away) notifications to the top of the smartphone screen and lock screen notifications list. If a daily goal is not yet reached, the phone would have a fixed reminder to the top of the screen, despite what app is open. They will be cleared once the daily goal has been reached. 

Settings within the system give the user the option to let the phone have more ability to restrict their phone user, until the goal is reached. For example, social media apps can only be open for 5 minutes at a time, with a 15-minute cooldown – until the daily goal is completed.

The point is to essentially hold the user to their goals, making it much harder to give them up.

Upgraded criteria—state your criteria and why you picked it. Why is it important to you & your community?

This works off of the Decisionmaking criteria, defined as “How we align our actions with our intentions.” I interpreted this problem as people have a hard time executing their wants. Many people want to get in shape, only to give the gym up after a week or two. This is also true for practicing new skills or hobbies, reading, or any other goal one may have.

This is important to our community because I believe it is a large reason many people struggle with depression and feelings of failure. When it’s so easy to give up, it is hard to stay motivated. And after enough times giving up, one can get down on themselves, greatly impacting their mental health in a negative way. Keeping people to their goals will not only help them with whatever skill, hobby, craft, or whatever else – but also improve their general happiness.

Supportive context—describe context or world/community that will support this

A man living in a town in New Hampshire has recently been thinking about getting in shape and reading more. He feels stuck in life, lacking motivation in his career, and struggling with feelings of being a failure. He believes that improving his physical health and expanding his intellect may help him regain a grasp on his life. He signs up for a gym membership and buys a few books. However, his job takes up the majority of his time, and begins to find excuses to avoid the gym and his reading. Within three weeks, he gave up both goals.

If he had something holding him accountable, pushing him to stay true to himself, he may have stuck to the gym and book for a much longer time. After a while, he would likely start to feel a bit better as he sees his physical shape improve and continues to learn through reading. 

Weigh Costs—Evaluate expected costs—materials. labor, etc–this is not a number or monetary figure, but rather a description of the expected costs to the environment, people etc.

As I intend this to be an operating system-included functionality – not an app downloaded off the app store – it would come down to the companies who own them. Currently, that is of course Apple and the developers of Android. These companies are already in place, with thousands of employees. They would likely hire more developers to work on, maintain and improve this new system.

Materials should not be an issue, as it is software on an already existing phone. And, while smartphones themselves have a questionable impact on the environment, this system is just a new section of the settings app. It shouldn’t have any impact on the environment.

The only cost this goal-keeping system has is that it may need Apple and Android to hire a few more developers.