12 ms·

My (almost) perfect setup to stay focused

58 points by jlengrand 14y ago

potomak 14y ago
Did you try Tomato.es[1] to track your pomodoros? I'd like to get feedbacks from GTD gurus. About music I warmly recommend musicForProgramming();[2] [1] http://tomato.es http://tomato.es [2] http://musicforprogramming.net http://musicforprogramming.net
- gbeeson 14y ago
  I've used Tomato.es for quite some time now (relatively speaking) and have found it 'better' for my flow than pen and paper/mechanical timer (though I have one as well).
  - jlengrand 14y ago
    I started with a mechanical timer also (mainly to get away from any device that could distract me), but stopped because it was noisy. I solved the problem by switching notifications off in my phone during work hours.
- jlengrand 14y ago
  Didn't know about tomato.es, but it seems like a cool tool. I used to use an equivalent, but stopped because I try to stay away from my browser when working (to avoid ending on youtube, or here . . . :)). I actually use pomodroido (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.artifix.pomodroido.free&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.artifix.po...). As I set up my phone to not receive notifications at work, this is the only thing that makes my phone vibrate :). Thx for the link concerning the music. I think I tried it some time ago, but found it to "relaxing". I'll give it a new shot :)
- coreymaass 14y ago
  A little plug for http://timerdoro.com http://timerdoro.com, too. I built it so you can run multiple timers, at the same time.
  - mertd 14y ago
    What is the utility of multiple timers? Isn't the point of pomodoro method to stay focused on one thing for a bite sized period of time?
pilgrim689 14y ago
On the "not getting enough sleep" problem, why don't you incorporate exercise/sleep/diet into your GTD (or what you're using to measure productivity) ? Then, if you aren't sleeping enough, it will show up in your tools.
aed 14y ago
I'm really interested in learning more about how use use FreeMind. I've been using a collection of text documents as "cheatsheets" that I can refer to, but it's less than perfect.
- jlengrand 14y ago
  I used to have cheatsheets also (see here for the last version[1]), but I end up never use it because Google is simply faster . . . I'll probably write some lines on FreeMind in a future post :) [1] http://www.lengrand.fr/programming-tips-2/ http://www.lengrand.fr/programming-tips-2/
- antidoh 14y ago
  FreeMind has been forked into FreePlane, which may be more recently maintained.
  - urlwolf 14y ago
    Fonts are horrendous under linux. Any workaround? Pixelated as hell. And scroll leaves dirty traces (awesomewm may be the culprit)
    - keithpeter 14y ago
      Freemind looking OK on Ubuntu 12.10 with stock Unity desktop. I've just downloaded freeplane 1.2.20 from freeplane.org as the version in Ubuntu repos is 1.1.3. Looks nice with useful additions to the mind map. Seems to run OK with the same java and libraries as were installed for freemind. Do you have other java based software installed? Does that look ok? http://packages.ubuntu.com/quantal/freemind http://packages.ubuntu.com/quantal/freemind Ubuntu repos show freemind depending on openjdk (or Oracle) and that has a font package shown as a dependency.
walrus 14y ago
Why would someone do this to themself? I find I enjoy life much more when I take things slowly, but maybe that's just a difference in personality.
- keithpeter 14y ago
  In my professional life/time (I'm a teacher) I like to make time to think about how to present topics to students, and how to respond to their responses. To do that, I have to manage the crap (management inspired paperwork that does not actually impact on teaching/learning/reflecting) and routine but very important tasks like marking work. I use a Pomodoro timer (actually a cheap one I got locally) to stay focussed on the mechanical things. I do actually record the number of pomodoros I spend on crap, and I feed that back when things get out of hand. Students who don't like Maths much also find a kitchen timer helps them to focus, so I break homework up into 'pomodoros' of each topic. Strangely, they find the more pomodoros they do, the easier it all gets. In non-pomodoro time, I do things like reflect on what kind of activity works, make screencasts, quizzes and games, and make new ways of linking topics (e.g. areas and perimeters of rectangles and simple factors and multiples). Outside of work I too like taking things slowly! The turn of the year always makes me think about time passing.
- moystard 14y ago
  I actually agree. I was really into productivity a while ago but I realised quickly that most important of all, I need to enjoy myself while working. Pomodoro allows me to do so while having a good focus, but I know that I cannot go as far as the author or I will simply become crazy.
zeteo 14y ago
The link to www.getworkdonemusic.com by itself makes this article worth an upvote. Looks like a good resource that I wasn't aware of before.
- jlengrand 14y ago
  It made HN first page not so long ago :)
- tejaswiy 14y ago
  So their song list seems to be at : http://www.getworkdonemusic.com/fast_tracks.json http://www.getworkdonemusic.com/fast_tracks.json . Does anyone know if this list gets auto compiled using some bpm measure or if the person behind the website populates them manually?
CKKim 14y ago
I've recently been thinking about the motives for people writing these kinds of articles. A year ago I would have found this a weird question because when the actions of blogging and sharing are so culturally ingrained it's very difficult to step outside and ask "Why?". Now I find it instructive to do so. Sincerely and unrhetorically: "Why did you write this?" My belief at the moment is that such articles are validation-seeking. The writer draws strength from committing their plans to a socially-viewable document and subjecting it to discussion. Most of the likely responses to posting the piece online (including no responses) can, with a little squinting, be interpreted as positive reinforcement for the individual's system, hence the incentive to share.
- sek 14y ago
  Maybe because it takes a lot of effort to implement all that stuff and it's still a big deal for a lot of people. This is also a regular blogger why not? Also there are probably a lot more out there, you see this one because people find it upvoteworthy. You could ask the question for almost every blog post, i think this one is not much different why posts on codehorror are written. There are a lot of good reasons to blog, just Google for it.
  - CKKim 14y ago
    > You could ask the question for almost every blog post Indeed. Usually I perceive the motives are to increase the author's employability attractiveness, promote their business, or build status within their community. Some productivity posts fall into those categories too I believe, but usually to me the validation model is a better fit. > i think this one is not much different why posts on codehorror are written. Which is?
- hoodwink 14y ago
  Validation may be a positive side effect, but maximizing individual productivity is a subject of genuine interest for many people, myself included. Look at www.lifehacker.com. I don't think that website exists as a conduit for authors' self-esteem. Look at the success of Tim Ferriss. Examples go on... OP clearly put a lot of work into researching various methods, tried them out on himself, and wanted to share the results, maybe even give back to the "productivity community." I appreciate that.
andrew_wc_brown 14y ago
5 hours a day, 5 hours a week. I track my time in a simple spreadsheet labeled 1 to 20 at 15 min intervals. If you aren't getting enough sleep then you're not scheduling your time. You need to create a schedule and stick to it and don't let others hold your time hostage.
S4M 14y ago
I like the idea of avoiding distractions and avoiding the browser. When working on personal projects I tried several times not to turn on the wifi or to work directly in the terminal without running a Desktop application, but at some point I have to use the browser again to look up for some docs or install something.
aioprisan 14y ago
Check out TaskUp, a cloud task list with notifications, reporting, tags, filters and many more! https://taskup.com https://taskup.com
ikhare 14y ago
When I saw the title I half expected to be something akin to http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/famous-small-offthegrid-worksp-140587 http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/famous-small-offthegrid-work... My comments are entirely related to staying focused when coding. For the days when I am in manager mode things are different, and I am not sure if "focus" is always the right mode there. I've always found myself preferring long unbroken periods of flow for coding. That for me comes from a quiet space much like the writer's huts described above. That to me has been my perfect setup to stay focused. Though I have never tried Pomodoro, the idea of something disturbing me every 25 minutes sounds ghastly. When I really need to work I simply close all programs on my computer that are non essential and close all tabs that are non essential. No gmail, no twitter, no facebook. Then I go into a room, sometimes turn off the lights and just code :-)
eisbaw 14y ago
Brown noise!
eisbaw 14y ago
Brown noise!
septerr 14y ago
Does the fact that we have to use techniques to make ourselves focus mean that we do not like what we do?
- dorkrawk 14y ago
  No, I think that it's natural to be tempted by immediate gratification (watching stuff on YouTube, checking Twitter, reading xkcd archives) even when you really care about the delayed and more satisfying gratification of progress on a long term project. When all those distractions are easily accessible from the same place you work (your computer) it seems ok to take measures to offload the task of avoiding them.
geofft 14y ago
When you say "70% productivity", how do you measure this? (It sounds like there's a standard for this that I missed.)
- jlengrand 14y ago
  HAve a look at rescuetime. It automatically calculates a % depending on the time you spend on activities. Don't give too much thoughts about this number, as any statistic, it is just indicative :) http://www.rescuetime.com/tour http://www.rescuetime.com/tour
  - geofft 14y ago
    Ah, thanks. Sadly I don't use Windows or Mac OS either at work or on my personal computer, so I haven't been able to try it out.
suyash 14y ago
I like the idea of creating temp branches,,,wehre you can actually see how much your contributed every day!

58 points by jlengrand 14y ago

Did you try Tomato.es[1] to track your pomodoros? I'd like to get feedbacks from GTD gurus. About music I warmly recommend musicForProgramming();[2] [1] http://tomato.es http://tomato.es [2] http://musicforprogramming.net http://musicforprogramming.net

gbeeson 14y ago
I've used Tomato.es for quite some time now (relatively speaking) and have found it 'better' for my flow than pen and paper/mechanical timer (though I have one as well).
- jlengrand 14y ago
  I started with a mechanical timer also (mainly to get away from any device that could distract me), but stopped because it was noisy. I solved the problem by switching notifications off in my phone during work hours.
jlengrand 14y ago
Didn't know about tomato.es, but it seems like a cool tool. I used to use an equivalent, but stopped because I try to stay away from my browser when working (to avoid ending on youtube, or here . . . :)). I actually use pomodroido (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.artifix.pomodroido.free&hl=en https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.artifix.po...). As I set up my phone to not receive notifications at work, this is the only thing that makes my phone vibrate :). Thx for the link concerning the music. I think I tried it some time ago, but found it to "relaxing". I'll give it a new shot :)
coreymaass 14y ago
A little plug for http://timerdoro.com http://timerdoro.com, too. I built it so you can run multiple timers, at the same time.
- mertd 14y ago
  What is the utility of multiple timers? Isn't the point of pomodoro method to stay focused on one thing for a bite sized period of time?

pilgrim689 14y ago

On the "not getting enough sleep" problem, why don't you incorporate exercise/sleep/diet into your GTD (or what you're using to measure productivity) ? Then, if you aren't sleeping enough, it will show up in your tools.

aed 14y ago

I'm really interested in learning more about how use use FreeMind. I've been using a collection of text documents as "cheatsheets" that I can refer to, but it's less than perfect.

jlengrand 14y ago
I used to have cheatsheets also (see here for the last version[1]), but I end up never use it because Google is simply faster . . . I'll probably write some lines on FreeMind in a future post :) [1] http://www.lengrand.fr/programming-tips-2/ http://www.lengrand.fr/programming-tips-2/
antidoh 14y ago
FreeMind has been forked into FreePlane, which may be more recently maintained.
- urlwolf 14y ago
  Fonts are horrendous under linux. Any workaround? Pixelated as hell. And scroll leaves dirty traces (awesomewm may be the culprit)
  - keithpeter 14y ago
    Freemind looking OK on Ubuntu 12.10 with stock Unity desktop. I've just downloaded freeplane 1.2.20 from freeplane.org as the version in Ubuntu repos is 1.1.3. Looks nice with useful additions to the mind map. Seems to run OK with the same java and libraries as were installed for freemind. Do you have other java based software installed? Does that look ok? http://packages.ubuntu.com/quantal/freemind http://packages.ubuntu.com/quantal/freemind Ubuntu repos show freemind depending on openjdk (or Oracle) and that has a font package shown as a dependency.

walrus 14y ago

Why would someone do this to themself? I find I enjoy life much more when I take things slowly, but maybe that's just a difference in personality.

keithpeter 14y ago
In my professional life/time (I'm a teacher) I like to make time to think about how to present topics to students, and how to respond to their responses. To do that, I have to manage the crap (management inspired paperwork that does not actually impact on teaching/learning/reflecting) and routine but very important tasks like marking work. I use a Pomodoro timer (actually a cheap one I got locally) to stay focussed on the mechanical things. I do actually record the number of pomodoros I spend on crap, and I feed that back when things get out of hand. Students who don't like Maths much also find a kitchen timer helps them to focus, so I break homework up into 'pomodoros' of each topic. Strangely, they find the more pomodoros they do, the easier it all gets. In non-pomodoro time, I do things like reflect on what kind of activity works, make screencasts, quizzes and games, and make new ways of linking topics (e.g. areas and perimeters of rectangles and simple factors and multiples). Outside of work I too like taking things slowly! The turn of the year always makes me think about time passing.
moystard 14y ago
I actually agree. I was really into productivity a while ago but I realised quickly that most important of all, I need to enjoy myself while working. Pomodoro allows me to do so while having a good focus, but I know that I cannot go as far as the author or I will simply become crazy.

zeteo 14y ago

The link to www.getworkdonemusic.com by itself makes this article worth an upvote. Looks like a good resource that I wasn't aware of before.

jlengrand 14y ago
It made HN first page not so long ago :)
tejaswiy 14y ago
So their song list seems to be at : http://www.getworkdonemusic.com/fast_tracks.json http://www.getworkdonemusic.com/fast_tracks.json . Does anyone know if this list gets auto compiled using some bpm measure or if the person behind the website populates them manually?

CKKim 14y ago

I've recently been thinking about the motives for people writing these kinds of articles. A year ago I would have found this a weird question because when the actions of blogging and sharing are so culturally ingrained it's very difficult to step outside and ask "Why?". Now I find it instructive to do so. Sincerely and unrhetorically: "Why did you write this?" My belief at the moment is that such articles are validation-seeking. The writer draws strength from committing their plans to a socially-viewable document and subjecting it to discussion. Most of the likely responses to posting the piece online (including no responses) can, with a little squinting, be interpreted as positive reinforcement for the individual's system, hence the incentive to share.

sek 14y ago
Maybe because it takes a lot of effort to implement all that stuff and it's still a big deal for a lot of people. This is also a regular blogger why not? Also there are probably a lot more out there, you see this one because people find it upvoteworthy. You could ask the question for almost every blog post, i think this one is not much different why posts on codehorror are written. There are a lot of good reasons to blog, just Google for it.
- CKKim 14y ago
  > You could ask the question for almost every blog post Indeed. Usually I perceive the motives are to increase the author's employability attractiveness, promote their business, or build status within their community. Some productivity posts fall into those categories too I believe, but usually to me the validation model is a better fit. > i think this one is not much different why posts on codehorror are written. Which is?
hoodwink 14y ago
Validation may be a positive side effect, but maximizing individual productivity is a subject of genuine interest for many people, myself included. Look at www.lifehacker.com. I don't think that website exists as a conduit for authors' self-esteem. Look at the success of Tim Ferriss. Examples go on... OP clearly put a lot of work into researching various methods, tried them out on himself, and wanted to share the results, maybe even give back to the "productivity community." I appreciate that.

andrew_wc_brown 14y ago

5 hours a day, 5 hours a week. I track my time in a simple spreadsheet labeled 1 to 20 at 15 min intervals. If you aren't getting enough sleep then you're not scheduling your time. You need to create a schedule and stick to it and don't let others hold your time hostage.

S4M 14y ago

I like the idea of avoiding distractions and avoiding the browser. When working on personal projects I tried several times not to turn on the wifi or to work directly in the terminal without running a Desktop application, but at some point I have to use the browser again to look up for some docs or install something.

aioprisan 14y ago

Check out TaskUp, a cloud task list with notifications, reporting, tags, filters and many more! https://taskup.com https://taskup.com

ikhare 14y ago

When I saw the title I half expected to be something akin to http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/famous-small-offthegrid-worksp-140587 http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/famous-small-offthegrid-work... My comments are entirely related to staying focused when coding. For the days when I am in manager mode things are different, and I am not sure if "focus" is always the right mode there. I've always found myself preferring long unbroken periods of flow for coding. That for me comes from a quiet space much like the writer's huts described above. That to me has been my perfect setup to stay focused. Though I have never tried Pomodoro, the idea of something disturbing me every 25 minutes sounds ghastly. When I really need to work I simply close all programs on my computer that are non essential and close all tabs that are non essential. No gmail, no twitter, no facebook. Then I go into a room, sometimes turn off the lights and just code :-)

eisbaw 14y ago

Brown noise!

eisbaw 14y ago

Brown noise!

septerr 14y ago

Does the fact that we have to use techniques to make ourselves focus mean that we do not like what we do?

dorkrawk 14y ago
No, I think that it's natural to be tempted by immediate gratification (watching stuff on YouTube, checking Twitter, reading xkcd archives) even when you really care about the delayed and more satisfying gratification of progress on a long term project. When all those distractions are easily accessible from the same place you work (your computer) it seems ok to take measures to offload the task of avoiding them.

geofft 14y ago

When you say "70% productivity", how do you measure this? (It sounds like there's a standard for this that I missed.)

jlengrand 14y ago
HAve a look at rescuetime. It automatically calculates a % depending on the time you spend on activities. Don't give too much thoughts about this number, as any statistic, it is just indicative :) http://www.rescuetime.com/tour http://www.rescuetime.com/tour
- geofft 14y ago
  Ah, thanks. Sadly I don't use Windows or Mac OS either at work or on my personal computer, so I haven't been able to try it out.

suyash 14y ago

I like the idea of creating temp branches,,,wehre you can actually see how much your contributed every day!