Overworked? Not sleeping enough? Dozing off at work? As humans, we tend to forget to monitor ourselves when in our routine. Sometimes the daily tasks, battles with the job, kids, and home all leave us feeling exhausted. All because we forget to give time to ourselves, and take breaks. What if a monitoring device helped gauge our energy levels? Vigo does just that. It’s a wearable gadget designed to help break our cycle of the non-stop “overdoing”. By tracking how alert you are, Vigo advises you when it is a smart time to take a break. All inside of a small, sleek, headset, Vigo was sput up on Kickstarter for those of us who need a little reminder here and there.

 
The device is as simple as it should be. Perhaps this was one of the reasons why it was successfully funded. You wear Vigo in your ear. It has Bluetooth and connects to your smartphone. By tracking your blinking patterns and small head movements, Vigo calculates how long your eyes are closing. It does this with an infrared sensor, an accelerometer, and an algorithm. Together, Vigo can represent how much you are paying attention, and how alert you are. Once Vigo has an idea of your attention level, it sends the information to your smartphone app. The data may say different things about your levels, from “Very Alert”, “In the Zone”, “Getting Sleepy”, etc. Its algorithm is based on how you have set it, and you may tweak how sensitive Vigo’s responsiveness is.

 
The project creator, Jason Gui from San Francisco, says “staying alert and being your best has never been easier…Vigo stands for vigor. We want to invigorate you and help you get back in the zone.” But what would this device be without it providing more than just some data? Luckily, Vigo does more. It’s also able to nudge you (in customizable ways) when you are dozing off, as well as recommend when you should take your next break. Additionally, each event you decide to monitor, such as a lecture or class, is tagged so you can later look back on the data. By looking back, you will gain insight on how long you were paying attention, also if/and how long you remained idle.

 
Now, the nudging option is up to you. Its options range from a softly flashing LED light, to a pushing vibration, and even your favorite song to pump you up. Besides an alert, or providing digital data characterizing the tendencies of behavior, seeing patterns in your daily routine may be the biggest perk. You may tend to have drowsy Tuesday afternoons, yet didn’t quite realize your lack of stimulus before. By sequencing this information, you could learn that you’re better suited for a certain type of work in the morning or evening. Vigo helps you plan your days accordingly; something people with very busy lifestyles could benefit from. Considering you’re wearing a smartphone connected Bluetooth ear device, you also have the advantage of answering any incoming phone calls. Pre-orders are available now for $79, with scheduled shipments by May of his year. Vigo is compatible with iOS and Android.