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Comment by truth_ | Hacker News Reader

1, I use Pomodoro within a paid app. It works quite well. It has graphs and other analysis. I don't need Pomodoro in tasks that are overly exciting for me.

2, Todos have no value in my life unless I block a chunk of time for tasks explicitly. I block some time for one task and I do only that thing at that time.

3, No social media outside of a 30 minute window per day. Not even when waiting in a queue, or Pomodoro rest gaps.

4, No-email/Slack blocks of 2 hours each. 30 minutes in special cases.

5, I plan my day the night before.

6, Habit-tracking. I plan to a handful of tasks everyday without fail like exercising, reading, and some work/study related stuff. I use a free app for this which does everything I want.

7, I keep a journal where I jot down my long-term, intermediate, and immediate goals. I like to think that it works.

I have tried a hundred things, and these work well.

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What do you do during your Pomodoro rest gaps?

How long are your rest gaps? 5 minutes is too short for me.

I use 30-6-20(after 4 cycles) pattern. You have to find yours through trial and error.

The goal is to not switch context. Social media is awfully bad in this.

If in work, I reply to Slack messages or message from family/friend- if any. They know to call in an emergency and not expect immediate reply to messages.

I have found drinking water and taking a quick stroll being the most effective pomodoro gap actvity. Although it is not always possible.

Appreciate your reply. It’s helpful to have insight into what you’ve settled on.

I’ll try some of these myself. Still haven’t found my ideal cycle times.

How do you fit emails and meetings into your schedule?

By scheduling task-specific pomodoro’s around meetings?

Do you use pomodoro cycles on email and other communication?

Say some urgent situation pops up which requires several emails to be exchanged. Does this throw off your schedule?

For 7, may I ask if you are using a physical notebook?

Haven't reached the optimum yet, so using an online notes app, and a physical journal (cheap yearly planner, not using Moleskin yet) as well. I think I will stick with the later, and maybe an online version of the final draft.

The key is to spend a significant amount of time in writing and formatting it. Think tens of minutes in what is roughly a five day period. This really works for me.

By that, I mean I am always aware what I need to do.

By no means I am in a perfect shape. I slack off sometimes, I don't do anything and waste some time.

Which apps do you use, if you don’t mind me asking?

Forest (Pro) and Loop Habit Tracker.

I don't use the Deep Focus stuff in Forest which require elevated permissions.

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