Pomodoro Project

This project is based on the Pomodoro study technique, which alternates between study sessions and breaks of different lengths. For example, after a 25-minute study session, the student takes a 5-minute break. After four study sessions, the student can take a longer, 15-minute break.

Inspiration

I chose to do this project for a couple of reasons. The biggest reason was to introduce myself to new technologies. I wanted to learn React and implement a RESTful API. My goal going into the project was to become more knowledgeable about these technologies and how to use them. I also use the Pomodoro technique frequently and wanted to automate the timing instead of keeping track of the timers myself. While I knew that these timers existed online, I wanted to create my own.

Setbacks

The biggest setback in this project was my lack of experience with Spring Boot. One recurring problem involved CORS, and I spent days reading documentation to understand what could be causing it. The React side of the project was easier, with the hardest part being learning about hooks such as useEffect and useState.

Future improvements

This project is incredibly basic, but it served its purpose of introducing me to these technologies. It was a great way to get my foot in the door and prepare to use similar technologies later on. I love the idea of this project, but there are improvements I want to make in a new version. The biggest one is to split the frontend into reusable React components, since everything is currently handled in one file. Another improvement would be to make it work on my iPhone and add a feature that blocks access to entertainment apps.