Working at home is hard, particularly when there are others present. I find that my husband and daughter will regularly approach me when I’m in meetings or deep in code requiring concentration. In both cases, interruptions are unwelcome.
Luxafor contacted me before the holidays to see if I was interested in becoming an affiliate for them. I looked at their products, saw the applications, particularly for home use, and agreed to write a review. They sent me a Luxafor Flag* to give a try.
The Flag
The device is really simple. It’s a USB cord attached to a plastic flag that can change colors. You plug it in, download the software, and you’re ready to go.
The Software
I wish I could tell you what the software does. Even though I have full admin access to install whatever I want on my work computer (a perk of being a developer), something in the software triggered a block on the company security profile. Installing the software on my home machine wouldn’t do any good, because I don’t need the flag there.
But, there is another option; it’s just not for the faint of heart. It’s super cool if you’re a programming nerd like me!
The Programming Interface
The flag’s programming interface is open to interaction. With a bit of time on Google, I was able to download code that controls the flag for free from a command window. (Yes, DOS for those of you seasoned people).
With a few tweaks, I was able to set it up so that I could change the color five ways: red for meetings, yellow for concentration, green for available, purple for interruptible, and white for away. (Although for my family, if I’m not at the computer, they pretty much know I’m away).
The Results
My family learned the color codes quickly, and I have been less disturbed over the past few weeks than I have been in months. It has particularly cut down on husband or daughter coming in and not realizing I am on a video call while talking to me as I scramble to mute myself on the call.
Recommendation
These devices are good for a specific purpose. Letting people know that you can be interrupted is a good thing. The security issues it triggered give me pause, though, and I would hesitate to recommend to anyone that they install the software from the company.
I would recommend that if you are in the market for some way to let people know what your status is that you look at either the Luxafor cube* , which changes color with rotation, or for a cheap non-tech solution, different colored sticky notes.
Luxafor provided me with a product in order for me to write this review. I am an affiliate for them, meaning that if you use my link to buy their products, I will earn a small commission at no cost to you.
