I did a couple of quick improvised desk additions today. Making a hole for a countdown timer to sit and a mounting system for a roll of paper. Real task management tools.

Embedded countdown timer and todo list scroll

Process

It started because my timer sitting on my desk sat at a weird angle that wasn't great for glancing. I took off the silicone cover to see if that would help, then I just kind of kept going.

Case off, screwdriver out

Examining the back

I opened up the case and found there wasn't too much there, which is good, I think. There was a kind of battery extender to the case battery slot. I cut that and used the more compact slot in the inner case instead. I like seeing evidence of one product being built on another modified, product. Makes me feel like everything is modding.

Timer desk hole

I cut a hole in the desk for the timer to sit real close to flush. I did it with a drill bit and a scroll saw. I've been using the scroll saw more and more lately, though I wouldn't say I'm skilled at it.

The tools and the mounted timer, and lots of sawdust

The next step

The idea with the timer is to do something pomodoro-ish, having it so handy made me also want a dedicated place to write down tasks. I have a little 7" screen I thought about.

Laying out the mini screen

This could have been fun as a dedicated todo list screen, but I have run into some annoyances doing this before. I switch out the computers plugged into the desk - if I run the mini-screen off them I know it'll be a hassle to set up the program in the screen everytime i reconnect - and where should it live when I'm disconnected and using laptop screen only?

The more interesting thing would be to run it off a raspberry pi, and then ssh into the pi from whatever computer - through tmux I could easily share the session. Typing this out kind of makes me wish I'd done it (I can of course always try another day). It would still be a fair amount of setup/fiddling though. I decided to go for the simplicity of paper.

Enter the paper roll

I have this roll of paper from a kids art easel I'm always looking for places to use. I thought I'd shorten it and then hang it so the scroll goes over the part near the timer. When I need more paper I can just pull off the roll.

Table saw and roll

I decided to use the table saw to cut the roll - I've been kind of enjoying using the table saw to cut non-wood (mainly cardboard) lately. Not sure why.

Cut roll

I disassembled a hanger to use for the roll hanger.

I put some screws in the bottom of the desk and wrapped the hanger wire to hold it.

The result

I'm really happy with the timer, a bit unsure about the paper but I need to sit with it. Happy in general to be doing these quick improvisational mods.