Palmodoro

Inspiration

Inspired by the simplicity of the Palm Pilot and Palm OS we developed a Chrome extension that channels those ideas using the effectiveness of the pomodoro technique for productivity. We wanted to bring back the feeling of using something retro while still being productive in the modern age. Therefore, we added in the ability for someone using this extension to communication with Google Gemini to assist in their studying/research/work.

What it does

The app will block any websites on your browser that will be distracting to you as you work. Whenever you go to a new page, it will ask you whether or not it is work-related and our extension will store that data so you can focus and easily access what you need but not what you don't. The timer will keep you on an efficient studying schedule while making sure you still get some breaks. We all know that by the end of a long session

How we built it

We started by getting our bearings with the documentation of Chrome Extensions and then we began splitting off functionality to each person. We used the Chrome Storage API to make sure that data was persistent and we did not lose the list of allowed websites and maintain the timer.

Challenges we ran into

One challenge we ran into were maintaining data between reloads of the extension because normally it is reset so we had to research into the Chrome Storage API to keep our data between refreshes. Another challenge we faced was making sure our backend correctly matched up with our front end since we worked on parts of the project separately we often had different visions for the project so we had to keep communication open to overcome this.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are very proud of the way that the different aspects of the project came together in the final product all united through the beautiful front end. Despite the difficulties we faced and the limitations of working on a chrome extension, we still made a very functional project that we can be happy to present.

What we learned

We learned a lot about the way Google Extensions are managed and interact with the browser. In the future, it would be much easier to get started since we know what works and what doesn't. We also learned we had to maintain the modularity of our project in order to keep our group going in the right direction to reduce the brainpower while figuring out where we are in the code base.

What's next for Palmodoro

Palmodoro is effective as a browser extension but we all know that the real distraction are smartphones constantly drawing your attention away. Next, we would love to develop it more as a mobile app which can keep you on track and focused on the work that is important while also bringing back the retro feel of the PalmOS.