--- description: Find out why TimeChi is one of the best inventions of 2021 title: TimeChi: The 100 Best Inventions of 2021 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt840ea9f40ee561d4/698a1e8b22fb85b1bae2cb73/best-inventions-2021-timechi.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Nov 10, 2021 # Freedom From Distraction TimeChi by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Margeaux Walter for TIME Chatty colleagues and social media disrupting your workflow? Sean Greenhalgh faced the same problem at his previous job as a product manager in Sydney. “I did my best work after everybody left, and that was utterly unsustainable,” he says. The experience prompted him to dig into a time-management method he had read about and combine it with his expertise in technology. The result: [TimeChi](http://www.timechi.com "undefined"). With the click of a button, this mouse-size desk gadget ($129) enables a do-not-disturb feature on your devices and apps. Should a colleague wander over to visit you at your desk, the TimeChi displays a light to let them know, politely, that you are trying to focus. “It acts like a traffic light,” says Greenhalgh, whose goal is to help people increase their productivity and prevent burnout—something more than half of U.S. workers say they experienced in 2021\. _—Abhishyant Kidangoor_ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6113098/timechi/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6113098/timechi/"},"headline":"Freedom From Distraction","datePublished":"2021-11-10T11:13:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-02T23:56:25.669Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6113098/timechi/","keywords":["list","franchise","best inventions","Best Inventions 2021"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt840ea9f40ee561d4/698a1e8b22fb85b1bae2cb73/best-inventions-2021-timechi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"creator":"TIME Staff","articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt840ea9f40ee561d4/698a1e8b22fb85b1bae2cb73/best-inventions-2021-timechi.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2021/6113098/timechi/","name":"Freedom From Distraction"}}]}] ```