NYU Tandon Senior Design Project 2020-2021
Cassandra Chow ([email protected]) Qin Ying Chen ([email protected])
In our experience, many programmers, university students, and office workers toil at their desks for long periods of time to meet deadlines and complete tasks. However, during this period of productivity, physical, mental and sometimes emotional needs are sacrificed. In a popular online forum, daytime programmers were asked about their relationship with work and physical hobbies. One user mentioned, "Just because we sit for hours and if you are sitting for long and concentrating on a particular task[,] you tend to snack on junk! And not to mention the energy drinks for caffeine[,] and yeah our routine is messed up too, staying awake all night and sleeping all day." Another user empathized with, "Being a programmer is not a very healthy profession - long hours of sitting in front of a computer, with deadlines, and doesn't promote the best posture. This takes a toll on the body and mind." Both users highlight the presence of mental stress and a lack of physical activity as they work for extended periods of time, and this was a trend found in many other users in similar discussions. We need a way to lessen the impact of working long hours for people who work in front of a screen or on a desk such as office workers and students.
Our goal is to help desk workers and students become more mindful of and tend to their physical and psychological needs while they work long hours. To achieve this goal, we are working to create a support companion whose job is to remind users to take healthy breaks from sitting in front of their laptop and/or completing a task that requires a lot of thinking and time. By taking healthy breaks to stand up and stretch or walk around a bit, users' eyes can take a break from the screen, and users are able to take mental breaks and stretch parts of their body that might otherwise be staying in one position for an unhealthy period of time.
Eui will aim to incorporate the Pomodoro Technique, which allows users to focus on work in blocks of 25 minutes and rest in blocks of 5 minutes. Our hope is that with Eui as a companion, users will take care of themselves more and learn the importance and benefit of taking healthy breaks throughout their work period.