Timer & Budget Awareness
How the timer shows budget health — envelope colors, flow state glow, quick-switch, and position awareness.
Timer & Budget Awareness
When a timer is running, PayMe gives you continuous, glanceable feedback about where you stand relative to the budget. No mental math, no switching to a report — the timer itself tells the story.
Envelope timer
The timer border changes color — and pulses — based on how much budget remains for the current task's allocation:
| Color | Pulse | Budget remaining |
|---|---|---|
| 🟢 Green | None | > 30% of allocation budget |
| 🟡 Amber | Slow pulse | ~10–30% remaining |
| 🔴 Red | Rapid pulse | At or over budget |
Below the timer, a budget context line shows Xh left or Xh over budget so you always know the exact figure, not just the color band.
The color and pulse update live as the timer runs. If you start a task on a project with only 20 minutes of budget left, the timer starts amber (or red) immediately — no surprises at the end of the day.
Budget colors reflect the allocation level, not the individual task estimate. A task with 5h estimated on a project with 100h remaining shows green.
Flow state detection
When you've been focused for 25+ minutes without stopping or switching, the timer adds a subtle violet glow. This is a visual acknowledgment — you're in flow.
The glow has no mechanical effect. It doesn't change planning or scoring. It's there to encourage uninterrupted focus and make sustained work feel recognized.
Quick-switch
When you stop a timer, PayMe shows a quick-switch prompt: a short list of your other open tasks, sorted by today's agenda order. Tap one to immediately start a new timer on it.
This removes the friction of navigating back to the task list between tasks. The flow is: stop → pick next → go.
If you dismiss the prompt (tap away or wait a few seconds), nothing happens — the timer just stops normally.
Budget position awareness
Beyond the envelope color, the timer area shows a compact budget summary:
- Logged today — hours tracked so far today across all tasks
- Daily target — your expected hours from the work schedule
- Allocation burn — percentage of the current project's allocation consumed
This context helps you make micro-decisions: "Should I keep going on this task or switch to the other project that's falling behind?"
Related
- Logging Time — timer mechanics, manual entries, and duration formats
- The Task List — your daily work hub
- Budget Model — how hours flow from project to allocation