Jared Collett, an entrepreneurship major at the University of Utah, wants to help students like himself make goals, get things done, and de-stress with the Mura app, a productivity wellness planner.
“Students are at the most pivotal, stressful times of their lives,” Collett said. “All the while, they’re relentlessly bombarded in this information age with contradictory viewpoints, principles, and how-to’s. Our world is saturated with distraction and an overemphasis on entertainment and leisure.”
As Collett began his college career, he noted that his peers struggled to plan, prioritize, and focus on the tasks at hand. As the semesters went on, his concern for the wellbeing and mental health of students, especially seniors in high school and undergraduates at universities, mounted.
Collett decided to find an answer for those struggling. He spent most of his time learning about neuroscience, trying to connect dots between physical, mental, and emotional health. With his nose in the books, he learned one big lesson: it all comes back to productivity.
“There is a psychological link between mental health and productivity, which is often ignored and uncultivated,” he said. “Students, specifically, are not yet fully developed nor matured in the arts and acts of habit making and breaking, creative exploration, and mindfulness. I’m designing an app to effectively support one’s productivity pursuits for a healthier life.”
With the productivity angle narrowed down, Collett still had a lot of work to do. Plenty of websites, stores, and other apps had tried and failed to help faltering students get back on their feet or cross more off their to-do lists. Collett needed to figure out a new way to help struggling students get things done and start feeling better.
More articles like this in ‘Student Innovation @ the U!’
Find this article and a lot more in the 2022 “Student Innovation @ the U” report. The publication is presented by the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute to celebrate student innovators, change-makers, and entrepreneurs.
