One Simple Moment, That Changed Everything.
Our Story. Who we are and why we love our work.
Read about our journey. From a pandemic problem, to a big backing on Indiegogo, to Shark Tank and more. It's been a fun journey. (That photo is Steve's actual home office where it all began).
Our Story
Why we built BusyBox and why we believe your space should work for you.
It Started at Home
BusyBox was born during the pandemic, when work, school, meetings, calls, and everyday family life suddenly collided under one roof.
From BusyBox's inventor, Steve. "My wife and I were working from home. Our adult kids were there too. My office/recording studio (dual duty) is where the home printer sits. And again and again, I'd be on a call and someone would walk in ... at the most awkward time of course.
Closed doors didn't help, I always leave my door close to hold in the heat. And after enough accidental interruptions, the frustration reached the point where something had to change. So I went online to get a cool "ON AIR" sign for my office, battery powered, remote controlled, and if possible, synced with my calendar. After an hour of trying, I gave up ... it didn't exist.
Desperation led to inspiration.
I started thinking about the room itself. What if your space could simply tell people what was happening inside? What if your availability were obvious before someone knocked, opened the door, or interrupted a call? Like an old Recording studio with the big red light saying "NOT NOW" in a quiet but obvious way. And I really wanted it connected to my computer and apps so I didn't have to think about it: is it on, is it off?
That week, I built the first BusyBox.
As BusyBox came together for me, I knew the software needed to be as thoughtful and dependable as the hardware. That is why I called my friend Fess and his company BlackBricks.io andy they built the fantastic software experience, integrations, and systems that make BusyBox useful in everyday life."
We keep adding software, integrations, accessories, and new ways to make BusyBox fit naturally into the way people work. But for us, the technology has never been the most important part. Simplicity of use has always been wat the technology was deployed for.
We Built Something Better
In 2020, BusyBox started as an idea for a smarter kind of status sign, one that could change as your day changed. Busy. Available. On a call. Recording. Focusing.
One space could have many modes, and the people around you should be able to understand those modes at a glance.
We launched BusyBox through crowdfunding to see whether other people were living with the same frustration.
They were.
Thousands of people backed the idea, helping us raise more than $315,000 and turn BusyBox from an experiment into a real product. Just as importantly, that early community helped shape the messages, accessories, software, and ways people use BusyBox today.
It also reinforced something bigger for us:
People don’t just want better tools. They want spaces that work better for them.
Then Came Shark Tank
As BusyBox grew, we had the chance to bring it into the Tank. Shhhaaaaaahhhhkkkks. IYKYK
We didn’t walk away with a deal, but the experience was extraordinary. Pitching BusyBox on Shark Tank forced us to explain the problem, the product, and the opportunity in a way that made everything sharper. It also introduced BusyBox to a much larger audience and became one of those moments in the company’s journey that still opens doors for us today ... in syndication and constant rotation. Thank you SHARK TANK!!!
Not every important milestone comes with a check attached.
Sometimes the time spent is the value.
Shark Tank gave us support, exposure, confidence, and a story we’ll probably be telling for the rest of BusyBox’s life.
Your Environment Changes How You Work
The spaces around us quietly influence our behavior. A library makes us lower our voices. A recording studio teaches us that when the red light comes on, it’s not a good time to walk in. Great spaces (designed well) communicate without requiring an explanation.
A workspace should be able to do the same thing.
BusyBox makes your availability part of the environment, so the people around you don’t have to guess whether you are concentrating, meeting, recording, teaching, seeing a client, or ready to talk.
That means fewer awkward knocks, fewer waves through a glass door, and fewer interruptions followed by the familiar:
“Oh no, sorry!” or "Can I interrupt?" (which is an interruption)
Just a simple visual signal that everyone understands. Calm. Effective. No drama.
Built Around Real Life
Today, BusyBox helps people protect their time in home offices, therapy practices, recording studios, classrooms, shared offices, creative spaces, and wherever focused work happens.
Some people change their BusyBox manually as their plans change. Others connect it to the tools they already use so their status can update automatically as meetings, calls, sessions, and focused work begin.
The better day is the point.
If BusyBox helps you stay focused a little longer, prevents an awkward interruption, protects a private conversation, or simply makes the people around you more aware of what you’re doing, then it is doing what we built it to do.
Experience Helps. Curiosity Matters More.
BusyBox wasn’t Steve's first product. He's got 20+ patents and more on the way.
Over the years, he's worked with companies including Bose, Toyota, Nike, Fender, and Floyd Rose, and invented and created products and platforms including BandLab, Fender's Amperstand and Floyd Rose's HexHiders. Products he's worked on have been used by more than 100 million people around the world. One. Hundred. Million.
He has taught us a lot about design, technology, and product development. But one lesson has mattered more than almost any other:
The best products usually begin with a very real human frustration.
BusyBox certainly did.
It just happened to begin in a home office/home recording studio combo space.
Designed to Stay With You
We don’t think of BusyBox as a disposable electronic gadget. We design it to adapt as your workspace and routines change.
Change the message. Change the color. Change the cover. Add an integration. Update the software. Move it to another room.
What you need from your space today may be completely different a few years from now.
That is also why every BusyBox includes lifetime software updates and a lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship. We want the product you buy today to keep becoming useful tomorrow.
Built to adapt. Built to last.
We’re Still Building
BusyBox is still a small company, and we like it that way. We still obsess over details, read customer feedback, improve the software, rethink the hardware, and get excited when someone shows us a way they use BusyBox that we never imagined.
And we are still working toward the same idea that started all of this: your environment should understand what you are trying to accomplish and help you do it.
Because when a space communicates clearly, people behave differently. Interruptions go down. Focus lasts longer. Work feels easier. You get more done and that feels great (and lowers end of day stress).
The Big Takeaway: Better spaces create better days.
Your next interruption is already on its way.
You've seen how busyBox works. You've seen why it works. Now choose the BusyBox that fits your space.
90-Day Trial
Use BusyBox in your own Workspace for up to 90 days. If it's not the right fit, send it back.
Lifetime Warranty
Built to last and backed for life.
Free or Reduced Shipping
Most BusyBox products ship free or at reduced rates.
Flexible Payments
Financing options make getting started easy.
Research Backed Knowledge Explorer
Discover helpful resources and insights to get the most out of your time.
Interruptions Hidden Cost
The interruption lasts seconds.
The recovery is much longer.
Attention is more valuable than time.
Yet typically valued less.
Just a 3 second interruption results in an average interruption recovery time of
23 minutes. Twenty. Three.
Gloria Mark University of California, Irvine
Research Snapshot
Researchers have consistently found that task switching increases errors, slows performance, and increases mental fatigue compared with sustained attention on a single task.
Research by:
- American Psychological Association
- Meyer, Evans & Rubinstein
- Gloria Mark, UC Irvine
How to minimize:
✓ Batch interruptions.
✓ Make focus blocks.
✓ Use visual signals to limit verbal interruptions.
Your Brain Does Not Multitask
People think:
“It's okay. I’ll answer one quick question.”
The science says otherwise.
Your Brain Doesn’t Multitask.
It Switches.
Why It Happens
Despite what we tell ourselves, the brain doesn’t perform multiple conscious tasks at the same time. Instead, it rapidly switches attention between them. Each switch requires your brain to unload one mental model and rebuild another, creating hidden cognitive overhead.
Research Snapshot
Researchers have consistently found that task switching increases errors, slows performance, and increases mental fatigue compared with sustained attention on a single task.
American Psychological Association
“Mental workload of task switching”
Research by:
- American Psychological Association
- Meyer, Evans & Rubinstein
- Gloria Mark
Practical Takeaways
✓ Batch similar work.
✓ Finish one thought before starting another.
✓ Reduce unnecessary interruptions.
Finding Flow
Have You Ever Looked Up…
…and Three Hours Had Passed?
That moment has a name.
Flow.
Additional details and helpful information to expand your knowledge.
The 90-Minute Brain Sprint [And Recovery]
Your Brain Isn't Meant To Sprint All Day.
It Needs Time To Recover.
These ultradian rhythms typically last about 90–120 minutes, after which your brain benefits from a short period of genuine recovery.
Work with your brain, not against it.
Why It Happens
Most people try to power through the workday without stopping.
Your brain has a different plan.
Beginning with sleep researcher Nathaniel Kleitman, researchers observed that our brains naturally cycle through periods of high alertness followed by periods where performance begins to decline. These ultradian rhythms typically last about 90–120 minutes, after which your brain benefits from a short period of genuine recovery.
Pushing through isn’t a badge of honor—it’s often working against your biology.
Research Snapshot
Research
- Nathaniel Kleitman first described the Basic Rest-Activity Cycle (BRAC), showing that approximately 90-minute cycles continue during waking hours.
- K. Anders Ericsson found that elite performers—musicians, athletes, and other experts—tended to practice in intense sessions of roughly 60–90 minutes, followed by real recovery.
- More recently, neuroscientist Andrew Huberman has explained how these natural rhythms align with changes in alertness and neurochemistry, reinforcing the value of focused work followed by deliberate rest.
Practical Takeaways
✓ Work in focused blocks of about 60–90 minutes.
✓ When your concentration naturally fades, take a 10–20 minute break instead of forcing another hour.
✓ Use breaks for movement, hydration, or a short walk—not more email or social media.
BusyBox Insight
BusyBox helps you protect those high-value focus blocks from unnecessary interruptions, making it easier to work with your brain’s natural rhythm instead of against it.
Learn More
- Nathaniel Kleitman’s work on the Basic Rest-Activity Cycle (BRAC)
- K. Anders Ericsson’s research on deliberate practice
- Andrew Huberman’s discussions of ultradian rhythms and focused work
People Can't Read Your Mind.
People constantly make decisions based on environmental cues.
A closed door. A red traffic light.
These small signals reduce uncertainty and help people make decisions with certainty.
Don't force someone to guess, with anxiety, answer the question before they knock.
Research Snapshot
Behavioral scientists have long shown that people rely on environmental cues to guide everyday decisions. Clear, visible signals reduce uncertainty, lower cognitive effort, and encourage predictable behavior without requiring explicit instructions.
Research from behavioral psychology and environmental design consistently demonstrates that thoughtfully designed cues influence human behavior more effectively than repeated reminders or verbal instructions.
Practical Takeaways
✓ Remove ambiguity whenever possible.
✓ Make important information visible before people have to ask.
✓ Good systems reduce decisions instead of creating them.
BusyBox Insight
BusyBox isn’t a barrier.
It’s a visible signal.
The clearer your availability is, the less people have to guess—and the easier it becomes to communicate without awkward interruptions.
Learn More
- Don Norman: The Design of Everyday Things
- Research on environmental cues and affordances
- Behavioral economics and choice architecture
Habits Beat Motivation. Build Better Systems.
Motivation comes and goes.
Some days you’re energized. Some days you’re distracted. That’s normal.
The people who consistently do great work rarely rely on feeling motivated. Instead, they build environments and routines that make good decisions easier and interruptions less likely.
The less willpower you need, the more consistently you perform.
Research
Behavioral researchers have found that our environment often influences our actions more than our intentions. Small cues—what we see, where we work, and how friction is designed—can dramatically change behavior without requiring more willpower.
Authors like James Clear have popularized this idea, drawing on decades of behavioral psychology showing that lasting habits are built by designing better systems rather than relying on motivation alone.
Practical Takeaways
✓ Design your workspace for the behavior you want.
✓ Remove friction from good habits.
✓ Add friction to distractions.
✓ Let your environment do some of the work for you.
BusyBox Insight
BusyBox isn’t a reminder to focus.
It’s part of a system that makes focused work easier by clearly communicating your availability before interruptions happen.
Learn More
- Atomic Habits
- Tiny Habits
- Research on choice architecture and behavioral design
Your Brain Is Reacting To The Room
Before we consciously decide how to behave, our brains process the space.
We instinctively lower our voices in churches.
We naturally raise our hands in classrooms.
These behaviors aren’t explained every time we enter. They’re triggered by environmental cues and reinforced through repetition.
Researchers in environmental psychology call these behavior settings—places that naturally encourage predictable behaviors without requiring constant instruction.
Your "busy" space can reinforce (or ruin) efficiency depending on how it's designed.
Research Snapshot
Researchers in environmental psychology have spent decades studying how physical spaces influence behavior. Work by Roger Barker on “behavior settings,” along with later research in environmental design and behavioral psychology, shows that people naturally adapt their behavior to the cues around them.
The environment often shapes decisions before we’re consciously aware of it.
Practical Takeaways
✓ Design spaces that encourage the behavior you want.
✓ Make expectations visible instead of verbal.
✓ Small environmental cues reduce uncertainty.
BusyBox Insight
BusyBox doesn’t just tell people what to do, in time it changes your environment so your space drives the right behavior; it becomes a natural behavior.
Find Your Workspace
BusyBox works a little differently for your needs. Explore real workspaces and discover how it helps every day.
Home & Family
Your home office deserves clear boundaries. BusyBox helps kids, partners, and guests know when you’re focused, in a meeting, or ready to talk.
Explore Home & Family
Creator Studio
Your next great idea deserves uninterrupted momentum. Whether you’re recording, editing, streaming, or writing, BusyBox helps protect the moments that matter most.
Explore Creator Studio
Therapy & Telehealth
Privacy starts before the conversation begins. BusyBox provides a simple visual reminder that a confidential session is in progress.
Explore Therapy & Telehealth
Professional Offices
Better work begins with better communication. From private offices to hoteling spaces, BusyBox makes availability obvious so people know when to stop by, and when to come back later.
Explore Professional Applications
Student
Studying need the same uninterrupted time as a meeting. Whether preparing for finals or tackling a difficult project, BusyBox helps roommates, friends, and family know when you’re in student mode.
Students, Teachers & Education
Meetings & Live Sessions
Some moments can’t be paused. Video calls, presentations, recordings, podcasts, and live streams all depend on uninterrupted attention. BusyBox makes that instantly obvious.
Explore LIVE, ON AIR & MeetingsControl BusyBox Your Way
Choose the control method that works best for your style, sophistication and space.
Side Button
Turn BusyBox on or off with a quick tap as you walk by.
Mobile App
Tap a preset or turn BusyBox on and off from anywhere with our free app.
Smart Integrations
Connect BusyBox directly to Slack, Zoom, Teams, ShortCuts, Phone, Google Calendar, Stream Deck, and more.
IFTTT Automations
Trigger BusyBox from thousands of apps and custom automations using IFTTT.
RF Remote (BusyBox R)
Designed for people who want the simplest BusyBox possible. Control it with the included RF remote. No apps, Wi-Fi, or integrations required.B
The Hidden Cost of an Interruption
The interruption takes seconds.
The restart does not.
We've all experienced it.
"Wait... where was I?"
Research from the University of California, Irvine found that after an interruption, workers took an average of about 23 minutes to fully regain their previous level of focus.
BusyBox helps protect the most valuable thing in your workspace:
Your momentum. Your time.