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Comment by nrr | Hacker News Reader

As something of a corollary, set a timer to go off every 15 minutes (or otherwise regularly enough that it isn't obtrusive to you) such that you're poked to checkpoint what you're doing throughout the day. This was necessary when I worked for a professional services organization and had to fill out timesheets, but I've kept the practice since.

I'm low tech and prefer to use a notecard with a grid on it, the squares of which bear enough space for only a word or two maximum, but you can just as easily use a spreadsheet or something fancier.

It makes putting together a better summary at the end of your day a lot easier, and it also helps with future forays into time estimation since you have a clearer picture of how long things take.

It also helps show when it's time to go take a walk.

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>> Keep a log of your work. In fact, keep a log of everything you do.

> Set a timer to go off every 15 minutes

I realise this won't be a popular point of view with the folk who are always 'life-hacking' or what not, but my goodness that sounds mortifying to me.

I have worked in professional services too, and I had to bill for my time in 6 minute intervals, but I found it much easier to just switch between set of running timers when I changed tasks. No need to put together any timesheets at the end of the day, just note/submit the final times. I think a repeating 15 minute timer would literally cause me to go insane.

I'm all for people staying on top of their schedules, but I doubt that for most people the benefits of something like recurrent 15 minute timers could ever outweigh the costs (concentration, flow, mental health).

The odd part is that the recurring timer actually calmed me down. I can't perceive the passage of time, so having a prosthetic that forces me to ground myself periodically in the moment has been a blessing.

I use an Apple Watch, and it's a gentle tap on the wrist that's perceptible to me and basically no one else.

I think a repeating timer acts as a calming or focusing tool for some. I don't advocate it personally, unless your life or work schedule must be ruled by the clock.

When I say "write everything down" I mean use the lightest of note taking. It can be a bullet point for the day, or an expansive note on a particularly difficult technical challenge, there is no one set way of approaching this.

I think setting a timer for every 15 miunutes is the perfect way to destroy your productivity, especially for when doing deep thinking type of work. I use the Pomodoro technique if I am unfocused and cannot make a start, which happens on occasion, but once I'm going, I turn that timer off.

It could be, but given that I'm not paid to hyperfocus, destroying my productivity seems like a sensible alternative in light of necessarily needing to work with other people.

The timer is pretty unobtrusive. It goes off, I write one or two words in a box, and I carry on.

Every 15 minutes would be excessive. I follow Pomodoro, so that kind of check points my progress. But when I document my daily progress, this rarely comes in handy.

The daily update in the spreadsheet is extremely useful though.

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