Case Study
Untap in the Workplace: A 12-Person Remote Team's Focus Experiment
A remote design studio asked every team member to install Untap during deep-work hours. Output and reported satisfaction both went up. 90-day case study.
- Before
- 5.4h
- After
- 2.6h
- Reduction
- 52%
- Duration
- 12w
Background
A 12-person remote design studio was struggling with the same problem most knowledge teams face: long days, scattered attention, very little deep work. Leadership didn't want to surveil anyone, but everyone agreed the phones were the loudest distraction. They proposed a voluntary experiment.
The agreement
Everyone installed Untap with a personal profile of their choice. The only shared agreement: hard-lock all entertainment apps during two daily 90-minute focus blocks (10–11:30am and 2–3:30pm local time). Untap's reports stayed private — no one shared their numbers with the team.
Results after 90 days
- Average personal daily screen time across the team: 5.4 hrs → 2.6 hrs
- Self-reported 'deep work hours per week': 9.4 → 16.1
- Project delivery cycle time: down 22%
- Reported team satisfaction: up 18 points on the studio's internal monthly survey
- 11 of 12 team members opted to continue using Untap after the experiment ended
“Simple, elegant, and effective. The open delay feature is genius — those few seconds of pause are enough to make you reconsider opening Instagram.”