Tomato Clock - A Web-Based Study Aid Open Source Project

Idea:
After brainstorming together, we decided to recreate a Pomodoro timer, a tool that became popular a few years ago to assist with learning and productivity. The goal of our tool, Tomato Clock, is to help users track time and remind them to take appropriate breaks, thus enhancing study and work efficiency. We focus on building it as a web extension and making it open-source, so it can be accessible and useful to a wider audience.

How It Works:
Once the Tomato Clock extension is installed, users can set a 25-minute work timer followed by a 5-minute break timer. The timer counts down, providing users with a visual cue for when it’s time to take a short break, while encouraging them to stay focused on their tasks until the timer reaches zero.

Team Collaboration:
After brainstorming, we divided tasks based on our strengths and interests:

• Arnav and Allen focused on the core coding of the extension, using JavaScript to build the main functionality, including the timer and user interface layout.
• Jared worked on project documentation, such as creating the README file and outlining the contribution guidelines, clarifing of the code of conduct.
• I focused on improving the UI design, representation, and repeative testing of the extension to ensure it works smoothly.

Reflections:
This project has been a great opportunity to experience teamwork and to develop our first browser extension together. We’ve run into some issues, such as the extension not working on specific devices. But the good part is that, during the developing process, each of us contributed our unique skills. I’d say the biggest takeaway for me isn’t just the project itself, but the experience of working on an open-source project for the first time. Just like the materials pointed out last week, we can learn how to solve problems in an open-source project.

Project Link:
Tomato Clock - Contributors