FINDING A TIMER

Really, how hard can this be? I started out thinking. All I wanted was a timer to encourage me to take regular breaks from using my computer.

But as I often seem to find, it was more difficult than I anticipated. I don't even want all that much really, I thought.

I'm running Linux Mint 22 so as far as Linux goes I'm totally mainstream 

To start with I was thinking I'd like an all in one app that included a repeating countdown timer, and a stopwatch.  

Maybe also with a clock, a world clock, and an alarm as well. And of course I'd like a cool looking moving analogue clock showing the time counting down. Also I'd like to be able to customise everything, and make it stylish and purple. 

And obviously I want it all free as well as ad free and open source.

But after trying half a dozen different apps that all sucked for one reason or another, I ditched all my expectations and just went for one that only did the repeating countdown timer part.

I decided upon "STRETCHLY" 

It's not flashy but it does the job, and yes it is available for Windows and Mac as well as Linux. 

Finally I found a timer that does the basics that I really need with no added stressors. But first I had to ditch any other extras and go full Swedish Minimalist.

Hovering over the logo (black & red yin yang) in the far right of my toolbar shows the remaining time until the next break.

I have it set to do a 3 min break every 30 mins. So every 30 mins it gives me a 30 second warning and then my screen changes to a plain blue notification screen telling me to take a three minute break.

At that stage I can't do anything on my computer, I can't even take a screenshot of the notification screen, so to get this picture I had to take a photo with my camera. 

And it works brilliantly. Because I have no choice, I actually do have a break! In fact I get up, bugger off and go and do other things often for a lot longer than three minutes. 

So I get other things done, and feel better after having a break as well.

When I come back to the computer my next 30 min session has started automatically, and already used up a bunch of time, so I right click on the icon and reset the session, starting it again from 30 mins.

I didn't quite grasp this before I tried it, but this basic app is exactly what I needed!

WEBSITE - https://hovancik.net/stretchly/