It looks like a cute polygonal paperweight. And, yes, it can do just that while sitting on your desk. Except, ZEI is actually a time-tracking device that lets you identify your current task by simply facing up the designated side for that activity.
Styled to look like an oversized polyhedral dice, it lets you switch to one of eight activities at a time by simply facing that side of the device up. No need to go to your time-tracking software and perform a few clicks before switching to the new task – just a simple move of a physical object is enough to trigger the event on the accompanying time-tracking app.
ZEI is fully-customizable, so you can assign any specific activity for any side. It also comes blank with a plain white finish, allowing you to write labels, draw symbols, or put stickers on each side to make whatever activity each represents easily recognizable. You can change activities at any time, allowing you to use this for both professional and personal productivity pursuits. It comes with apps for Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, and Android, so whether you work from a desktop, a laptop, or a tablet, they got you covered.
While designed to work with a companion app, they’re offering a pro version (subscription service for $3 a month) that integrates it with your time-tracking software of choice. They also have an OpenAPI that you can use to integrate the tool into your own company’s time-tracking application.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running for ZEI. Pledges to reserve a unit start at €79.