New App Helps Fit Physical Activities into Students' Busy Schedules

For some students, an 8 a.m. class will take away the morning jog they enjoyed every day last semester. For others, a lab meeting time changed, and tennis doubles in the afternoon won’t be an option anymore.

Students returning to campus for a new semester often struggle to find time for physical activities because of their new routines and schedules. However, a new app developed at Georgia Tech helps busy students prioritize physical activity in their daily routines.

Ph.D. student Kefan Xu of the Ubicomp Health and Wellness Lab at Georgia Tech created Plannergy, a time management app that identifies open time blocks in users’ schedules. 

Xu introduced Plannergy at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing (CHI) in Honolulu, Hawaii in May. He says the app is ideal for college students because they tend to have busy and inconsistent schedules.

Plannergy allows users to track their schedules, reflect on what activities would be beneficial and timely, and strategize how to implement the activity into their schedule.

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“Currently, the app is catered to people who’ve been physically inactive and have inconsistent schedules,” Xu said. “College students know their schedule will change when they begin a new semester. They need to get some physical activity and find opportunities in the day they can leverage. It could be as simple as walking to school instead of taking a scooter.”

Xu tested his app on 16 college students who planned their physical activities every seven days and followed a reflective iteration framework to track improvement. The results showed that Plannergy is an effective behavior change tool. The findings also indicate that it increases participants’ awareness of their schedules.

The American Heart Association says adults can reduce the risk of heart disease by participating in at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity weekly.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report in 2023 that found 72% of Americans aren’t meeting that standard.

As Xu points out in his paper, studies have shown that incorporating physical activity into a person’s routine usually helps them maintain it. However, he’s identified two common problems:

• People lack understanding about their schedules and routines.
• People have schedules that fluctuate from one day to the next.

“Individuals face a lot of changes in their life,” Xu said. “Maybe they’re a student who has graduated, and they’re going into industry, which means their daily routine will be different from what it was while they were in school. This app allows them to experiment with different time slots and activity types to figure out another way and help them update their activity routine no matter what life changes they face.”

Custom Fitness

Some users who have been inactive for extended periods may be unsure how much exercise they need. Plannergy can also help them determine the intensity level of the activity to help avoid overexertion. 

“If someone has been inactive for months, it’s hard to ask them to run two miles daily,” Xu said. “There’s much for them to figure out. How much do they want to do, and at what intensity level? This app lets them gradually figure out the ideal activity. They can continue to track their progress and see if improvements are needed.”

Plannergy is not limited to physical activity. Xu says one of the students in his study who worked out daily used the app to identify times in her schedule to take breaks or focus on more spiritual disciplines.

“She added yoga and removed some high-intensity physical activities, and her sleeping routine also changed,” Xu said.

The app is not currently available because Xu is working to improve it. Future versions will have sensing technology to leverage health informatics so users can make better decisions. He also wants the app to record user data and make customized suggestions for activities that fit the user’s schedule and preferred exercise intensity level.

“The app requires manual tracking, which can create user burden,” he said. “I think in the future, the process could be more automated. We want to keep it flexible but add more scaffolding to enhance user experience.”