About This Condition

Low energy, reduced motivation, and difficulty concentrating are not barriers to intent, they are barriers to completion. Long workflows, repetitive inputs, and high error costs create conditions where tasks are started but not finished. Streamlined flows, autosave, and plain encouraging language reduce the effort required to succeed.

Digital Challenges

Multi-page workflows, re-entry of previously submitted information, and interfaces with no visible sense of progress all increase the effort required to push through. For people with depression, the gap between intending to complete a task and actually finishing it is where design can help most.

Assistive Technologies

• Screen readers
• text-to-speech
• autofill and password managers

Design Considerations

Reduce steps to the minimum needed. Use progress indicators to show visible momentum through a task. Use encouraging, non-shaming language in error messages and avoid patterns that require significant effort to recover from mistakes.

Clinical Examples

Major depressive disorder (MDD), persistent depressive disorder (dysthymia), postpartum depression