Project Background

Productivity can be one of the hardest measures to keep consistent without a well-followed routine. Our goal for this project is to create a tool to resolve this problem using the Pomodoro Technique. This technique combines intense work periods with regular breaks to alternate between highly productive and resting states. Using a physical timer and piece of paper, the technique traditionally says to have 25-minute work periods followed by five-minute break periods and to put a checkmark on the paper after every work period. Every four checkmarks, the next break period should be extended to 30-minutes.

VS-Saturn will streamline this process for programmers and users of VSCode. Rather than a physical timer and piece of paper, a timer will be integrated into VSCode that automatically tracks the length of work and break periods and records completed work periods. Notably, this allows for the Pomodoro Technique to be easily personalized to the user as they will be able to change the length of all timers. We aim to make integrating the Pomodoro Technique as straightforward as possible and allow for a more customizable and effortless experience.

Project Description

VS-Saturn is an addon to VSCode that aids with time management by integrating routine breaks into a work period. Users can start a 25-minute timer where they will work to the best of their ability until the timer has completed. The user will be notified upon the timer’s completion and a checkmark will be placed next to the timer. They will be prompted to start a five-minute break period timer where they should rest their brain and refocus doing something they enjoy. Subsequently, the user will be prompted to start another 25-minute timer and this process of alternating work and break periods will be repeated until four work periods have been completed. After the fourth work period, a 30-minute extended break period timer can be started. Normal work and break periods will follow until another four work periods have been completed.

At any point, the user can check the time remaining, pause, reset, or snooze the timer. Snoozing will extend the current timer by five minutes and can be done up to four times for break periods and as many times as the user wishes for work periods. All other timers including the five-minute snooze and the notification for when a timer has been completed can be configured in the settings. Possible notifications include changing the theme of VSCode, a pop-up notification with or without an audible cue, an audible cue, or making the icon on the taskbar for VSCode flash.

To aid productivity, the user’s goals and tasks for work periods can be tracked in a list. Tasks can be added, rearranged, checked off, and deleted from the list. The user should add tasks that will be completed in the work period, rearrange them according to their priority, and check them off upon completion. All tasks, the progression of the current timer, number of checkmarks, and previously configured settings will be saved if VSCode is closed.

Resources and Documents


Team Roster

Michael McGilvray

Project Manager

Rory Wirch

Full Stack Developer

James Reeve

Full Stack Developer

Abel Dawson

Full Stack Developer

Bibliography

  1. Cirillo, Francesco. “Do More and Have Fun with Time Management.” Cirillo Company, francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique.
  2. Collins, Bryan. “The Pomodoro Technique Explained.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 19 Feb. 2020, www.forbes.com/sites/bryancollinseurope/2020/03/03/the-pomodoro-technique/?sh=6d8651913985.
  3. Dierdorff, Erich C. “Time Management Is About More Than Life Hacks.” Harvard Business Review, 30 Jan. 2020, hbr.org/2020/01/time-management-is-about-more-than-life-hacks.
  4. “The Pomodoro Technique – Why It Works & How To Do It.” ToDoist, https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/pomodoro-technique.
  5. “Requirements for Visual Studio Code.” Microsoft, 14 Apr. 2016, https://code.visualstudio.com/Docs/supporting/requirements.