I sent today an internal email to the Igalia staff about happiness at work. You know that our main goal, as company, is to achieve our happiness. Regarding to that, I wrote a not so long essay about my experience with an useful option that comes with GNOME since a few releases ago.

I’m talking about the Typing Break option located at the last tab of Keyboard preferences dialog. If enabled, it basically locks your screen during a specified amount of time every X minutes. For example, I usually break for 3 minutes each hour. (that is the origin of the 3.60 -read it as three sixty- happiness movement, thanks to Juanjo for the original name, I modified it lightly in order to give it a more “commercial” ;-) name).

If we use these three minutes (just three) to stand up, stretch our legs, relax your eyes and your back, we won’t lose three minutes of work, we’ll be earning three minutes of health. Our mind and our body will feel better, and we will probably be happier.

It’s very important not to check the option that allows you to cancel the break because you will do it for sure (I did it), and you’ll get more stressed. You will probably feel interrupted in the best moment, just when you’re going to finish something, but think it twice, it’s not true, you were not going to finish it just during these three little minutes.

If you think that all these things are a “duh” take a look at this Kathy Sierra’s post, and then you’ll realize that all these “duh” things only would be obvious if we were doing them.