Here is a very simple little app I wrote in AutoHotkey for Windows to help productivity. The artists I’ve attempted to give this to were horrified and sickened by the idea of it.

It floats in the corner of your screen. You tell it what programs you use for work/productivity. Whenever you’re using those programs, it turns a pleasing shade of blue and times you. If you alt-tab over to something that is not one of those programs, like Chrome or Spotify or 3D Pinball, or if you zone out and don’t move the mouse for too long, it turns red and stops the timer until you resume proper grown-up behavior.

This way, you have a constant peripheral reminder of how little of your day has actually been spent on important things like “doing what you’re supposed to” and “not having fun.”

Download it here: http://www.neilcic.com/work.zip

If you don’t trust me, you can also download the script, personally confirm that it won’t destroy anything other than your sense of self-worth, and compile it yourself with AutoHotkey.

REMINDER THAT THIS IS FOR WINDOWS!

1. Extract the program to some folder or your desktop.

2. Run it. It will create an .ini file in the same location to remember settings.

3. Run Photoshop, Flash, Word, Excel, or whatever program you’re supposed be running.

4. Click the timer’s Menu button and choose one of the three program slots. It will say “Awaiting program…”

5. Click back to the program you want.

6. Repeat 4 and 5 for any other programs you need. It’s limited to three slots right now.

There are a couple other options on the Menu button, and if you really want to get fancy, you can change the colors by editing the .ini file.

Thanks!

If you are a person who knows how program good send me a message if I programmed bad.