Not-quite-alarm to get me out of my chair at regular intervals

September 13, 2024 11:30 AM

I'm seeking a certain type of alarm with just-picky-enough specifications that I'm having no luck with google, so I wanted to see if metafilter could help!

The purpose of the alarm is something to alert me every hour or so to get up out of my chair and stretch.
- Needs to be based on my computer, maybe as a Chrome plugin? I found a phone app with exactly this feature (Sitting Alarmy) but I forget to turn my phone sound on half the time, and don't really like having the phone sound on all day just for this feature.
- Needs to be not a traditional alarm that yells at you until you turn it off, but more of a... notification? A single brief noise alert that only happens once an hour (or whatever interval I set). If I miss it, that's fine, but I don't want it to suddenly start a sustained disruptive noise during a meeting.
- Needs to have customizable active hours so I don't have to remember to turn it on and off every day.

tl;dr, I'm looking for something that I can put on my computer (not phone) that will make a brief noise at me once an hour from 8:30am to 6:00pm every day with no further intervention needed from me after I set it up. Anyone know of such a thing? It seems simple but I have no idea how to find one in a sea of traditional alarms.

posted by space snail to Computers & Internet (9 answers total)

If you have a Mac I've been using this app AntiRSI for years. It doesn't make a sound but puts up a notice on your screen. There are short breaks for a few seconds and ones every hour to remind you to get up and rest. It's made for people with RSI but would work for your purpose. Also the intervals are customizable so you can remove the short breaks (that aren't really what you are looking for.)
posted by Jungo at 11:41 AM on September 13

Response by poster: Alas, I'm on Windows! I'm also keen on having it be a sound and not one of the many "interrupts you visually so you get off the computer" apps, I may not even be using the computer in question (and may instead be on my work computer) but I'll be in earshot of it regardless.
posted by space snail at 11:44 AM on September 13

Could you put a clock in the room with an hourly chime? Desktop grandfather clocks exist.
posted by shock muppet at 11:50 AM on September 13

As a workaround, you could use Marinara Timer: set it each day to go off every hour, on repeat. "Ding" gives you a single ding, no more. The annoying/inefficient aspect of this is having to remember to set it every morning, but it's not like it's a complicated system.
posted by praemunire at 11:51 AM on September 13 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Thank you for the suggestions so far, but since my phone-based solution almost works for me, to improve on it, I'm really looking just for something that meets all three of the criteria in the question.

1) can run on my Windows PC, 2) can make a single brief sound once every hour, and 3) has customizable active hours so I don't have to remember to re-set it every day and don't have it yelling at me all night
posted by space snail at 12:02 PM on September 13

Do you have Windows 11? You can set alarms in the clock app for weekdays at your hourly intervals. You could test out the sound options and see if any just give one short sound and then turn off. You want to turn off snooze for them as well. It may also be in Win10, but I don't have one here to confirm.
posted by soelo at 12:46 PM on September 13

found a phone app with exactly this feature (Sitting Alarmy)

I’m guessing you can buy a used low end phone pretty cheaply. Doesn’t need a data plan, just this app.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 12:53 PM on September 13

I think you want Workrave (available on Windows, and free).

There are various ways to customize it, but by default, it will keep track of whether you'te using your computer and after some time, it will prompt you to take a break.

I'd try it with default settings first, then adjust as you what works for you and what doesn't.

(For instance, you can decide whether or not a spontaneous break should reset the timer for a required break, and whether a required break can be snoozed and/or cancelled.)
posted by demi-octopus at 1:57 PM on September 13

Response by poster: Hi all -- I figured out my search terminology problem. I was looking for the functionality of a reminder app, not an alarm. Once I had those magic words, the first app I tried had the features I wanted. (It was just called... Reminder App...)
posted by space snail at 2:05 PM on September 13 [8 favorites]