Desktop Stopwatch Project

Desktop Stopwatch is a small utility that run on Mac OS. As the name suggests, it shows passage of time from starting to the current time or the stop time.

Desktop Stopwatch is designed to support/promote the concepts of Effective Attention Span while working on your computer.

Attention span is the amount of concentrated time a person can spend on a task without becoming distracted.[1] The element of distractibility occurs when the individual is uncontrollably drawn to some other activity or sensation.[2]

Most educators and psychologists agree that the ability to focus and sustain attention on a task is crucial for the achievement of one’s goals.

Attention training is said to be part of education, particularly in the way students are trained to remain focused on a topic of observation or discussion for longer periods, developing listening and analytical skills in the process

From: Wikipedia’s Attention Span page

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Recent Activities

• Desktop Stopwatch - Pre Release v0.2.0 (June 8, 2019)
• Next logical step - adding buttons (June 4, 2019)
• Desktop Stopwatch - Pre Release v0.1.0 (June 3, 2019)

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Download

• Pre Release 0.2.0
• Pre Release 0.1.0

Installation Instructions

• Download the app by clicking on the link above
• Open Finder on your Mac
• Right click on the file name and click Open
• Move this file DesktopStopwatch.app to /Application folder
• Right click on the dock icon and select Options > All Desktops to make the app displays on all desktop screens

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Features

Basic Stopwatch Operations

1. Start stopwatch (⌘-S)

   

   Stopwatch is now running its timing operation. You can also press COMMAND+R to activate this operation.

2. Stop stopwatch (⌘-S)

   

   Stop running the stopwatch. Stopwatch can be restarted to continue the timing operation. Note that Stopwatch toggles its states between Start and Stop interchangeably.

3. Reset stopwatch (⌘-R)

   Clear stopwatch’s duration to zero (0) and stop the timing operation.

User Interface

1. Transparant-Floating utility panel

   

   

Focus Modes (a.k.a Nag Mode)

Focus mode requires 2 parts to make it works effectively:

1. Support from Desktop Stopwatch application

   • When it is on and stopwatch is not running, app will chirp and blink to remind you to turn it on. This happens every 3 minutes.

   • When it is on and stopwatch is running, it chirps and blinks when the duration is exceeding the selected focus time.

   • Focus mode is silent if a mac is locked or if the screensaver is running

2. Your commitment

   • Use Desktop Stopwatch often

   • Identify your focus period for the tasks. You may require different durations for different activities.

   • Turn on Focus Mode

   • Stop current activity and switch to different task when reaching the focus limit

Other Features

1. Resizable window’s sizes

   1.1 Small

   1.2 Medium

   1.3 Large

   1.4 Custom

2. Themes Support

   2.1 Aqua

   2.2 Blue-Red

   2.3 Chameleon

   2.4 Lime

   2.5 Lime-Red

   2.6 Orange

   2.7 White

3. Application Persistency

   Stopwatch app remembers its states across sessions. If application is terminated and restarted, it will restore its statuses back to the previous running values. It remembers these states:

   • Theme selection
   • Focus mode selection
   • Window’s sidze selection
   • Window’s placement