Getting Started
You can start using
WorkPause right after the installation. It will minimize itself in the system tray, work quietly in the background, and only remind of itself when it's time for a rest break. By looking at the
tray icon you can see at a glance the program mode (working, resting, paused) and the time left until the next break. Or you can click the icon to bring up the
settings and statistics dialog.
Rest Break Types
The main task of
WorkPause is to prevent the build-up of tiredness by reminding you to make regular breaks.
Three types of rest breaks are supported:
- Micro Breaks - by default, they happen once every 5 minutes and have a duration of 30 seconds.
- Short Breaks - normally once every 20 minutes with a duration of 2 minutes.
- Long Breaks - once every 3 short breaks, with a duration of 5 minutes.
All these times can be changed - you can change the frequency and the duration of the breaks from the
times page, and also enable or disable individual breaks along with other settings.
By default, the micro-breaks are disabled (but you can enable them if you like).
Alert Types
Once it's time for a break, WorkPause will let you know. For this, it uses
Alerts - notification messages displayed on your screen. The alerts can be different types:
- ToolTip - the standard Windows ToolTip, displayed near the tray icon. This is the most discrete alert type but it's also very easy to miss, especially if you have a big screen.
- SliderBox - small message window that slides out from the system tray (it's more noticeable than the tool tips as the human eye is very good at catching movements).
- MessageBox - a big message box displayed in the center of your screen.
- ScreenLock - the entire screen is "blacked out" and locked (the screen can be unlocked or the alarm snoozed if necessary).
For every break type you can use different alerts. For example, you could decide to use ToolTips for the micro-breaks, slider boxes for the short breaks and lock the screen for the long breaks. The type can be changed from the
times settings page.
Activity Tracking
A rest break is most useful when it's on time. WorkPause can track your activity (how often you use the keyboard or the mouse) and pause or restart its counter if necessary. The tracking can be configured from the
tracking page.
Statistics
If you are curious how much time you spend work or rest, WorkPause maintains different kinds of usage statistics. They can be checked in the
statistics page.
See Also