Working on Tomato Clock has been quite an adventure from day one. Our team dove into building our first browser extension—a Pomodoro timer designed to help manage work sessions effectively—and it’s been a real learning experience. We all chipped in according to our strengths, which made the process both enjoyable and efficient. While we’re still working on polishing the graphical user interface (GUI), that challenge has brought out our creative sides and even pushed us to improve our skills.

One of our biggest hurdles right now is beautifying the GUI. Designing an interface that’s both intuitive and visually appealing is always a tough nut to crack, especially when you’re more comfortable with code than with design. Luckily, our teammate Chardin stepped in and completely exceeded our expectations by creating a stunning icon for Tomato Clock. His artwork not only gives our extension a professional look but also inspires us to keep refining every detail. In addition to his creative contributions, Chardin has been instrumental in putting together the presentation slides, which have really helped communicate our vision.

Within our group, we divided the roles to play to our individual strengths. Arnav and I focused on the coding aspects—building out the timer logic, the countdown mechanism, and the session switch that lets users toggle between a 25‑minute and a 5‑minute session. I’m particularly proud of my contributions here; getting the timer to work seamlessly, with all its quirks and necessary resets, was a challenge that pushed me to recall and refine the JavaScript, HTML, and CSS skills I had learned in previous courses. I honestly thought I’d forgotten most of it, but this project proved that those skills were just waiting to be dusted off and put to use again.

Jared handled all the behind-the-scenes administrative work, like setting up our contribution guidelines, code of conduct, and the licensing files. His efforts ensured that everything was organized and professional, which allowed the rest of us to focus solely on our creative and technical tasks. It was really satisfying to see how our diverse skills came together to form a coherent project, each of us playing an essential role in the overall success.

One of the most surprising parts of this journey has been rediscovering my passion for coding. Working on Tomato Clock rekindled my love for JavaScript and web design, making me realize that those skills were still very much a part of me. It’s amazing how a project like this can bring back memories of earlier courses and reignite interests you thought were long gone.

As we continue to refine the GUI and tackle the remaining challenges, I’m excited to see Tomato Clock evolve into a fully functional and user-friendly extension. Each step forward feels like progress, and every setback is just another learning opportunity. I’m really looking forward to sharing more updates as we move closer to launching our first browser extension, and I can’t wait to see what we’ll achieve together next.

One of the most surprising parts of this project for me was realizing that I still remember a lot of my JavaScript, HTML, and CSS skills from courses I took years ago. I honestly thought I’d forgotten most of it, but working on Tomato Clock brought back that passion for coding and designing interfaces. It’s been a refreshing reminder that sometimes skills are just waiting to be dusted off and put back into action.

Overall, the project has taught me a lot about collaboration, resourcefulness, and how much fun building something new can be. I’m really looking forward to polishing our GUI and seeing Tomato Clock evolve into an even better tool for managing work sessions. Stay tuned for more updates as we continue this creative and challenging adventure!