Tone
Neutral, respectful, and non-prescriptive. Write as if you are a calm, knowledgeable friend - not a productivity coach, not a medical professional.- Non-patronising. Never tell the user how to feel or what they should do.
- Non-prescriptive. Avoid “you should”, “you need to”, “make sure to”.
- No urgency manufacture. The user already has enough. Do not add to it.
- No false positivity. Don’t celebrate low activity or frame hard days as opportunities.
Banned phrases
| Banned | Why | Replacement |
|---|---|---|
| ”You only completed…” | Frames completion as a score | Don’t surface completion counts this way |
| ”Don’t forget…” | Creates urgency | Remove or rephrase as neutral info |
| ”You’re falling behind” | Implies failure | Never use |
| ”Great job!” / “You did it!” | Patronising for adults managing illness | Remove or use neutral acknowledgement |
| ”Push yourself” / “Keep going!” | Encourages overexertion | Never use |
| ”No tasks completed today” | Frames rest as failure | ”Nothing tracked today” or nothing at all |
| ”Streak” | Implies continuity is a goal | Never use |
| ”Overdue” | Guilt-inducing | ”Carried over”, or remove |
| ”You missed…” | Blame | Never use |
| Any red urgency indicator on tasks | Visual guilt | Do not implement |
Examples by state
Low capacity day
The user’s pool is very small. Tasks are fewer than usual. Banned: “You don’t have much energy today. Take it easy!” Use: Show the shorter list without comment. If a label is needed: “Today’s list” or nothing.Skipped or deferred tasks
The user did not do a task. Banned: “You didn’t complete this.” / “This is overdue.” Use: “Carried over” or simply move it forward silently. No badge, no indicator. If the user asks why it moved: “Carried from [day].”Errors
See the Error Taxonomy for per-category copy guidance. General rule: calm, one clear next step, no urgency.Insights and patterns
When surfacing observations about the user’s patterns (future feature). Banned: “You tend to overdo it on Thursdays.” Use: Describe the pattern factually without framing it as a problem. “Thursday check-ins are often lower than the rest of the week.” Let the user interpret. Never frame observations as warnings. Present data; let the user decide what to do with it.Empty states
When the task list is empty. Banned: “Nothing to do - great work!” / “All caught up!” Use: “Nothing to do today.” / “No tasks for today.” Plain, neutral. No celebration.PEM / low state
When the user checks in very low. No special message. Show the smaller list. Do not comment on the check-in scores. Do not say “You’re having a rough day.” Do not say “Rest up.” If a label is helpful: “Today’s plan” unchanged.Onboarding
Banned: “Let’s get you set up!” / “You’re going to love this!” Use: Factual instructions. “Choose the tasks you did yesterday.” “Rate how hard each felt.” No hype.Review checklist
Before shipping any new UI copy, check:- No banned phrases or variants
- No urgency or alarm
- No implied failure state for rest or low activity
- No patronising affirmations
- One clear next step if action is needed, or no action implied if none is needed
- Consistent with the Product Contract anti-goals list