GmailGarden improving mood without changing behavior Team RoKaLu

email as an emotional experience never feel "done" overwhelming constant steam problems draining soul-sucking fires to put out dread

our goal The stressor we're addressing is the constant feeling of overwhelm for people who receive too much email. The calmer is textual affirmation and a visual summary of email actions, which they will experience when they send, reply to, or archive an email.

our prototype Implemented as a banner inside GmailValet When users complete an action an affirmative message pops up... ...and one of the flowers grows.

When a flower grows high enough it "pops" and lands in the field. Flowers in the field represent the day's accomplishments. our prototype

trial design STEP 1: Initial survey: user mood & emotional associations to email STEP 2: Email session: send, respond, and archive trigger GmailGarden STEP 3: Post-email survey 15 respondents | Avg email actions: 4.7 | Range of email sessions: 3min-60+min

testing interface

trial results: 82% FELT BETTER about better about processing email 82% found it FUN 35% said it would help them be more PRODUCTIVE 65% want GmailGarden in their gmail experience

insights: Not all emails are created equal, so neither should the associated rewards Even a simple form of encouragement is effective in lifting mood The idea of growing or nurturing something over time as a result of their actions resonated strongly with users Affirmation is more effective if it is personalized and appropriate to the context.

A playful and aesthetically interesting dynamic display can affect people's emotional experience. It doesn't explicitly manipulate people's behavior, but simply reminds them of their accomplishments.

next steps: What if your email could be intelligent enough to know when you are stressed and "pick you up" accordingly? What if the affirmation was a speedbump? What if you could preserve the garden and people could access, refer back to, and send the garden to others as encouragement?

Thanks! Team RoKaLu: Roxana Gharegozlou ([email protected]) Kamakshi Duvurru ([email protected]) Luke Dahl ([email protected])

Appendix

Prototype 1 : Email Gamified + Made me feel better, lighthearted, fun (people who like goofy games) unexpected nature of messages was humorous and funny animations and messages were amusing sounds created a sense of accomplishment - gets in the way of sleekness (people who prefer more "serious" interactions.) could get repetitive, intrusive, annoying did not help productivity for some Contested serious interactions vs. gamification divided over the game as a personal vs. social experience