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Comment by eranation | Hacker News Reader

I try to keep things super simple...

- Native notes tasks and calendar for iOS/OSX, I can sync it with work's exchange / iCloud / gmail and it works with "Siri - remind my to do x on y time" tried other dedicated apps, but this just makes everything simpler.

- Pomodoro app on my phone, this is simply amazing, best way to get work done

- http://musicforprogramming.net/

- Google sheets and Mint for budgeting etc.

I tried other apps and tools (RescueTime was nice but I can't use it at work or on iOS)

Didn't try IFTTT or similar tools but never found the need.

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This is a nice list.

Some things I've used at various points in the past for specific goals:

-My fitness pal for tracking food

-Spreadsheets for tracking workouts. I found it worked easier if I just listed everything I was going to do weeks in advance and just cross it off as I did it, vs writing it down as I did it

-Tiny but gmail keyboard shortcuts - makes sorting and going through email a breeze.

-Back again chrome extension. When you land on a page it tells you how many times you've been on it that day. Useful for curbing the HN and reddit habit.

That's it!

I use Strong for tracking my lifting as opposed to a spreadsheet. Found it to be good for at least my style of working out.

I got you - I'll take a look.

My main issue with apps and even paper notebooks is every time you go to the gym you have to take an action.

If I lay out a schedule for 6 weeks with exactly what I'm going to do with dates, all I have to do is cross it off. And if I don't remember to cross it off, it's fine because I can just go by the day.

I found I was much more likely to stick to a long program when I did that vs logging it the old fashioned way.

I recommend and use this log system where you only have to take an action when you beat your rep range: http://exrx.net/WeightTraining/Log.html

Yeah. So with Strong I have all my workouts dialed in with set plans, weights, etc... I like the analytics. I also have some alternate workouts, for instance if I am hurting from Jiu Jitsu I do just a mobility workout. But hey, if you like paper don't let me talk you out of it.

Telling Siri to set reminders for me has been far more useful for me than I would have suspected.

Doubly so if you've got an Apple Watch, I use Siri quite a lot when I cooking and both my hands are busy/dirty.

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