6 ms·

Show HN: Physical Pomodoro Timer with ESP32 and e-paper screen

315 points by rukenshia 2y ago

johntopia 2y ago
Neat project!
sambroner 2y ago
I love this project! The UI feels so delightful and well thought out. I guess I found another weekend (multi-week?) activity. If you're looking for hackathon projects, the E-ink ecosystem is well developed enough that they're pretty easy to program against and Claude/the AIs can pick up the API surface. Plus, people generally don't know what they're looking at -- you have to say "kindle-style screen" -- but people (me? but also guests) do seem to prefer having a e-ink screen in the living room over a backlit display because it's so much less intrusive. FWIW, E-ink [0] AND pomdoros [1] are each a whole thing of mine. [0] https://sambroner.com/posts/raspberry-pi-train https://sambroner.com/posts/raspberry-pi-train [1] https://sambroner.com/posts/personal-analytics-2024 https://sambroner.com/posts/personal-analytics-2024
gregwebs 2y ago
I use this timer which has the advantage of being portable: https://gymboss.com/ https://gymboss.com/
- timetc 2y ago
  I was going to say that any watch would do, but having two timers for interval is pretty awesome. Maybe I need to add a "Work" activity on my Garmin :')
ifellover 2y ago
I love this! I’ve been playing around with browser extensions to achieve this, and it always seems to get lost in the clutter of my busy workspace. A physical timer for this is a brilliant idea. Another thing I’ve been contemplating is a “do not disturb” signpost on my desk when in focus time; might be that this timer could also double as that.
fredzel 2y ago
Very interesting, I've been thinking on how to make physical pomodoro timer (or just display for one), but with circular screen and preferably no exact time remaining visible. as for me it is both distracting and anxiety-inducing. I've been using Visual Timer app [0] on my android phone and it has mostly been great, but putting phone away would obviously be better. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.cwiesner.android.visualtimer https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.cwiesner.an...
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- rukenshia 2y ago
  I actually bought a 4" round LCD for that reason, but ended up ditching it in favor for the e-paper display. I also stuck to just showing minutes (and in the last minute 10-second interval updates) so that it doesn't get too distracting.
gorgoiler 2y ago
Lasering in on the three different use cases (rather than just one generic 25min focus time) and also providing statistics are both cool additions. Nice. It would be a good addition to your write up to mention, for the uninitiated, that pomodoro is of course named after a physical timer with a rotary encoder! https://medium.com/@thejinxes/ditch-the-tomato-timer-d8bbf01c341c https://medium.com/@thejinxes/ditch-the-tomato-timer-d8bbf01... If you ever get around to your goal of having a red e-ink screen, that would be a fun alternative to Pepe.
chungus 2y ago
Absolutely love it. Inspires me to think about porting my own productivity tools to an IRL device.
thunder-blue-3 2y ago
Every time I see something pertaining to a pomodoro timer, I'm reminded of interviewing with a YC founder in downtown san mateo in the early 2010s (he was working on websockets + slide deck/prezi-like tech iirc), and half our interview consisted of him hyping up this technique. The company went under within a year, and I could never respect this technique afterwards
- rukenshia 2y ago
  honestly feeling this - I (or my friend who now has the device) don't really follow this religiously either. I think it's great when you have a lot of work to be done and feel a little overwhelmed. Getting down into this rhythm can help you chip away at it.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
- dexterdog 2y ago
  The technique isn't what caused his company to fail. A big part of it was likely his obsession with the technique. He also probably wasted massive amounts of time setting up his other tools instead of using them.
- egypturnash 2y ago
  understandable, it's a very useful way to trick yourself into getting shit done but it's also very possible to turn "making the perfect work tracker-timer-app" into a giant rabbit hole instead of just getting a cheap, goofy-looking kitchen timer and keeping some notes on paper.
teddyh 2y ago
Physical pomodoro: <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Il_pomodoro.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Il_pomod...>
- neuah 2y ago
  Exactly what i thought of as well. That's what i always used to use.
  - latexr 2y ago
    That’s where the concept and name come from. “Pomodo” means “tomato” in Italian, and the author of the technique had one of those. The image comes from its Wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique
    - stavros 2y ago
      Correction: "pomodoro" means "tomato".
      - latexr 2y ago
        Thank you for the correction. It was a typo, but it’s unfortunately too late to edit the post.
        stavros 2y ago
        No problem, I wasn't sure so I had to go looking, and I figured I'd post a correction for anyone who saw it.
- ISL 2y ago
  Yep. Any timer will do. If you find yourself programming an eInk display and a microchip in order to improve your procrastination, it is time to stop working on the project, get a physical timer, and work on the thing. If you feel inclined to shop around for a timer before getting to work, I'll save you the search. These work great. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TLC9SFZ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TLC9SFZ (but any timer will do). Go do the thing. You're worth it.
rambambram 2y ago
The whole idea of pomodoro comes from a physical kitchen timer in the shape of... you guessed it, a pomodoro. The best UX for the pomodoro technique can be found in this physical kitchen timer, if you'd ask me.
- rukenshia 2y ago
  I think functionally the Focus Dial (I linked to it in my README as well) is the much better „product“ and keeps exactly that UX compared to what I built. I had to face the reality of my own limited knowledge and skillset to build something like that (and wanted to do my own thing), plus I really ended up liking that epaper display.
  - rambambram 2y ago
    I must admit I've been guilty of reacting on the title and not your post. I opened it, saw some machine and immediately thought of the kitchen timer in the shape of a pomodoro I have on my desk here. Which is so dead simple, that's why I like it. Now that I read your post and look at the photos, I think you definitely add something with the division of certain tasks! Besides, it's always cool to build something yourself, so please don't read my previous comment as a snark about reinventing the wheel or something. I just really appreciate the simple mechanical kitchen timer recommended for the pomodoro technique.
    - rukenshia 2y ago
      Absolutely no offense taken! I knew I was overengineering the hell out of this when I started it :)
  - pimlottc 2y ago
    It would help if the intro section mentioned the added features so the reader would understand why a custom device was necessary.
atemerev 2y ago
I know assembling things is half the fun, but if you just want a universal ESP32 device with screen and buttons, I recommend M5stack. Cheap, programmable, uniquitous.
- rlupi 2y ago
  They are great. I have actually built my own pomodoro timer using a M5Stack Core2, maybe I should publish the code. It's a lot simpler than this one. Update: here it is https://github.com/robertolupi/augmented-awareness/tree/main/iot/pomodoro https://github.com/robertolupi/augmented-awareness/tree/main...
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
bloopernova 2y ago
This is fantastic and I want to build one. The UI is delightful, and as other people have said, the multiple modes for different tasks is a great idea.
13_9_7_7_5_18 2y ago
[dead]
dartharva 2y ago
GPLv3-licensed GUI Pomodoro app for Linux, for anyone who needs it: https://gitlab.gnome.org/World/Solanum/ https://gitlab.gnome.org/World/Solanum/
jpcom 2y ago
It's very beautiful, lovely work. Sleek and shiny, it's a device that begs for interaction, which is important in something that you'll be engaging with every 24-30 minutes. I would like a version of the display to show grains of sand falling through a digital hourglass.
desertmonad 2y ago
Awesome project :-) I think the missing ingredient here is a way to export the tracked activities, but this looks like it was fun to make!
mavamaarten 2y ago
I'm so sad that ePaper displays are still so expensive. They'd be perfect for splashing some home assistant driven goodness around my house. But the tiny ones are too tiny for my taste, and the big ones too expensive.
- jfim 2y ago
  If you're not dead set on having eink, there's always the ESP 32 cheap yellow display board: https://makeradvisor.com/tools/cyd-cheap-yellow-display-esp32-2432s028r/ https://makeradvisor.com/tools/cyd-cheap-yellow-display-esp3...
  - hinkley 2y ago
    Where are we at on transflective lcd? I saw a decent demo a while back but I cannot recall the brand.
btbuildem 2y ago
Always interested to see a "device" type of project on here -- they tend to be the most challenging, even if the goal is simple. The intersection of object design, electronics and code is a great playground. I really like the choice of screen, and generally the considerations given (and explained in the readme!) for purpose and usability. Couple of notes on the object design (and this is something I find very challenging, and spend a lot of time iterating on) - What if the knob was on top of the device, wide and flat? you could center the screen, make the device smaller, and the physical action of turning it would be less likely to push the box around - Chamfers and fillets go a long way to make a thing look polished -- it's a small detail, but the difference between a sharp edge and a rounded one somehow seems to matter a lot. - Since the menu always has three options, what if instead of the knob there were three buttons on the top surface (like the "snooze" of an alarm clock)? Fewer interactions to fiddle with! - You can get translucent filament, and it makes for very cool "light conduit" parts -- eg, the LED box could be solid, and it would look like something from an 80s dashboard. Alternately, you could print a border for the screen, and light that up instead, making for a more minimalist design. (Sorry, I can't help it, I like thinking about these things) How did you design the knob, OpenSCAD? The knurling is a nice touch, and looks like it was done in a programmatic way.
- rukenshia 2y ago
  great questions! - knob: yeah, if I were to redesign that part I would move it to the top. I had a total schedule of 4 weeks for this project, and I didn't feel confident enough to rebuild (and print prototypes) of the case when I encountered the weight problem, but that would definitely make it better - I did fillet/chamfer (almost) every edge I believe, I also printed the final case with fuzzy skin to make it feel higher quality - The knob was originally meant to also allow you to change the timer, so having a dial felt like the right thing to do. Didn't turn out that way, so yes three buttons might be the better UX for the menus I ended up with (and would make the device smaller) - The shroud actually started out as a way to prevent light leaking (and then I re-printed it in white so that it would boost the LED diffusion a bit together with the diffusion plastic film), but I like your idea of having an LED strip around the edges of the screen - didn't think of that! - I am usually more of a Blender guy, so I followed a tutorial for doing knurling in onshape. The tool really doesn't like that much geometry and is laggy to work with, but feel free to check out the onshape file (linked in the README)
knowknow 2y ago
Cool project! I would recommend checking out the LVGL library [0], it’s an embedded graphics library to create UIs. It’s pretty simply to use and feels a bit like html. It’s a little bit harder to set up hardware communication, but once it’s set up, it streamlines making the UI and responding to input immensely. [0] - https://github.com/lvgl/lvgl https://github.com/lvgl/lvgl
- rukenshia 2y ago
  Oh that looks very cool! I spent some time researching when I started but didn’t come across this. Thanks!
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
ozim 2y ago
Not sure if author posted it here but don't forget use of "pomodoro" term is copyrighted. https://www.pomodorotechnique.com/pomodoro-trademark-guidelines/ https://www.pomodorotechnique.com/pomodoro-trademark-guideli...
- rukenshia 2y ago
  thanks for that, i'll update references.
- tonymet 2y ago
  would it need to be distinguishable from the general term (tomato)?
- hinkley 2y ago
  Really?? Time to change some code.
jrockway 2y ago
I made an e-ink clock once. The display documentation basically said you'd break the display if you refreshed more frequently than some long interval. I refreshed it every minute and indeed it broke after a year.
jjice 2y ago
$35 for the ePaper display seems pretty decent these days. Are these actually getting cheaper or am I off? I know it’s a patent riddled tech so that probably is the bit cost limiter, but I’ve been so excited seeing it more and more the last few years.
vram22 2y ago
Anyone made a cool software Pomodoro or other time-related app with interesting variations?
pedalpete 2y ago
A guy I know tried to build a business around a physical pomodoro timer a while back - https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/timechi-your-smart-productivity-tool#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/timechi-your-smart-produc... A useful addition for those using this in an office, and even for those who don't want to look at the screen for the remaining time, would be to have an LED (maybe as a nice lightbar) on the top of the device which shines red or green to suggest to those who can't see the screen (viewing from the other side) if you are available to be interrupted or not. You could even make it as a progressive light bar if you were so inclined.

315 points by rukenshia 2y ago

Neat project!

I love this project! The UI feels so delightful and well thought out. I guess I found another weekend (multi-week?) activity. If you're looking for hackathon projects, the E-ink ecosystem is well developed enough that they're pretty easy to program against and Claude/the AIs can pick up the API surface. Plus, people generally don't know what they're looking at -- you have to say "kindle-style screen" -- but people (me? but also guests) do seem to prefer having a e-ink screen in the living room over a backlit display because it's so much less intrusive. FWIW, E-ink [0] AND pomdoros [1] are each a whole thing of mine. [0] https://sambroner.com/posts/raspberry-pi-train https://sambroner.com/posts/raspberry-pi-train [1] https://sambroner.com/posts/personal-analytics-2024 https://sambroner.com/posts/personal-analytics-2024

gregwebs 2y ago

I use this timer which has the advantage of being portable: https://gymboss.com/ https://gymboss.com/

timetc 2y ago
I was going to say that any watch would do, but having two timers for interval is pretty awesome. Maybe I need to add a "Work" activity on my Garmin :')

ifellover 2y ago

I love this! I’ve been playing around with browser extensions to achieve this, and it always seems to get lost in the clutter of my busy workspace. A physical timer for this is a brilliant idea. Another thing I’ve been contemplating is a “do not disturb” signpost on my desk when in focus time; might be that this timer could also double as that.

fredzel 2y ago

Very interesting, I've been thinking on how to make physical pomodoro timer (or just display for one), but with circular screen and preferably no exact time remaining visible. as for me it is both distracting and anxiety-inducing. I've been using Visual Timer app [0] on my android phone and it has mostly been great, but putting phone away would obviously be better. [0] https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.cwiesner.android.visualtimer https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=at.cwiesner.an...

deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
rukenshia 2y ago
I actually bought a 4" round LCD for that reason, but ended up ditching it in favor for the e-paper display. I also stuck to just showing minutes (and in the last minute 10-second interval updates) so that it doesn't get too distracting.

gorgoiler 2y ago

Lasering in on the three different use cases (rather than just one generic 25min focus time) and also providing statistics are both cool additions. Nice. It would be a good addition to your write up to mention, for the uninitiated, that pomodoro is of course named after a physical timer with a rotary encoder! https://medium.com/@thejinxes/ditch-the-tomato-timer-d8bbf01c341c https://medium.com/@thejinxes/ditch-the-tomato-timer-d8bbf01... If you ever get around to your goal of having a red e-ink screen, that would be a fun alternative to Pepe.

chungus 2y ago

Absolutely love it. Inspires me to think about porting my own productivity tools to an IRL device.

thunder-blue-3 2y ago

Every time I see something pertaining to a pomodoro timer, I'm reminded of interviewing with a YC founder in downtown san mateo in the early 2010s (he was working on websockets + slide deck/prezi-like tech iirc), and half our interview consisted of him hyping up this technique. The company went under within a year, and I could never respect this technique afterwards

rukenshia 2y ago
honestly feeling this - I (or my friend who now has the device) don't really follow this religiously either. I think it's great when you have a lot of work to be done and feel a little overwhelmed. Getting down into this rhythm can help you chip away at it.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
dexterdog 2y ago
The technique isn't what caused his company to fail. A big part of it was likely his obsession with the technique. He also probably wasted massive amounts of time setting up his other tools instead of using them.
egypturnash 2y ago
understandable, it's a very useful way to trick yourself into getting shit done but it's also very possible to turn "making the perfect work tracker-timer-app" into a giant rabbit hole instead of just getting a cheap, goofy-looking kitchen timer and keeping some notes on paper.

teddyh 2y ago

Physical pomodoro: <https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Il_pomodoro.jpg https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Il_pomod...>

neuah 2y ago
Exactly what i thought of as well. That's what i always used to use.
- latexr 2y ago
  That’s where the concept and name come from. “Pomodo” means “tomato” in Italian, and the author of the technique had one of those. The image comes from its Wikipedia page. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique
  - stavros 2y ago
    Correction: "pomodoro" means "tomato".
    - latexr 2y ago
      Thank you for the correction. It was a typo, but it’s unfortunately too late to edit the post.
      - stavros 2y ago
        No problem, I wasn't sure so I had to go looking, and I figured I'd post a correction for anyone who saw it.
ISL 2y ago
Yep. Any timer will do. If you find yourself programming an eInk display and a microchip in order to improve your procrastination, it is time to stop working on the project, get a physical timer, and work on the thing. If you feel inclined to shop around for a timer before getting to work, I'll save you the search. These work great. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TLC9SFZ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TLC9SFZ (but any timer will do). Go do the thing. You're worth it.

rambambram 2y ago

The whole idea of pomodoro comes from a physical kitchen timer in the shape of... you guessed it, a pomodoro. The best UX for the pomodoro technique can be found in this physical kitchen timer, if you'd ask me.

rukenshia 2y ago
I think functionally the Focus Dial (I linked to it in my README as well) is the much better „product“ and keeps exactly that UX compared to what I built. I had to face the reality of my own limited knowledge and skillset to build something like that (and wanted to do my own thing), plus I really ended up liking that epaper display.
- rambambram 2y ago
  I must admit I've been guilty of reacting on the title and not your post. I opened it, saw some machine and immediately thought of the kitchen timer in the shape of a pomodoro I have on my desk here. Which is so dead simple, that's why I like it. Now that I read your post and look at the photos, I think you definitely add something with the division of certain tasks! Besides, it's always cool to build something yourself, so please don't read my previous comment as a snark about reinventing the wheel or something. I just really appreciate the simple mechanical kitchen timer recommended for the pomodoro technique.
  - rukenshia 2y ago
    Absolutely no offense taken! I knew I was overengineering the hell out of this when I started it :)
- pimlottc 2y ago
  It would help if the intro section mentioned the added features so the reader would understand why a custom device was necessary.

atemerev 2y ago

I know assembling things is half the fun, but if you just want a universal ESP32 device with screen and buttons, I recommend M5stack. Cheap, programmable, uniquitous.

rlupi 2y ago
They are great. I have actually built my own pomodoro timer using a M5Stack Core2, maybe I should publish the code. It's a lot simpler than this one. Update: here it is https://github.com/robertolupi/augmented-awareness/tree/main/iot/pomodoro https://github.com/robertolupi/augmented-awareness/tree/main...

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

bloopernova 2y ago

This is fantastic and I want to build one. The UI is delightful, and as other people have said, the multiple modes for different tasks is a great idea.

13_9_7_7_5_18 2y ago

[dead]

dartharva 2y ago

GPLv3-licensed GUI Pomodoro app for Linux, for anyone who needs it: https://gitlab.gnome.org/World/Solanum/ https://gitlab.gnome.org/World/Solanum/

jpcom 2y ago

It's very beautiful, lovely work. Sleek and shiny, it's a device that begs for interaction, which is important in something that you'll be engaging with every 24-30 minutes. I would like a version of the display to show grains of sand falling through a digital hourglass.

desertmonad 2y ago

Awesome project :-) I think the missing ingredient here is a way to export the tracked activities, but this looks like it was fun to make!

mavamaarten 2y ago

I'm so sad that ePaper displays are still so expensive. They'd be perfect for splashing some home assistant driven goodness around my house. But the tiny ones are too tiny for my taste, and the big ones too expensive.

jfim 2y ago
If you're not dead set on having eink, there's always the ESP 32 cheap yellow display board: https://makeradvisor.com/tools/cyd-cheap-yellow-display-esp32-2432s028r/ https://makeradvisor.com/tools/cyd-cheap-yellow-display-esp3...
- hinkley 2y ago
  Where are we at on transflective lcd? I saw a decent demo a while back but I cannot recall the brand.

btbuildem 2y ago

Always interested to see a "device" type of project on here -- they tend to be the most challenging, even if the goal is simple. The intersection of object design, electronics and code is a great playground. I really like the choice of screen, and generally the considerations given (and explained in the readme!) for purpose and usability. Couple of notes on the object design (and this is something I find very challenging, and spend a lot of time iterating on) - What if the knob was on top of the device, wide and flat? you could center the screen, make the device smaller, and the physical action of turning it would be less likely to push the box around - Chamfers and fillets go a long way to make a thing look polished -- it's a small detail, but the difference between a sharp edge and a rounded one somehow seems to matter a lot. - Since the menu always has three options, what if instead of the knob there were three buttons on the top surface (like the "snooze" of an alarm clock)? Fewer interactions to fiddle with! - You can get translucent filament, and it makes for very cool "light conduit" parts -- eg, the LED box could be solid, and it would look like something from an 80s dashboard. Alternately, you could print a border for the screen, and light that up instead, making for a more minimalist design. (Sorry, I can't help it, I like thinking about these things) How did you design the knob, OpenSCAD? The knurling is a nice touch, and looks like it was done in a programmatic way.

rukenshia 2y ago
great questions! - knob: yeah, if I were to redesign that part I would move it to the top. I had a total schedule of 4 weeks for this project, and I didn't feel confident enough to rebuild (and print prototypes) of the case when I encountered the weight problem, but that would definitely make it better - I did fillet/chamfer (almost) every edge I believe, I also printed the final case with fuzzy skin to make it feel higher quality - The knob was originally meant to also allow you to change the timer, so having a dial felt like the right thing to do. Didn't turn out that way, so yes three buttons might be the better UX for the menus I ended up with (and would make the device smaller) - The shroud actually started out as a way to prevent light leaking (and then I re-printed it in white so that it would boost the LED diffusion a bit together with the diffusion plastic film), but I like your idea of having an LED strip around the edges of the screen - didn't think of that! - I am usually more of a Blender guy, so I followed a tutorial for doing knurling in onshape. The tool really doesn't like that much geometry and is laggy to work with, but feel free to check out the onshape file (linked in the README)

knowknow 2y ago

Cool project! I would recommend checking out the LVGL library [0], it’s an embedded graphics library to create UIs. It’s pretty simply to use and feels a bit like html. It’s a little bit harder to set up hardware communication, but once it’s set up, it streamlines making the UI and responding to input immensely. [0] - https://github.com/lvgl/lvgl https://github.com/lvgl/lvgl

rukenshia 2y ago
Oh that looks very cool! I spent some time researching when I started but didn’t come across this. Thanks!

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

ozim 2y ago

Not sure if author posted it here but don't forget use of "pomodoro" term is copyrighted. https://www.pomodorotechnique.com/pomodoro-trademark-guidelines/ https://www.pomodorotechnique.com/pomodoro-trademark-guideli...

rukenshia 2y ago
thanks for that, i'll update references.
tonymet 2y ago
would it need to be distinguishable from the general term (tomato)?
hinkley 2y ago
Really?? Time to change some code.

jrockway 2y ago

I made an e-ink clock once. The display documentation basically said you'd break the display if you refreshed more frequently than some long interval. I refreshed it every minute and indeed it broke after a year.

jjice 2y ago

$35 for the ePaper display seems pretty decent these days. Are these actually getting cheaper or am I off? I know it’s a patent riddled tech so that probably is the bit cost limiter, but I’ve been so excited seeing it more and more the last few years.

vram22 2y ago

Anyone made a cool software Pomodoro or other time-related app with interesting variations?

pedalpete 2y ago

A guy I know tried to build a business around a physical pomodoro timer a while back - https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/timechi-your-smart-productivity-tool#/ https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/timechi-your-smart-produc... A useful addition for those using this in an office, and even for those who don't want to look at the screen for the remaining time, would be to have an LED (maybe as a nice lightbar) on the top of the device which shines red or green to suggest to those who can't see the screen (viewing from the other side) if you are available to be interrupted or not. You could even make it as a progressive light bar if you were so inclined.