Doing and feeling: relationships between moods, productivity and task-switching

Abstract

Digital technology influences behaviours, moods and wellbeing. The relationships are complex, but users are increasingly interested in finding how to balance a digital life with psychological wellbeing. We present an approach for investigating the relationship between lifestyle aspects and digital technology usage patterns that combines MindGauge, a mobile app enabling users collect and analyse their moods and behaviours, with a productivity tool (RescueTime). We then report a 16-month study in which we collected computer and smartphone usage and self-reports from 72 participants. We present methods for analysing the relationship between productivity, task-switching, mood and lifestyle, and more specifically how digital technology usage associates with productivity and task-switching. Our study also investigates how lifestyle aspects (sleep quality, physical activity, workload, social interaction and alcoholic drink consumption) relate to mood, task-switching and productivity. Results show that more frequent task-switching is associated with negative moods. A few lifestyle aspects, such as sleep quality and physical activity, had a significant relationship with positive moods. We also contribute a mood detection model that utilise both digital footprints and lifestyle contexts, yielding an accuracy of 87%. The study provides evidence that such methods can be used to understand the impact of technology on wellbeing.