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Timer softwr.so wife doesn't work too long??

flyfish29

flyfish29

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Feb 4, 2003
2,175
4
New HAMpshire
So I have a wife who will sit down at her ibook and type for four and a half hours straight without even taking a break to get up out of her chair. Needless to say she ends up with a major eye splitting headache all evening (and I don't like her tellin' me she has a headache!):(

Anyway, is there any kind of software program that will either pop up a huge reminder for her or better yet, disable her computer for x number of minutes to force her to take a break. ( I would want an override to the locking of the computer just in case she has a five minute deadline to work on something.)

I searched online and only found things that time work for jobs, etc.

Please help!!!
 
Thanks for topic intro!

I'm so grateful you have brought this up. I have ADD and I'm on meds for it. THe problem is that while I have no problem falling asleep, the meds allow me to ignore the body signals that tell me I'm tired or that I should take a break. I've been going to bed at 1 a.m. because I'm in hyperfocus (which is also a symptom of ADD), and it really is throwing my schedule completely off-kilter. I need something to make me get off the bloody computer! It's as bad as binging on food! If it's a question of mindfulness, your wife could set appointments in Entourage to go off regularly. But if she is anything like me, it's easy to dismiss the reminders.

(also, if anyone knows of good, inexpensive organizing software out there, let me know. I am using Toodledo at the moment, but it doesn't link to a calendar, so I'm not sure it's the one for me. Also, I think I might remember things better if I combine electronic and paper organizing? I wonder if there are any studies that have been done about writing versus typing for helping you remember things <LOL>)
 
zyrn said:
I'm so grateful you have brought this up. I have ADD and I'm on meds for it. THe problem is that while I have no problem falling asleep, the meds allow me to ignore the body signals that tell me I'm tired or that I should take a break. I've been going to bed at 1 a.m. because I'm in hyperfocus (which is also a symptom of ADD), and it really is throwing my schedule completely off-kilter. I need something to make me get off the bloody computer! It's as bad as binging on food! If it's a question of mindfulness, your wife could set appointments in Entourage to go off regularly. But if she is anything like me, it's easy to dismiss the reminders.

(also, if anyone knows of good, inexpensive organizing software out there, let me know.
Click to expand...


So I have ADD actually, but my wife just gets the hyperfocus you speak of. I am severly ADD and can relate to the hyperfocus and computer use and need for that stimulation and multitasking that ADD adults seek out.

She is acutually loving the software right now and has only ignored the timer once and it was because she was in a meeting at the time and needed to keep using her computer for budgets.

As far as organizing sofware there is a bunch out there. I know there is one liked to the GTD (getting things done) method of organization stuff. I have not used it and know little about GTD, but I think I will seek it out this summer to start using this fall when I go back to teaching in August. I used a Steve Covey planner for years and it helped me tremendously with my ADD symptoms. I use iCal right now for everything but don't like the to do list part.

there is another one I liked and it is called Life Balance I think. check out this link. It is one I will think about using because as an adult with ADD I find myself not getting time with the wife, kids and for myself as a result of my getting caught up in hyperfocus mode!!

My ADD does come in handy as a second grade teacher though- I can relate to my students who have it or simply show symptoms of it. I can also help other educators relate by sharing my experiences with them about ADD as a child (undiagnosed) and an adult (diagnosed several times by professionals and myself.)
Hope this helps.
 
flyfish29,

"My ADD does come in handy as a second grade teacher though- I can relate to my students who have it or simply show symptoms of it."

I bet it does. People often wrongly assume that ADD is a bad thing. Those students are very lucky to have you as their teacher :) I bet it's a fun class!

Thanks for the software recommends, I'll be sure to pass them along as I have students at the college level who might be interested.
 
timer to get oneself off the computer

So, Flyfish29, which software did your wife end up using? Is she still getting off the computer? (I was on vacation, or would have asked this earlier.) I'm still having trouble disciplining myself NOT to use the computer as creative avoidance.
 
zyrn said:
So, Flyfish29, which software did your wife end up using? Is she still getting off the computer? (I was on vacation, or would have asked this earlier.) I'm still having trouble disciplining myself NOT to use the computer as creative avoidance.
Click to expand...

She uses the Time Out software and likes it. She uses it and actually sticks to the breaks unless she is in the middle of a meeting.

I am with you- I use the computer as an avoidance as well- easy to get caught up in the Mac stuff:apple: on here as well as many other areas of the net. Maybe I will use that Time Out software to give me the message that I need to stop hanging out on the net for so long and get to the work I need to do each evening.

Luckily my current job (teaching second grade) keeps me so busy during the day I don't get caught up in it. When I was a school principal I did use most of my lunch breaks to surf the net while I ate- now I am running around chasing second graders!:D
 
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