Rating: 4/5
Cost: Free
Most Americans spend most of their workday sitting in a cubicle staring at a computer screen. No, I don’t have any statistics to support that claim. What I do have is the movie Office Space, the TV show The Office. Oh, and my own work experience.
Because that is exactly what I’m doing as I type this — sitting in a cubicle, staring at a computer screen. I also don’t need any supporting evidence to assert that this probably isn’t good for your health. No wonder we’re all fat and stupid. Again, just a known fact.
That’s why I downloaded WorkRave. This little app gives you a reminder to take the occasional break from the constant sitting and staring.
The software places a little timer in the corner of your screen and prompts you to take frequent micro-breaks and occasional rest breaks. During rest breaks, it even suggests simple workplace-friendly exercises to keep you active.
The best part is that you can customize all of these settings to meet your needs. I have WorkRave to give me a 30-second microbreak every 10 minutes. Every 45 minutes, the app stops me for a two minute rest break.
It can be set to lock the computer completely during breaks and will start automatically on startup. There is even a setting that will set a daily maximum of computer usage and will automatically turn off the machine after a set time.
Users can also cancel or postpone any of these breaks, in case you’re in the middle of an important project. But of course, that would sort of defeat the purpose. The point is that nothing should be so important that you can’t take half a minute to step away from the computer.
It was actually designed to prevent stress injuries like Carpal Tunnel, but honestly, it is just as effective at keeping us all sane.
One downside of WorkRave is that it only works on Windows computers. Thankfully, there are plenty of effective alternatives for Macs, such as TimeOut and Rest.
The software is elegant and simple. Most importantly, it works. Or more accurately, it keeps me from working. Download it for free here: http://www.workrave.org/