We all know staring at a computer screen for hours on end is a bad idea, but that doesn’t stop us from doing it.
Break Time is a Chrome Extension that reminds you to take a step away periodically. With the extension, you can customise how long of a break you’d lie to take and how frequently you’d like to take one. When break time comes, you can be notified with a small pop-up notification, or a full-screen message telling you it’s time to stop for a few minutes.
If now isn’t a good time (it never is), you can also snooze a break so the notification pops up again in a few minutes.
I used to be notoriously bad about taking breaks. For a while I was convinced that sitting in front of my computer non-stop for eight hours, including my lunch break, was making me a more productive person. Spoiler: it’s not.
What finally broke me was when fitness trackers started suggesting you walk 250 steps per hour. If you wear a FitBit or smartwatch, I highly recommend activating the feature (and maybe using it instead on this extension).
Besides causing yourself a host of health problems from constant sitting, working for exceptionally long stretches of time without taking a break can actually make your less productive, not more so. Taking a few minutes every few hours to stretch your legs and get some space from whatever project you’re working on can ultimately result in you getting a lot more done in your day.
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