I telecommute full time and I try to stop working at 5PM – part of the whole partner & family thing in my Epic Life Quest – but when I’m in the zone surfing /r/gifs for DBAreactions ideas, time flies by.
I wanted a gentle reminder that it’s around 4:30PM, and I need to start wrapping things up. I hate jarring alarms, so I added a couple of candles on my windowsill:
Candle Corner
Inside each of the glass candleholders is a battery-operated votive candle with a built-in timer. You just turn this on at 4:30PM (or whenever), and it’ll come on automatically every day at 4:30PM and run for 4 hours.
Battery-operated candles with an AA battery for size reference
Each candle takes 2 AA batteries, and I use Eneloop rechargeables because they seem to win awards in comparison tests. Same thing with the La Cross Technology battery charger. I’ve used both of those around the house for years, and they work great.
They have a nice flickering glow, so at 4:30, they’re a gentle reminder out of the corner of my eye. Someone’s got their light on for me, and it’s time for me to wrap things up at work. They’re purposely not in my line of sight because I don’t want a big flashing light going, “IT’S QUITTIN’ TIME!”
As the sun falls and the room gets darker, the flickering becomes more noticeable, and I like that too.
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I currently have two daily appointments configured in outlook. One at 5pm that says “Stop Working” and another at 6pm that says “REALLY, STOP WORKING!!!!!” Sadly, somedays this doesn’t work. Maybe I should try candles.