InstantBoss - For those of us which require motivation to work

[tomos]

hi App
I'm back with "the [real] Boss"

is there any chance you could set it up so that after a break the the [Work Now] option has focus instead of the [Cancel] one ?

The Logic being:-
if I click Enter or spacebar as the Instant boss window flashes up it dissappears - either I dont see it at all, or I see it flash & think I better check that & continue what I'm doing & forget of course - but the problem is that it doesnt reappear at all.

If [Work Now] had focus I might "lose" a bit of time (if I dont actually see the Instant Boss window) but at least the window will reappear,
so I'll get reminded to work if I'm dossing or break if I'm working

[Montgomery_Minds]

When the work time expires, and the "Take a break" popup appears, one of the options is "Work a little longer".

Similarly, when the break time expires, and the "Back to work" popup appears, one of the options is "Longer break".

In the case of "Longer break" it gives you 50% of your break and then prompts you again.  I like that.

But in the case of "Work a little longer" it just goes back to counting work time and will count forever.  But then it's up to ME to remember to click "Take a Break" in the main window.  And if i could remember to do that, i wouldnt need InstantBoss in the first place!?  I've had times where i went to bed, and it still kept counting it as work time.  That makes the total work counters way off.  Which i'll admit is secondary, the work-break timing is still very useful.

So, my suggestion is to have the "Work a little longer" do the 50% thing too.  Or if some users want the "Work a little longer" forever until clicked, provide both options.

There's a workaround.  For me who can not remember to take that break, dont use "Work a little longer", just use "Skip break".  It's almost the same, but distorts the iterations i've done.  That's not a big deal, however.

Thanks.  I might try this customization myself, if the script source is available.  I haven't checked into that yet.  And if i can find the time (keep in mind i am a person who needs InstantBoss).

[app103]

I am still thinking about rewriting Instant Boss to be cross-platform. I am also considering some changes and improvements.

The original purpose of the app was to get people to work more, which is why it didn't remind you to stop when you clicked "work longer".

I think the fact that many use it for reasons other than tricking themselves into getting more work done, kind of makes sense for some of the adjustments to features that I am considering. And yes, the "work longer" reminding you to take a break is one of the changes I am seriously considering.

[tomos]

I am still thinking about rewriting Instant Boss to be cross-platform. I am also considering some changes and improvements.

-app103 (February 09, 2013, 02:24 AM)

That would be great app!
This was one of the best break/work apps I tried.

The original purpose of the app was to get people to work more, which is why it didn't remind you to stop when you clicked "work longer".

yeah,
part of the problem (with users= with me) is that I get easily distracted and start, say, surfing when I should be working. So the lack of reminders (whether to take a break or to get back to work) means that I drift ...


edit/ I would say that the key to working hard and effectively is regular breaks - certainly for me at any rate. (Another reason for the break reminder.)

[Montgomery_Minds]

part of the problem (with users= with me) is that I get easily distracted and start, say, surfing when I should be working.

yep, me2.

app103, thanks for considering this. Impressive to get a response on a thread 3yrs stale. InstantBoss is popular at procrastinators-anonymous.org.  That's where i learned of it.  And why i need it

[Montgomery_Minds]

If you do work on Instant Boss, i will add my vote to the following features:

If you're in the middle of (10+2)*5 or whatever numbers you choose, and...something happens.  Phone call, interruption, whatever.  Currently your choices are:

1. leave Instant Boss running.  it will expire the current work (or break) and just wait for your to return.  Not too bad.  As long as your "10" (work time) is not too high, it's not that inaccurate when counting up your work.

2. but if you want to tell Instant Boss you're "off the clock", your only option is "Reset".  This has the desired effect of interrupting the timing, but also has the effect of resetting the numbers back to 10+2 * 5.  I think we should be able to separate these functions.  Maybe a "Suspend" button.  Or a "Skip the rest" or something which would abort the current timing sequence, but leave your numbers you typed in.

Now, again, this is minor.  cuz it's only 3 numbers and you can just type them again.

[Huh.  i just realized that hitting 'Reset' and leaving that window up, not clicking either button, then when you're ready clicking 'No' is essentially 'Suspend']

Second feature is this:  if you have entered new numbers, is possible to ignore the big 'Click Apply' staring at you and click 'Work' in which case you'll get the old numbers.  I doubt anyone would ever want that.  So 'Work' i believe should just automatically, unconditionally do an 'Apply', IMHO.

Thanks again for all your great work on this.  It helps me stay on track.

[app103]

Ok, so you want a reset that doesn't clear your configuration? You could just exit and run it again when you are ready, if Pause isn't what you need.

Yes, the Apply button will be gong away. Next version will auto-apply when you click Work.

[Montgomery_Minds]

OK i must confess to under-understanding the Pause button.  It DOES do what i want, for short pauses.  So Kudos for that.

It's less appropriate for long pauses, say 4 hours.

But, yes, exiting and re-starting does achieve the time "off the clock" function as i was describing it for such long pauses, so it is a valid workaround.

Thanks!

[TaoPhoenix]

This drifts a little off topic, but it's thematic.

I have lately begun to imagine the old RISC-CISC fights in computing theory. For years I used my desktop as a visual placeholder for important things. Then I accidentally ran a narrow purpose batch file in the wrong place and trashed my desktop layout! So being forced to clean it up anyway, I made a "bold-for-me" decision and moved almost 50+ items off the desktop and into about 5 folders.

The key ideas were that my life *should* be rather simple right now.
1. Search for jobs.
2. My most important recreational project for a web 'zine.
3. Yes, some web surfing.
4. Resources for future projects - just to batch them for later.
(The fifth folder I called Resources because it's the same 10 utilities I always use, plus a couple of sound files, and a second set of less frequently used items.)

RISC won. To Get Back To Work is about focus. So finally my attention gave out staring at 60 icons worth of visual noise. Plus there's now more desktop space for NSFW wallpapers! 

[Montgomery_Minds]

Installation help:

"Save As" the file (can't just "Open").
After it finishes downloading, Open it.  It should be a .ZIP file.
(Note: my fav program for .zip files is 7-zip)
Copy the InstantBoss folder in the InstantBoss.zip file to

C:\Program Files\

which will create folder

C:\Program Files\InstantBoss

with the program InstantBoss.exe in it.

Next step depends on which windows you have

Windows XP:
Create new folder

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Start Menu\Programs\InstantBoss

In that folder, create a shortcut back to

C:\Program Files\InstantBoss\InstantBoss.exe

Windows 7:
Create new folder

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\InstantBoss

In that folder, create a shortcut back to

C:\Program Files\InstantBoss\InstantBoss.exe

[limcid]

Thanks for creating this app!

I would like to be able to reset the "Total Work To Date" stat. I've searched the registry for "instantboss", but didn't find any entries. Is there a registry entry where I can reset this data, or maybe a data file somewhere?

Thanks.

[app103]

Thanks for creating this app!

I would like to be able to reset the "Total Work To Date" stat. I've searched the registry for "instantboss", but didn't find any entries. Is there a registry entry where I can reset this data, or maybe a data file somewhere?

Thanks.

-limcid (June 12, 2013, 10:27 AM)

It's in the registry under this key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Apps Apps\Instant Boss\1.0

Just edit TotalWork and change it to 0 to reset it.

[limcid]

Hey, thanks for the fast response!!   

(I should have used a space between the words.)