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· 7 min read
Ash Pearson

No matter how productive and successful we are at work, we all have those moments where procrastination rears its nasty head and tempts you into the realms of doom-scrolling or simply focusing on a task that gives you a dopamine fix but doesn't really push the business needle forward.

If you are the kind of person who is motivated by gaming, or the dopamine fixes provided by gamification, then you may find gamifying your high-priority tasks can make work more fun, and let you leave the office at the end of the day feeling like you've made great progress – and that feeling can be invaluable.

WhatPulse Gamification

WhatPulse has a range of different ways to help you gamify your productivity at work. The software itself tracks how many keys you type, so simply by doing your work you are contributing towards your online profile and climbing those global leaderboards. This alone could give you the motivation to type more and complete that task you've been putting off because that progress converts into WhatPulse progress.

In addition to this, you can enable the WhatPulse Geek Window to get a live snapshot of how your day is going. There are Geek Window options to show not only your overall rankings and progress but also how much you have progressed today. You could have a Geek Window open that shows your current global ranking for keystrokes and how many keys you have typed today so far. You can then give yourself a daily goal based on something that is achievable but means you have done a considerable amount of work, and that can give you the additional motivation to type just one more email or finish one more report so you hit that 50,000 keys daily target! The more often you hit your daily goal, the quicker you'll climb up those global rankings, too.

You can also set up Milestones within the WhatPulse client which notify you when you reach it, for example when you reach 1,000,000 keystrokes. This can provide you with an additional sense of achievement.

adding milestones

You can join the WhatPulse Discord to join a community of like-minded individuals who enjoy increasing the statistics and hold yourself accountable for achieving a certain threshold per day or per week. The community can then keep you motivated and this social gamification can help you to achieve more at work as you'll have a sense of not wanting to let people down. It's powerful and holding yourself publicly and socially accountable in this way can also be a powerful way to overcome certain addictions and procrastination issues. The WhatPulse Weekly Report is also a great way to compete with yourself week-on-week. Did you manage to type more this week than last week? The report will show you the difference between the week for your stats and rankings, giving you the opportunity to constantly challenge yourself.

Finally, WhatPulse has a range of achievement badges you can unlock while progressing your various statistics. Every key you type and click with your mouse gets you one step closer to unlocking your next achievement badge to proudly show off on your WhatPulse profile.

Timers & Rewards

Clever use of timers and rewards can be a great way to gamify your productivity and make work more fun. Power hours are a classic way to focus in on what needs to be done for a full 60 minutes, and the reward can be something as simple as a cup of coffee or a chocolate bar.

If the power hour seems a bit too long for you to remain focused, then other techniques may work well for you. The popular Pomodoro technique sees you work in 25-minute intervals followed by a 5-minute break. You repeat this 3-4 times and then take a longer break for around 30 minutes. This can help keep your focus heightened and allows you to save those procrastinating moments for the break time at the correct time without interrupting your flow.

pomodoro technique

Generally just having regular breaks can help to avoid burnout, so something like a mid-morning snack (which is often referred to as ‘elevensies') can help break up the first half of the day before lunch and then something similar in the afternoon. Looking forward to those break times set in stone can help you stay motivated until those times, resulting in increased productivity.

If you think you can get away with it at your job then there is also the so-called 30/30 approach. This simply means doing 30 minutes of focused work and then taking a 30-minute break to do something non-work related. We don't think this works for all types of projects you may be working on and your boss may not take too kindly to you having a break every half hour! But it's reported that this method can keep the mind fresh and help to spur on more creative thinking and reduce brain fog.

Gamified Task Managers

There are many different task managers available now on the market. Some are mobile-first and others work best when you are using alongside a desktop PC all day. A trend that has been growing over the last few years is a rise in ‘gamified' task managers or at least gamification within an existing app.

Some examples of task managers that have gamification built in as a feature include Todoist with their Karma points which you earn by creating and completing tasks and generally engaging with the app.

However, some other task managers allow for a full-on gamified experience. The aim of these is to make ticking off tasks from your to-do list more rewarding and fun, which in turn could be the motivation you need to complete more work and be more productive.

gamified task manager

One of the top examples of a gamified task manager is Habitica which is an RPG that levels up your character and unlocks new gear and weapons thanks to the tasks you mark as complete. You can also set up habits that are a bit different to tasks and help keep yourself accountable for the good habits you want to do more of and the bad habits you want to eliminate.

Whilst Habitica does have a mobile app it is a desktop/web-based focused application. So if you are primarily on your phone for your task management, you may want to look into an alternative such as LifeUp or Do It Now which are both highly rated and popular options available in the Google Play Store and Apple App Store. Challenge your colleagues

Finally, if you are someone who is of a competitive nature and motivated by winning, then you could challenge your colleagues in a fun way to see who can be the most productive. This could be who ticks off the most tasks this week on their task manager, with a beer being the prize. Or it could be both of you having an account on a gamified tool like Habitica and seeing who can get to the highest level. For some people, being able to compete against someone they know well and spend lots of time with can help keep you both accountable and highly motivated.

But tread carefully. Some people do not take well to others who have a competitive spirit and may feel alienated by someone trying to achieve more and potentially make them look bad in front of their boss. So be careful with who you choose to challenge should you wish to take this route to competitive productivity.

What are some of your favorite ways to gamify productivity and do more at work? Let us know on X/twitter or Discord!

· 5 min read
Martijn Smit
Ash Pearson

Hi 👋

Introducing a feature we've been working on for quite some time: WhatPulse Profiles! 🎉

That's right - Premium members can now create Profiles from within WhatPulse version 5.8 letting you group together your stats depending on who, or what you are working on.

For example, you can create separate profiles for your gaming time to see how much WASD keysmashing you're doing, and then switch to a profile to track your time and statistics related to a client you are delivering work for.

screenshot

Once you are done with your profile-related tracking, simply switch back to the 'General' profile to monitor your overall statistics.

Whether you are a professional, gamer or student - WhatPulse Profiles give you the power to segment your own personas and keep better track of those unique statistics.

Managing Profiles

It's nice and easy to manage Profiles from within WhatPulse from the Settings tab and navigating to the Profiles section. Here's how:

Once they've been set up, the Profiles can then be activated and deactivated from the tray icon menu, making it quick and easy to switch between profiles or turn them off completely.

Once you've tracked stats related to your different Profiles for a while, you can filter and segment these statistics for the ultimate deep-dive analysis - just select the profile in the top-right drop-down from any page within the WhatPulse client that already shows statistics.

More powerful statistics - including the powerful 'Time Used' - are all accessible and configurable from your private WhatPulse Dashboard on our website.

Profile Reports in Weekly Updates

Every Monday, you can get a weekly update report in your inbox showing how you (and your friends) did in the last week. When you start using Profiles, a report on the time and effort you spent on them is automatically added to your weekly update. Know how much time you've spent on projects, directly from your inbox.

Stream Deck Plugin and Automation

If you're not familiar with Stream Deck, it's a customizable physical control pad that allows you to automate tasks and control various applications with physical buttons. There's been a WhatPulse plugin for Stream Deck for a while, allowing you to display real-time stats on the Stream Deck.

With this update, we've even made it easy to physically toggle between Profiles using the buttons on your Stream Deck thanks to some nifty new additions to the WhatPulse Stream Deck plugin. For even more flexibility, you can integrate automation to activate and deactivate profiles using the Client API.

Help Articles and More Information

We have plenty more information on how to do things such as creating or deleting Profiles and generally making the most out of our new Profiles feature on our Help Center:

Remember, WhatPulse Profiles are available exclusively to our Premium members. If you are not yet subscribed, you can learn more here about Premium and its advanced statistics.

We're really excited to see how our members make use of this long-awaited feature and we welcome any questions or feedback via our Discord server or X profile!

Start a Free Premium Trial

If you're not a Premium member yet, you can experience what Profiles have to offer by starting a free trial. Even if you've had a trial period in the past.

Start Free Premium Trial

More Updates in WhatPulse v5.8

Profiles isn't the only new or updated thing in WhatPulse v5.8. Here's a quick overview of all the other changes:

🎉 New Features

  • To improve developer experience, we added an OpenAPI specification to the Client API, and http://127.0.0.1:3490/ is now using Swagger UI.
  • Windows: Add an option to install for all users on the computer.

📈 Improvements

  • Added a feedback notification when settings are saved, so you're 💯 sure they are saved.
  • macOS: Improve network interface detection. Sometimes with computers with multiple interfaces, the last interface wasn't detected properly.
  • macOS: Updated the Apple computers model database to recognize the newer models.
  • Be more verbose about why connections are rejected from the client API in the HTTP responses. Also, add the dual stack localhost address by default (::ffff:127.0.0.1).

🐛 Bug Fixes

  • Fix translating dates inside the facts.
  • Make sure all updating the Geek Window transparency has immediate effect on all Windows versions, there were some versions where this didn't work and you had to restart WhatPulse for the transparency to take effect.
  • Prevent the real-time network traffic graph to draw funky backtracking lines by clearing the data when it's not being updated, or the chart united (bits vs bytes) are changed.
  • Windows: Fixed application metadata discovery (version, vendor, etc.) on some Windows versions.
  • When ignoring an application in the uptime tab, the client asked whether you wanted to reset the Geek Window to its defaults. This fixes that misplaced message.
  • Skip npcap installation when WhatPulse is being installed via the command-line. Otherwise it would still pop up a GUI for the NPcap installer.

· 5 min read
Martijn Smit

In a world buzzing with distractions, notifications, and tasks competing for your attention, distinguishing what truly matters can feel like an insurmountable challenge. If you're a productivity enthusiast or someone perpetually drowning in a sea of to-dos, fear not! The solution lies in simplifying your approach. Welcome to the philosophy of focusing on 'one-thing' per day. By leveraging this method, not only will you boost your productivity, but you'll also gain deeper insights into the metrics that truly matter in your quest for efficiency.

The Paradox of Choice

Before diving into the nitty-gritty of the 'one-thing' productivity method, let's address a common productivity pitfall: the paradox of choice. In theory, having a myriad of options should make us happier. But in reality, it often leaves us overwhelmed. The constant juggle between tasks dilutes our focus and impacts the quality of our output.

featured image

Barry Schwartz, author of "The Paradox of Choice", posits that too many choices can paralyze rather than empower. If you're scrolling through an endless task list, your brain is more likely to short-circuit than streamline. The solution? Mindful elimination. By homing in on a single important task daily, we reduce decision fatigue, thereby enhancing our overall productivity and sense of accomplishment.

The Power of Prioritization

The concept of prioritization can be traced back to the Pareto Principle, often referred to as the 80/20 Rule. According to this principle, 80% of results come from 20% of your activities. For productivity geeks, this implies that a handful of high-impact tasks yield the majority of your results.

Laura Vanderkam, productivity expert and author, emphasizes the importance of identifying these high-leverage activities. But how do you pinpoint them?

  1. Identify Your Core Goals: What are you aiming to achieve, both in the short and long term? Clarity of purpose enables better prioritization.

  2. Analyze Past Performance: Tools like WhatPulse can help. Monitor your keyboard and mouse usage to identify patterns in productivity. Are certain activities yielding higher productivity spikes? Focus on those.

  3. Time Budgeting: Allocate blocks of time for these high-priority tasks. Use the Pomodoro Technique to stay disciplined.

The 'One-Thing' Focus

Now, let's zoom in on the crux of this productivity strategy: focusing on one key task per day. This concept, popularized by Gary Keller in his book "The ONE Thing", advocates that focusing on the singular task that makes other tasks easier or unnecessary is the key to moving mountains in your personal and professional life.

How to Implement This

  1. Daily Reflection: Each day, take a few moments to reflect on what task will have the most significant impact. This reflection should take place preferably the night before or first thing in the morning.

  2. Set Clear Objectives: Define what success looks like for the day. This clarity acts as a compass, steering you towards meaningful progress.

  3. Break It Down: Split the 'one-thing' into manageable chunks. Let's say your task is to write a blog post—ahem—break it into an outline, first draft, editing, and final review phases.

  4. Eliminate Distractions: Close those ubiquitous social media tabs. Silence non-essential notifications. According to productivity studies, these disruptions can cost you up to 23 minutes to regain focus.

  5. Track Progress: Tools like WhatPulse can quantify your activity and keep you accountable. Seeing your stats can be an excellent motivator.

  6. Review and Adjust: At the end of the day, evaluate your performance. Did you achieve your 'one-thing'? If not, what impediments stood in your way? This iterative process allows you to refine your approach continually.

Leveraging Technology

In this digitized era, manual tracking feels like cooking a gourmet meal using a caveman’s toolkit. Enter WhatPulse, an indispensable companion for any productivity aficionado. WhatPulse offers detailed insights into application usage, allowing you to analyze where and how your time is being spent.

Activity Tracking Made Easy with WhatPulse Statistics

Maximizing WhatPulse for 'One-Thing':

  • Actionable Insights: Identify periods of peak productivity. Aim to schedule your 'one-thing' during these windows.
  • Reduction of Redundancies: Track unnecessary clicks or keystrokes to simplify your workflow.
  • Comparative Analysis: Measure your performance on 'one-thing' days versus multi-tasking days. The metrics will speak for themselves—focus trumps frenzy.

Continuous Improvement

The 'one-thing' philosophy isn't a set-it-and-forget-it solution. It requires ongoing commitment and refinement.

  • Kaizen Approach: Originally a Japanese business philosophy, Kaizen focuses on continuous improvement. Implement small, incremental changes to make your 'one-thing' focus more effective over time.
  • Feedback Loop: Engage with peers, mentors, or even productivity forums. External perspectives can offer invaluable input and shed light on blind spots.
  • Mindfulness: Incorporate mindfulness practices like meditation or deep work sessions. These techniques enhance focus and mitigate the risk of burnout.

The Road to Mastery

Mastering productivity is akin to mastering an instrument—practice, feedback, and persistence are non-negotiable. The 'one-thing' method simplifies this journey, granting you the cognitive liberty to focus on what truly matters. For those obsessed with numbers and optimization, the quantifiable metrics provided by WhatPulse can transform your productivity strategy into a data-driven masterpiece.

You don't have to climb Mount Everest to feel accomplished. Sometimes, the vista from a well-climbed hill can be equally satisfying. Remember, meaningful productivity isn't about doing more; it's about doing what matters most.

· 3 min read
Martijn Smit

If you've ever installed WhatPulse on a Windows computer, you have probably seen a popup asking to install NPcap. The installer mentions something about using it for network monitoring, but what is NPcap exactly? This blog post aims to demystify NPcap, explaining its functions, installation requirements, and its interaction with WhatPulse.

What is NPcap?

NPcap is a packet capture library for Windows, widely respected for its performance and compatibility between versions of Windows. It serves as a core component for network monitoring and analysis applications, capturing network traffic on the network interface directly and providing detailed insights into the network traffic goingin and out of a computer. It's essential for developers, network administrators, and cybersecurity experts who need to diagnose network issues or monitor traffic for suspicious activities.

How Does NPcap Work?

At its core, NPcap works by operating deep in the kernel of the Windows operating system, which allows it to intercept and log network traffic that passes through network interfaces—be it Ethernet (cabled), WiFi, or others. This low-level operation is crucial for capturing a detailed and accurate snapshot of network activity without missing a beat.

npcap architecture

Because it's so low-level, it's required to use administrative permissions to install NPcap.

No NPcap?

If NPcap isn't available on a computer, WhatPulse uses network interface counters as a fallback mechanism. These counter provide basic statistics about the network traffic being transmitted and received over the network. While they do not offer the same level of detail as NPcap, they still allow WhatPulse to gather useful network statistics. These counters are less invasive and do not require administrator privileges, making them an excellent alternative for users who prefer not to install additional software.

However, the statistics will be limited to network interface stats only. Without NPcap, there will be no per-application, geographical, or protocol network stats. Network statistics collected through the network interface counters are also not sent to the website, so they do not count towards the unpulsed stats.

Types of Network Statistics Gathered by WhatPulse

WhatPulse collects different types of network statistics, which provide insights into computer behavior and network efficiency. These include:

  • Data Usage: Total bytes sent and received.
  • Network Activity: Timestamped stats of active usage that's used for the real-time network traffic chart.
  • Application Data: Network usage per application, which helps identify which apps consume the most bandwidth.
  • Geographic Statistics: Data usage distributed by location, useful for tracking where your data is going to and coming from.

Conclusion

NPcap provides a deep level of monitoring by capturing every packet on the network, while WhatPulse offers a user-friendly interface to view and analyze this data. Whether you're a casual user curious about your network usage or a power user seeking to optimize network performance, these tools provide valuable insights into your network.

Activity Tracking Made Easy with WhatPulse Statistics

· 2 min read
Martijn Smit

Hi 👋

Welcome, WhatPulse enthusiasts! I’m thrilled to introduce the latest version of WhatPulse, version 5.7, packed with a new features, a ton of improvements and bug fixes to help elevate your user experience. Let's delve into a few key highlights of this release:

🎉 New Features

  • Brazilian Portuguese Language: WhatPulse now offers a Brazilian Portuguese translation, enriching accessibility for Portuguese-speaking users thanks to Éder Magalhães Machado's contribution.
  • Windows Installer Update: You can now install WhatPulse without requiring Administrative permissions. This is an alternative to using Portable Mode on computers where you don’t have any administrative permissions (like a work computer). More information here.

📈 Improvements

  • SSL Libraries now included for Linux: The AppImage now consistently loads bundled OpenSSL libraries, preventing SSL errors due to version disparities. You’d get SSL errors when trying to log in before.
  • macOS Compatibility: Dynamically detects whether the device runs on Intel or Apple Silicon-based systems, ensuring you receive the correct version during updates.
  • Client API Enhancements: Improved REST API functionality with consistent JSON format headers for seamless connectivity. This could’ve led to delays when calling the Client API in the previous release.
  • Windows Registry Optimization: The installer now uniformly uses 'WhatPulse' as its registry key, ensuring accurate version tracking across applications. Apps like UCheck Software Updater can now correctly see the latest WhatPulse version.

🐛 Bug Fixes

  • Settings: Resolved an issue where disabling auto pulse settings failed to save correctly, and settings with inputs were not editable when the Geek Window was open.
  • Uptime Calendar Bug: Fixed a crash related to fast navigation through the uptime calendar.
  • A bug that could cause the application to crash if a backup took too long has been fixed.
  • Fixed keyboard heat map sharing to your online profile.

There’s even more improvements and bug fixes included in version 5.7, these were the highlights. Check out the release notes for a full list!

How to update

Version 5.7 is now available when you use the Check for Updates function, and you can download it from: https://whatpulse.org/downloads