StretchClock Firefox Add-on Tells You When to Take a Break

Article by George Norman (Cybersecurity Editor)

on 13 Dec 2010

I know you have to get things done and get them done fast, but sitting in front of your computer for hours on end without taking a break is not advisable. You need to give your eyes and your hands a rest from time to time. You wouldn’t want to get Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and potentially end your career ahead of time, now would you? So take the time to take a break every now and again.

The FitClock Productions-developed Firefox add-on StretchClock can help you with that. Once installed, this add-on will tell you when it is time to take a break and stretch your body. The add-on puts a pretty large icon in the bottom right-hand corner of the browser window; from that icon you can control the functionality StretchClock has to offer.


Here’s what you can do:

Pause
Click 'Pause' to stop the timer.

Stretch Now
Click this button and you will be automatically directed to the StretchClock site that hosts a few useful exercises (more on this below).

Reset
Click this button to reset the timer.

Settings
Click the 'Settings' button (looks like a stop button in a media player) and you can instruct StretchClock to notify you every 15 minutes, 30 minutes, every hour, every 2 hours, every 4 hours and every 8 hours. You can choose what type of notification to get. Select 'Wait for click' and the 'Stretch now' button will start flashing; choose 'Play reminder' and the 'Stretch now' button will start flashing and you will hear an audio notification; choose 'Launch stretch' and you will be automatically directed to the StretchClock site where you are presented with a handful of exercises you can do – shoulders, neck and back stretches.



“StretchClock is dedicated to reminding office workers to stretch. The stretches are targeted to provide relief from and reduce the risk of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome and Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI). Anyone who uses a computer for more than an hour at a time should consider using StretchClock,” explained the add-on’s developer.

You can get StretchClock straight from AMO
here.
Not a Firefox user? Then you can try the iGoogle Gadget or the Vista/Windows 7 gadget.


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