Raspberry Pi Desk Widget

A physical desk companion built to handle time management and habit tracking.

I wanted a dedicated physical interface on my desk to keep me focused, but I also wanted to maximize the utility of the hardware. This project transforms a single Raspberry Pi into both a standalone productivity hub and a silent, network-wide ad blocker.

On the hardware display, the widget runs a custom user interface featuring a real-time clock, a built-in timer for focused work sessions, and a daily habit tracker. This allows me to visually log my progress and keep my goals front and center without needing to open another tab on my computer.

Running quietly in the background, the device is configured with Pi-hole, acting as a DNS sinkhole that actively strips ads and trackers from every smartphone, laptop, and device connected to my home network. Building this required balancing the software loop for the custom UI rendering and timekeeping with the backend Linux networking configurations required to seamlessly handle all local DNS traffic.