3 Tools To Remind Yourself To Take A Break & Relax While Working At The Computer

Working on the computer may not be very physical, nevertheless it’s tough on your body. Sitting all day can hurt your lower back and has a negative impact on your circulation. Extensive typing can stiffen the muscles in your upper back and neck, and finally staring at the screen for hours on end is very tiring and can cause serious problems, such as dry eyes. Moreover, office work has been associated with insomnia and anxiety. If you are damned to spend your working hours behind a desk, you had better find ways to do something good for your body.

The good news is that short breaks of relaxing and stretching can do wonders for your health and well being. And who doesn’t like to take breaks during work? In this article I will show you tools you can integrate into your workday to remind you that you need to take a break.

EVO

EVO is a website helper which runs your selection of a default or custom timer that will remind you of a 5 or 10 minute break. The setup is simplistic and not intrusive. During the screen, EVO can black out your screen and count down the time of your break.

EVO also provides instructions for eye gymnastics that you can go through during your break.

The creators of EVO have also launched a website that has information about theComputer Vision Syndrome.

Big Stretch Reminder (Windows)

Big Stretch Reminder is a reminder app designed to remind you to do regular stretches during your work day. It comes with a variety of options, including custom settings. You can select the time between breaks from a list of predefined options or create a custom setting.

For the reminder mode you can choose between a non-intrusive balloon mode or an intrusive popup mode. The third option, the micro-break mode, is of the intrusive popup type. The message that is shown along with your break reminder can be a random tip or customized.

Breaker (Windows)

If you’re a workaholic who has no trouble getting lost in work and forgetting the time, then you should try Breaker. It’s a simple software that lets you set up breaks individually in a loop or pattern.

The app runs in the system tray and when you hover over it you can see the countdown to your next break. Once the time has run out, a quiet alarm and a little window in the bottom right of the screen reminds you that it’s time for a break or to get back to work.

Since Breaker allows the creation of custom patterns, it is also a great tool to easily remind yourself of meetings or appointments scattered throughout the day.