Do you find that you work long hours, and forget to take a break? If you do, then this feature may be for you. It isn't an alarm clock or calender reminder, or anything like that. It is just a session timer.
You set a desired time for your sessions. Then Activity Timer will keep track of how long you spend on the computer working continuously. It checks for mouse and keyboard activity - if you press a key on the keyboard or move the mouse from time to time, then it can tell that you are still using it.
If you pause using the computer for five minutes, it pauses the timer, but doesn't count that as a proper break, so the timer will continue from where it left off when you get back. If you go away for fifteen minutes or more then it automatically ends the session - and starts a new one when you get back. All these times can be configured to suit your situation and habits.
You can set it so that the icon in the system tray shows a pie chart for the amount of time worked, and if you hover the mouse over the icon, then you can see the time worked in minutes:
In that snap shot, the icon pie chart is a third filled in (with red), which shows that you are about a third of the way through the current session.
If you reach your desired maximum time for the session without a break, AT will show a visible or audible reminder. You can set it to play a tune, flash the border of the screen, or flash its icon.
If one has a tendency to work through those alarms, you can set a more forcible one - just as with the eye protection reminders, you can set the Lissajous 3D screen saver to start up in the middle of your work. You get say 30 seconds first (configurable) of flashing border and icon, so you have time to save files, and generally finish what you are doing. Then if you are still working, the screen saver starts up and interrupts your typing. That's then your cue to stop work, or at least get up and stretch your legs for a few minutes or something. You can dismiss the screen saver with the Escape key if you really need to.
Lissajous 3D doesn't have to be selected as your desktop screen saver to use it with Activity Timer in this way. It just has to be installed on your computer, and Activity Timer will be able to start it up anyway, and run it as a screen saver temporarily.
Here it is in action:
This is perhaps most useful for those prone to working long hours at the computer, maybe late at night or whatever, at times when there is no-one around to interrupt the work, and no distractions. E.g. computer programmers like myself :-). I wrote it originally for myself in fact, and hope you find it equally useful.
Freeware / Shareware status: The alarms that come with the program - musical alarms, flashing icon and flashing border - are free. The Lissajous 3D screen saver is shareware.
To get the program, download and install Activity Timer.
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