Sitting at your desk for long hours getting work done may bring home the bacon, but just like excess bacon, it could also kill you. A simple walk every few hours or a couple of squats at regular intervals can make a huge difference in living a healthy life. Unfortunately, timely schedules to get up & make these changes is a difficult proposition for workaholics. ‘Echo – Smart Reminders’ is an iOS app designed specifically for people like your average workaholic. An effective yet minimalistic application, it’s a happy blend of an alarm system & a reminder app taking the best from both worlds.
While setting an alarm multiple times during the day for a single activity like walking the dog may seem plausible on an average alarm clock app, adding another repetitive task like occasionally standing up & taking a break from your work station would only lead to confusion. There would be no way to distinguish when the alarms go off as to which designated task is to be performed. Echo has a simple yet elegant solution by providing titles for each sequence of alarms that go off. All alarms that need to be executed are curated with titles & icons neatly displayed for each task. So the tasks “dog walking” & “standing up” are unambiguous to the user.
The reminders settings work on an intuitive model where all the specifications of a reminder are promptly displayed to the user according to the natural flow of setting up a reminder. As soon as one starts to setup the reminder, there are options available below the screen such as designating the time, frequency & sound selection. These options are presented in an orderly fashion to the user making the process a smooth one like a flowing river rather. This is different approach compared to bombarding the user by asking for simultaneous inputs which can be overwhelming & bothersome. The entire reminder-setting process has text that has already been entered with only the variables needing to be changed. For example, the statement “remind me to walk the dog at HH:MM” only requires the user to make changes to the HH:MM section. Every task has well-written guidelines on how to move forward making the process of setting up a reminder a 60-second job.
Echo is an app of simplistic design & approach. Yet, it has proved itself to be a vanguard for inculcating good habits & efficiency. It is most suited for individuals who have a set routine. The app can be used as a way to remove monotony by adding tasks to introduce variety. Alternatively, the app can also be used by individuals to synergize multiple routines into one single harmonious flow.
The brains behind the app are Elliot Dobbs & Horea Burca who started Blinky in 2006. The company stands as a testimony to the utility of the Internet as both the founders have never physically met! Elliot is based in the United States while Horea hails from Croatia. Together they’ve shown the world that geographical limits are not a barrier to a good idea.
Click here to download Echo on your iOS device.
– This is a startup profile based on publicly available material & not a review –
Image Credit: Blinky
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