Ending a Session Without a Button
After your last session, Focura shows a daily summary — your sessions, reflections, and the option to leave a re-entry point. But what happens when you're done looking at it? How do you close the summary and reset for tomorrow?
This turned out to be a surprisingly nuanced design question.
The Problem with "Done for Today"
The original design had a footer button labeled "Done for today." It worked, but the more we sat with it, the more it felt wrong:
- The wording was vague — done with what, exactly?
- The button felt like a meaningless action on a transient screen
- It didn't match the calm, ambient character of the rest of the app
We explored six different directions.
The Options
Keep it as-is. Simple, explicit. But the wording felt weak and the function was unclear.
Rename it. We tried "Done," "Exit," "Close summary," "Back to setup." Each preserved explicit control but still left a low-meaning footer action on a screen that should feel like a natural ending.
Remove it entirely — reset on popover close. The cleanest UI option. In a menu bar app, closing the popover is a natural dismissal gesture. But this made the state transition implicit — users might not realize that dismissing the popover changes what they'd see next time they open it.
Passive auto-close with manual override. Show "Auto-close in 5 min" with a "Close now" text link. This communicates what will happen, preserves control, and removes the meaningless button.
Back control in the header. Explicit and compact, but it made the completion screen feel like generic navigation rather than the end of a meaningful session.
Restart-oriented CTA. Something like "Start another work." This suggested a next step, but it was misleading — it implied immediate restart rather than simply dismissing.
Where We Landed
The passive auto-close with manual override was the right balance:
Auto-close in 5 min · Close now
This direction works because it:
- Removes the meaningless "done" button
- Communicates the upcoming state change clearly
- Preserves manual control via the "Close now" link
- Feels calmer than a countdown — we use coarse minute resolution, not second-by-second ticking
- Matches the ambient, low-pressure character of the app
The completion screen is the last thing you see in a work day. It should feel like a gentle ending, not a decision point.