Burnout on repeat
Knowledge workers sprint late into the night, only to hit walls the next morning. NeuroNudge spots overworking patterns and nudges toward purposeful breaks long before exhaustion wins.
Chrome Web Store: Coming soon (under review)
Nova ACT inside
Mindful Nudges. Parental Control. Digital Wellbeing.
NeuroNudge is a Chromium-based extension that helps users stay balanced by reducing distraction, overworking, and digital overload. It adapts to your browsing rhythm, spotting small signs of drift and gently guiding you back before focus fades. For parents, the Parent Mode adds smart guardrails that help children build healthy screen habits, especially on school Chromebooks widely used from middle school through high school. When deeper support is needed, the Amazon Nova ACT assistant provides personalized routines that restore focus and flow.
What’s inside
- Dynamic Dashboard – tracks time spent across sites, labeling them as productive, distracting, or neutral.
- Smart Nudges – detects moments of drift or fatigue and gently guides you back to focus.
- Focus Pulse – monitors typing rhythm and keystrokes to sense when you’re overworking or underworking.
- Daily Goals and Scorecard – visualizes progress, typing pace, and focus streaks to keep momentum strong.
- Customizable Controls – adjust which apps are allowed, set time limits, or block sites entirely.
- Parental Control – gives families and educators flexible guardrails for Chromebooks, balancing focus with healthy screen time.
Why we built NeuroNudge
We built NeuroNudge to help people build a healthier relationship with technology. Screens are part of nearly every moment of modern life, and it is easy to lose focus, overwork, or drift without realizing it. NeuroNudge helps you stay centered by sensing when your attention starts to fade, guiding you back to focus, and reminding you to take mindful breaks before exhaustion sets in. It is designed for anyone who wants to work or study with purpose, and for parents who want to create balance and safety for their kids online.
Underworking drift
Students jump between tabs, losing track of time and expectations. Gentle prompts and timer caps keep attention anchored without shaming curiosity.
Digital wellbeing
Families want screen time to cultivate hobbies, not steal sleep. Parent Mode shapes those boundaries alongside kids instead of locking them out.
Chromebook + Nova
Classrooms lean on Chromebooks because they are simple and managed. NeuroNudge layers local rules and focus caps, and Nova ACT scripts personalized reset rituals whenever students get stuck.
Built for intentional focus
NeuroNudge started at HackPrinceton Fall 2025 as an experiment in adaptive productivity support. It senses the subtle behavioral cues that precede drift and delivers compassionate prompts to keep you in the flow state longer.
Ethical by design
All insights run locally in your browser. NeuroNudge watches patterns, not content, so your work stays private.
Designed for Chrome
The extension integrates seamlessly with Chrome’s extension APIs to surface nudges that feel native, not intrusive.
Open development
Follow progress, file issues, and contribute on GitHub. We love thoughtful feedback—and we document every Nova ACT experiment we ship.
Features that stay by your side
Every nudge, limit, and insight runs locally. NeuroNudge is lightweight, privacy-first, and tuned for quick wins.
Time awareness
Minute-by-minute keystroke and focus tracking without recording content. See where energy flows.
Mode prompts
Relax, Focus, Sprint, and Custom let parents and students set the day’s intention before the tabs open.
Blocks & limits
Per-site and global caps, instant redirects, and optional alerts—plus Nova ACT routines when extra structure helps.
Nova companion
Amazon Nova ACT scripts compassionate break/re-entry rituals so the assistant feels truly collaborative.
Voice nudges
ElevenLabs-powered speech turns notifications into warm reminders you can hear across the room.
Parent Mode keeps habits healthy
Set clear guardrails for the sites that drain focus. Parent Mode lives entirely on the device, giving families Chromebook-ready controls without new accounts or dashboards. Keep social tabs closed during class and let curiosity roam again once the school day wraps. Nova routines add creative breaks when kids (or parents) need a reset.
Block the big distractions
Choose sites that stay off-limits while Parent Mode is on. NeuroNudge gently redirects to a calming reminder page if they pop up—ideal for shared family laptops and managed school Chromebooks.
Time-box screen time
Add daily caps or per-session timers for specific sites. When the limit is reached, the browser pauses that destination until it resets, encouraging breaks, stretches, and real-world conversation. Nova can even lead a short reset ritual before letting students hop back in.
See rules at a glance
Manage everything inside the popup. Toggle Parent Mode, review blocked sites, tweak limits, trigger Nova routines, and wire up alert texts in seconds.
Parent Mode · On
youtube.com
Blocked
roblox.com
Daily · 45m
minecraft.net
Session · 20m
Our hackathon journey
NeuroNudge came together at HackPrinceton Fall 2025. We sprinted, we stumbled, we learned.
What we learned
- Digital wellbeing is as much about empathy as analytics.
- Parents want controls that are conversational, not punitive.
- Chromebook classrooms need low-friction installs: no heavy dashboards.
- Nova ACT can anchor human-centered rituals when automation is invited.
Challenges
- Integrating SMS alerts on a hackathon deadline – we pivoted to secure iMessage prompts.
- Balancing AI nudges with privacy guardrails – everything stays local first.
- Designing a UI that feels calming while packing in a serious rules engine.
- Prototyping Nova ACT scripts quickly while the SDK was still evolving.
What we’re proud of
- Accurate, context-aware notifications that adapt to work or study states.
- ElevenLabs voice integration that keeps nudges friendly and human.
- Parent Mode that respects kids’ autonomy while giving adults peace of mind.
- Creative Nova ACT routines that qualify NeuroNudge for the Amazon AGI Lab Challenge.
Amazon AGI Lab Challenge – AI Assistants For Everyone
Creative use of the Nova ACT SDK
Nova is more than an API call for us—it’s the glue between mindful nudges and real-world action. We automate break rituals, re-entry checklists, and helper sequences that make NeuroNudge feel like a teammate instead of a timer. It’s how we’re pushing towards AI assistants that truly improve everyday life.
- Autonomous Nova routines when burnout or underworking is detected.
- Shared scripts that guide families through focus resets on Chromebooks.
- A vision for accessible AI companionship in classrooms and home offices alike.
Install NeuroNudge today
While we finish Chrome Web Store review, you can sideload the extension in developer mode. Expect the store listing soon!
- Download or clone the project from GitHub.
- Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions.
- Enable Developer mode in the top right.
- Choose Load unpacked and select the downloaded NeuroNudge folder.
- Pin the extension and start exploring mindful productivity nudges.