I wrote this a while back, and now I see that the manual describes a countdown timer. So now might be a good time.
=== We've discussed something like this before, but it seems there have been changes, so I am starting from scratch. Wondering how much of the functionality exists in Emacs or Org. I describe it in detail below. === Overview: === I'd like to keep =countdown timers= and get reminded at blastoff. This is a completely separate concept from clocking, effort estimates, and that org timer that inserts mm:ss, by the way. Here is a single example -- all 3 timers will run at the same time: 1) You just put the laundry in. You want a reminder to switch it in 30m. 2) You are also making tea right now. You want a reminder in 5m to drink it. 3) You are interviewing somebody at 6PM today. You want a reminder 15m before and at 6PM. Note that 1 and 2 are specified with a number of minutes, while 3 is specified with a time. Note that there is more than one timer at the same time. === Entry: === The interface should be simple, perhaps via capture, and definitely in the minibuffer. It's OK if it creates tasks. This would allow persistence and keep track of your activities. Appt-add can mostly do 3, but without keeping an Org task and without specifying duration (only target). Thus, you have to manually calculate the duration, which is a cognitive burden. For 3 you can add an Org task, set a time, and tell appt to show it. However, I don't know if there is a capture interface for all of that. I know of no mechanism for 1 and 2. === Output: === Ideally, you would be able to show a buffer that shows remaining duration, target time, and name of thing: |----------+---------+-----------+-----------| | status | target | remaining | task | |----------+---------+-----------+-----------| | reminded | 17:17 | -13m | tea | | - | /17:30/ | - | /now/ | | wait | 17:44 | 14m | laundry | | wait | 18:00 | 30m | interview | |----------+---------+-----------+-----------| I don't know if it makes sense to use agenda. And a timer in the modeline that can be switched between the currently clocked task display (whatever you are clocking in org, i.e. the usual count-up display) and the next item (in this case laundry in 14m). === OK, so how much of all this is possible these days? Thanks. Samuel _______________________________________________ Emacs-orgmode mailing list Please use `Reply All' to send replies to the list. Emacs-orgmode@gnu.org http://lists.gnu.org/mailman/listinfo/emacs-orgmode