Project Description

In the year 2011 a lot of people spend most of their day in front of their work desk working or procrastinating, and the few times they leave their desk it is often to go to the bathroom, get coffee or eat launch. The Break-O-Meter is a personal device that can help the individual person to be more productive by being reminded to take a short break, do some exercise, get coffee with colleagues etc. – away from the desk! A small break of five minutes can do amazing things for your productivity and for your health, so why is it that we often say that we do not have the time to take a break? Break-O-Meter is a small device that can sense your presence, and notifies you when it is time for you to take a break. My inspiration for this idea came after having read Stephen R. Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People®, and the follow quote from the book: Suppose you were to come upon someone in the woods working feverishly to saw down a tree. “What are you doing?” you ask. “Can’t you see?” comes the impatient reply. “I’m sawing down this tree.” “You look exhausted!” you exclaim. “How long have you been at it?” “Over five hours,” he returns, “and I’m beat! This is hard work.” ‘Well, why don’t you take a break for a few minutes and sharpen that saw?” you inquire. “I’m sure it would go a lot faster.” “I don’t have time to sharpen the saw,” the man says emphatically. “I’m too busy sawing!” The Break-O-Meter reminds and helps you to sharpen your saw so that you can be productive and healthy.   The body of the Break-O-Meter is modelled and printed in 3. The front panel is lasercut. On the inside it contains three BlinkMs, one steeper motor, one IR-sensor which is connected to an Arduino Uno (optionally I could replace the Uno with an Arduino Mini Pro that would fit inside the stand).