What is WorkMate?
It's an application to help you remember to take breaks at work. Taking frequent breaks at work helps fight off repetitive stress injuries such as the dreaded carpal tunnel syndrome. Rest breaks also help prevent burnout. This application is especially suited for those that sit at computers for hours on end. Sitting at computers for long periods can result in back/neck pain, eye strain, headaches, and a whole host of other symptoms.
Humans were not designed to sit all day. This application will help you have a lasting career doing what you love without constant pain.
How do I use it?
First, configure WorkMate by going to "Settings." Here are the options available to configure:
Break Frequency: How often you want to be reminded to take a break.
Edit Schedule - Enable Work Hours / Work Start Time / Work End Time: Click Edit Schedule, then check "Enable Work Hours" to configure your work schedule (e.g. 8 am - 5 pm). If you enable this feature, you will not have to manually turn WorkMate on and off each day. It will not send you reminders outside of the configured work hours. You can turn reminders on and off for any day of the week and set different hours for each day.
LED: Whether you want your device LED to light up upon break time.
Sound: Choose the sound (or silent) to play upon break time.
Enable Break Timer: Choose whether you want a countdown timer to show up upon break time.
Break Length: Choose how long you want your countdown timer to count down for during breaks.
Vibrate: Choose whether you want the app to vibrate upon break time.
After configuring the settings, touch "Back" on your device, and turn WorkMate on using the toggle button on the home screen. You can now back out of the app and use your phone as you normally would. WorkMate does not need to be an active window to get your reminders. It just has to be set to "On" and within work hours.
Reminders occur based on when you enable WorkMate. So if you turn it on at 8:05, and you're configured to get reminders every 2 hours, you'll get reminders at 10:05, 12:05, and so on.
Do I need to manually turn reminders on and off each day?
Only if you want to. You can can also use the Edit Schedule -> Enable Work Hours feature in Settings so you do not have to turn reminders on and off each shift. You just have to turn it on once and forget about it.
What is the timer for?
It's a break timer. If you're like me, you probably get up for a break and then almost immediately sit back down. The timer ensures you take your full break and nothing less. It's also useful if you're not like me and you tend to take too long of breaks. :-)
Will this kill my battery?
Not at all. WorkMate is a very lightweight app written using efficient code. This is not a running service.
Will this run on my tablet?
Sure, it will run on just about any Android device.
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