- Research/Precedent:
- Where did I go for Inspiration?
I was inspired by the Pomodoro Timer and productivity apps like Forest.
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks.
Forest is a productivity app made to help you focus on a task. Every time you want to focus you plant a tree that will grow as long as you focus on the task you want to accomplish and will die if you leave the app and get distracted.
I have used both these apps/techniques on my phone and neither has been particularly good at increasing my productivity. All the productivity apps I have used on my phone have only resulted in me checking my phone every five minutes to surf the internet and access social media.
- Ideation:
- Why did I find this interesting?
I am a chronic procrastinator. If I have my mobile device in my hand I will get distracted. I wanted to have a separate, minimal device to help me disconnect from my phone and actually work properly.
This device is really a productivity application separated from my phone and laptop. This way I won’t be distracted by constant notifications.
- Prototyping:
- Early Photos and sketches.
- Problems encountered.
It was a challenge thinking ahead and planning the shell of the device. Getting the spacing for the LED strip holes. Planning for where to position the hole for the power wire in such a way that the insides aren’t revealed too much. The shape of the shell was also hard to figure out. I experimented with curvature and sizes but ultimately made it square so as to make the device stable and easy to press down.
I also wanted to make a ring of LED lights to represent the passage of time, but I decided against it as it was unnecessarily complex.
- Development.
I took the concept of the pomodoro timer and modified it a little. I added a counter that increases the interval length every time you work. I changed the trademark red colour of the pomodoro timer to a more inviting blue as the red colour was extremely piercing in the dark.
I also added mood-lights that act as a kind of nightlight/soothing background light, but after a few days of testing it myself, I found that it wasn’t really effective.
The Mario themed alarm was effective at being a striking tune that pleasantly reminded me when to work and when to relax. When I used a generic alarm tune I went into work in a bad mood, almost dreading work. The Mario theme delighted me whenever I heard it.
I have eventually stripped down the object to be a device that breaks down work into increasingly long intervals of time to gradually encourage the user to work longer while compartmentalizing time and helping the user be more organised.
- Demo.
- What’s next?
The next steps I wish to take is installing a way to interact with my phone. maybe develop an app to lock my phone for the duration of my work interval in order to make this device more effective. I would also like to make the shell sleeker and smaller by using a smaller Micro controller, using different material (maybe 3D-printed filament, acrylic, etc) and using different joinery methods to make the shell more classy.
Yo thats dope!