I actually really enjoyed pomodoro as a forced focus tool, not for task switching.
I was not doing the 30-5 x 4 routine but like a 30 - 30 routine that let me take breaks but kept me focused for 4 hours total. Better than analysis paralysis that prevented me from working on things at all some days.
I eventually stopped using it as I moved on to more hectic jobs that don’t really afford any consistent structure, but I think artifical constraints like pomodoro can work some times if you lean into them.
For me, the break timer is really just “take a few minutes to eat/hydrate/pee” and then resume the original task. Although when I’m depressed I often use one full 25 minute task to do the thing I dread, and then the next one is to play video games or watch a show - generally to do something fun to recharge my batteries. Sometimes I can’t even manage to do something fun for myself without timeboxing it, I hate that.
My wife has pretty debilitating ADHD, sometimes the pomos are really helpful for her and sometimes it’s the opposite. Without some kind of externalized structure, she can’t finish the tasks that she intends to start and it causes her a lot of distress.
She would want me to plug Spirit City LoFi. It’s a customizable task manager that’s very chill, and just gamified enough to keep her attention without being distracting
In one way it sounds good; no working at all, nice routine. The expectation of the switch and trying to grasp the new task will result in staring at the wall the whole time anyway.
“The Pomodoro method is so great!”
There is little more terrifying and upsetting than having to switch tasks every 15-30 minutes with alarms.
I actually really enjoyed pomodoro as a forced focus tool, not for task switching.
I was not doing the 30-5 x 4 routine but like a 30 - 30 routine that let me take breaks but kept me focused for 4 hours total. Better than analysis paralysis that prevented me from working on things at all some days.
I eventually stopped using it as I moved on to more hectic jobs that don’t really afford any consistent structure, but I think artifical constraints like pomodoro can work some times if you lean into them.
For me, the break timer is really just “take a few minutes to eat/hydrate/pee” and then resume the original task. Although when I’m depressed I often use one full 25 minute task to do the thing I dread, and then the next one is to play video games or watch a show - generally to do something fun to recharge my batteries. Sometimes I can’t even manage to do something fun for myself without timeboxing it, I hate that.
My wife has pretty debilitating ADHD, sometimes the pomos are really helpful for her and sometimes it’s the opposite. Without some kind of externalized structure, she can’t finish the tasks that she intends to start and it causes her a lot of distress.
She would want me to plug Spirit City LoFi. It’s a customizable task manager that’s very chill, and just gamified enough to keep her attention without being distracting
In one way it sounds good; no working at all, nice routine. The expectation of the switch and trying to grasp the new task will result in staring at the wall the whole time anyway.