We made a “one-shot quit button”. Use STREAM DECK to leave work with ease
Hi! It’s Shizuka.
Do you ever find yourself working too much when you work remotely? Since you don’t have to travel to work, you may feel like you have to work a little longer when it’s time to end work. Do you ever have a hard time switching your brain between tasks? Today, I would like to share with you how to switch your mind between work and private life by using a certain gadget (the title already says it all).
Do you know what STREAM DECK is?
Have you ever heard of STREAM DECK? It is a gadget like this with LCD buttons!
You probably don’t know what it is just looking at it, so let’s connect it to a PC using the USB cable. That’s all we need to turn it on.
Start! The screen is now on. Various icons are lined up. This is STREAM DECK. In other words, it is a gadget with many LCD buttons, each assigned a specific function.
As the name “STREAM” suggests, it seems to be a product for people such as streamers. But I wonder isn’t there any workers out there who could find a use for it? So for people who are reading this article, I would like to introduce how to use this gadget.
How to use STREAM DECK
Management from a Mac/PC
After installing the software application (Elgato Stream Deck), you will see this window. This window is synchronized with the STREAM DECK screen.
The menu on the right contains a variety of actions, which can be drag and drop to assign functions to each buttons.
Various actions can be configured
As a simple example, let’s assign “Open” to one of the buttons.
Write the title and specify the desired folder (application or file) to be open.
I use this action a lot because I open a lot of apps. Here is how I have set mine up to open many apps related to work. Bottom right and bottom left are the pagination icons. This means that you can create as many pages as you like (over 15) and register as many apps, actions, and other functions. When setting up multiple pages, it is convenient to set up a pagination icon.
Amazing. How convenient. I can open a specific folder that I often used, or open a favorite page in just one click. On a Mac, you can open an app by clicking on it in the ‘Dock’, but I enjoy pressing the physical buttons so I prefer using STREAM DECK.
And now, I would like to draw your attention to the button right below the center…Close ALL!
Thanks for all your hard work… “One click quit button”
As I mentioned in the beginning, do you ever find yourself working too much when you work remotely? I sometimes lose track of time and become too concentrated on my work, There are also times when you don’t have anything urgent to do, but you ended up overworking…
I have seen this happen so often that I decided to create a one-shot leave button. It is a simple button that assigns a function to close all work-related applications. By pressing this button, you can switch off your mind once and for all!
The one below assigns a function called “Multi-Action”.
We have registered many “Close” actions for a various of applications.
Summary
By using this gadget, I am able to reduce the number of times “I overworked”, and cannot switch off my brain. It’s time to leave work. I have finished my work. When I press this button, the app closes at once. This refreshes me and I can leave work with a clear mind.
(Even though after that, I ended up reopening Slack or my email app…)
STREAM DECK is also available as an iPhone/iPad app. It is free for up to six buttons. If you’re using the multi-action like this time, then it is possible to start work in one click so six may be enough for you.