https://github.com/benbjohnson/boxer
A little app that boxes my time.
https://github.com/benbjohnson/boxer
Last synced: 9 months ago
JSON representation
A little app that boxes my time.
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/benbjohnson/boxer
- Owner: benbjohnson
- Created: 2015-03-14T22:29:50.000Z (almost 11 years ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2015-03-23T16:32:38.000Z (almost 11 years ago)
- Last Synced: 2025-04-02T21:05:49.045Z (9 months ago)
- Language: Go
- Size: 156 KB
- Stars: 11
- Watchers: 2
- Forks: 1
- Open Issues: 1
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
Boxer
=====
Boxer is a small utility application that runs commands on a given interval and
steps within that interval. For example, I may want to have my computer make
a tick noise every five minutes but make a beep every hour.
This application is still in early development but it's meant to be
configurable so you can run any script on a given step or interval.
## History
I've been intrigued by time management techniques for a long time but I haven't
found any traditional approaches work well for me. The Pomodoro technique is
the most famous timeboxing technique and I've found limited success with it.
It requires that I plan what I'm going to do in the future and it has me take
breaks every 25 minutes. I find that too restrictive since I sometimes have to
jump on an ad hoc IM and I sometimes like to work for several hours without
taking a break.
The best solution I've found is to do reverse timeboxing. Instead of planning
for the next half hour, I simply write down what I did for the previous half
hour. This helps me do several things. First, I can see what I did during the
day. Some days it feels like I didn't accomplish anything but when I look back
at my list I can see all the little tasks. Second, it gives me a way to check
in frequently to make sure that I'm not focusing on a task for too long. For
example, I might think I can add a small feature in 30 minutes but sometimes
several hours go by and I'm in a rabbit hole. Checking in helps prevent that.
Reverse timeboxing has been great... when I do it. Unfortunately, it still
requires that I remember to write down something every half hour. So I decided
to build a tool that helps remind me of these intervals and gives me a way to
visualize the steps within these intervals. Thus, box was born.
## Usage
To install, simply run `go get` from the command line:
```sh
$ go get github.com/benbjohnson/boxer/...
```
Next you'll need to set up a configuration file. Copy the `boxer.sample.conf`
to `boxer.conf` in your home directory and adjust settings as needed.
Then run `boxer`:
```sh
$ boxer
```
The default configuration will enable the wallpaper module which updates your
desktop background in 1 minute increments and restarts every 15 minutes on
the quarter hour. The menu bar will also cycle between dark mode and light mode
every 5 minutes and flash every 15 minutes.