Design and Development of Hardware Pomodoro Timer using ATMega328P Boards

A Technical Paper demonstrating the design and development of a Hardware Pomodoro Timer to eliminate distractions

Abstract

Time is of the essence in the modern time and with the rise of social media and engagement-based applications, people are going through a shortage of time. This shortage of time is due to the overuse of social media apps. These apps tend to be very addictive in nature and make the user spend way too much time on them, causing the user to waste a lot of their productive time, thereby, hampering their studies or work life.

There have been many methods to overcome this issue. One such method is the Pomodoro Technique. Pomodoro Technique is a time management method which involves breaking work into certain time typically 25 minutes and followed by a short break.

Pomodoro Technique can be applied by an individual using a Pomodoro Timer app on their mobile phone or laptop. There are many pomodoro timers available across many operating systems and app stores for use.

However, one of the major challenges here is to stay focused from the prying eyes of your smartphone’s social media apps. Your eyes are frequently drawn towards the screen and its contents, thereby reducing your focus on your productive work.

To overcome this issue, we have utilized Arduino Uno, powered by ATMega328P.  to create a Hardware Pomodoro Timer. This custom-built appliance eliminates visual distractions of the user, by giving a buzzer to signal the end of each interval as well as utilize the on-board LEDs to indicate the flow of time. This appliance allows the user to concentrate completely on their tasks without any distractions and increase the focus, enhance the productivity too.

Paper Published by:

Aryan Karamtoth - Department of Information Technology, Kakatiya Institute of Technology and Science

Laxmi Koundinya - Department of Computer Science and Engineering (Networks), Kakatiya Institute of Technology and Science