We humans* are highly influenced by our environment.

When we "dress for work", and "enter an office", we assume the mental attitude, & can moderate our base impulses easier, & get to work.

When we enter a movie theater, we take those environmental cues to know to relax & enjoy what comes next.

However, we're getting ALL SCREWED UP lately, as we have ONE environment (our laptop or phone) through which we are doing too many vastly different activities. (Playing games v. working v. communicating, all on the same platform & environment).

This gets us totally confused, & we feel guilty. When we're trying to work, we are tempted & distracted to goof off. When we're goofing off, we're distracted by work obligations.

So, the idea is: 1) Build in auto-detection of what type of activity we're doing, based on what apps/sites we're on. Classify the types as "work/creation/outputs" or "play/inputs/reading", or "social/communication"

2) Then, the OS can help you FOCUS to get more satisfaction from the activity you have already chosen to do.

For example, if you're playing games, it shows a slight red hue to anything it controls (your background, your room lights (through smart home), your eye-glass tint.) It suppresses all email notifications, social notifications, etc.

If you're working, it shows a faint blue hue to anything it can control. Again, it suppresses all email/social notifications.

If you're in social mode, then it tints everything green, & turns on all notifications from people, but hides work- related tasks (which it detects by seeing what apps you use when working).

*for you non-humans, sorry I for making such presumptions.
-- sophocles, Apr 04 2014

What I'd need with it is warnings that I'm now exceeding my goof-off allocation (most of the time), and that I've exceeded my work allocation (occasionally).

Couple this up to the headphones or sound system to change the background noise, too. A lullaby could hint that it's bedtime. A Trondheim Hammer Dance could subliminally notify you that soon you'll be getting up for another fantastic day.

Couple it to the air conditioner (once you have one of these you have to have an air conditioner). As the times-up arrives for some mode, let it get a little too warm or too cold.
-- skoomphemph, Apr 04 2014


[skoo] exactly. Yes, to the extent that the system can talk to more things in your environment, it can control all environmental cues in all senses (add work v. play smells), to make it even more effective at keeping your focus.
-- sophocles, Apr 04 2014



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