pomodoro rules

The beauty of Pomodoro technique is that it's really simple and can be described in four simple rules:

1. Work for 25 minutes - focus on things you are currently working , avoid interruptions.


2. Rest for 5 minutes - try to relax and not to think about task you were working 25 minutes


3. Take a 30 minutes break after 4 working cycles.


4. Goto on #1 :)

Pomodoro technique RPG game.

pomodoro scripts

here are links on pomodoro technique scripts in different script languages:

• Ruby
• Python
• Bash

Pomodoro technique RPG game.

pomodoro linux

here is simple pomodoro timer for linux written in bash for linux operation system.

#! /usr/bin/env bash
# File: tomatoe.sh
# What the..?: A simple timer to apply The Pomodoro Technique.
# Who the..?: ksaver (at identi.ca).
# Why? : In the Hope of this little script can be useful...
# When?: July 2010.
# Requieres: bash, play, zenity (nix like OS, of course).
# More Info: http://www.pomodorotechnique.com
# License: Public Domain.
# Not any warranty at all.
#---------------------------------------------------------------

scriptname=$(basename $0 .sh)
scriptvers='0.6'

## --- Set preferences ---
minute=60 # Secs in one min. 60 (habitually).
m_resting=5 # Resting time. Default 05 minutes.
m_working=25 # Working time. Default 25 minutes.
s_resting=$(($m_resting*$minute)) # seconds to resting.
s_working=$(($m_working*$minute)) # seconds to working.
audio_warning="/home/$USER/Audio/attention.wav" # some cute audio warning.
## -----------------------

function starting_dialog()
 {
zen_dialog --title "$scriptname - $scriptvers" --question \
--text="Starting Tomatoe Timer:\
 \n$m_working Mins Working/$m_resting Mins Resting."
return $?
}

function tomatoe_timer()
 {
TASK=$1
LIMIT=$2
COUNT=0
while [ $COUNT -lt $LIMIT ]
do
echo $(($COUNT*100/$LIMIT)) # % percentage %
let COUNT=$COUNT+1
sleep 1
done | zen_dialog --title="Cycles: $count_cycle" --progress --auto-close \
--text="Time to $TASK ($(($LIMIT/$minute)) Mins)...\t"
return $?
}

function zen_alert()
 {
play "$audio_warning" & # Decomment if you want a sound warning.
zen_dialog --title="Cycles: $count_cycle" --question \
--text="Time to $1 has Finished!\nShall I Continue?"
return $?
}

function zen_dialog()
 {
/usr/bin/env zenity "$@"
}

function __main__()
 {
count_cycle=1
starting_dialog || exit
while true
do
tomatoe_timer "Working" $s_working
zen_alert "Working" || exit
tomatoe_timer "Slacking" $s_resting
zen_alert "Slacking" || exit
let count_cycle=$count_cycle+1
done
}

## Run script...
__main__

Pomodoro technique RPG game.

pomodoro alternatives

Pomodoro system is type of time boxing.
It's similar to pomodoro technique bu time frame is estimated for every task.
Timeboxing is more flexible because it's not interrupting productivity flow.
But it's also more complex to use and requires preparations and estimates before every cycle.
I personally like pomodoro system better because it's allows you to start on the task right away and is not giving any chance to procrastinate start.

Pomodoro technique RPG game.

pomodoro ruby

pomodor script written in ruby:

#!/usr/bin/env ruby
STDOUT.sync = true
seconds = ARGV[0].to_i * 60
seconds.times do
    print "."
    sleep 1
end
system "tput bel"

Pomodoro technique RPG game.

pomodoro python

simple pomodoro python script with growl notification:

    
import sys
import time
import subprocess

pyosd = False
try:
    import pyosd
    osd = pyosd.osd()
    osd.set_align(pyosd.ALIGN_CENTER)
    osd.set_pos(pyosd.POS_MID)
    display = osd.display
except:
    display = lambda x: sys.stdout.write(str(x)+"\n")

WORK_TICK = "/home/noufal/scratch/clock-ticking-4.mp3"
REST_TICK = "/home/noufal/scratch/clock-ticking-5.mp3"
ALARM     = "/home/noufal/scratch/alarm-clock-1.mp3"
DEV_NULL  = open("/dev/null","w")

def tick(duration, tick):
    "Plays a the ticking sound specified by tick for duration time"
    cmd = ["mpg123", "--loop", "-1" , tick]
    p = subprocess.Popen(cmd, stdout = DEV_NULL, stderr = subprocess.PIPE)
    try:
        time.sleep(duration)
    except KeyboardInterrupt:
        display("Interrupting")
    p.kill()

def alarm(alarm):
    "Plays the alarm sound specified by alarm"
    cmd = ["mpg123", alarm]
    p = subprocess.Popen(cmd, stdout = DEV_NULL, stderr = subprocess.PIPE)
    p.wait()

def main(args):
    if len(args[1:]) != 2:
        print "Usage : %s work_time rest_time"%args[0]
        return -1
    twork, trest = args[1:]
    display("Work now")
    tick(int(twork)*60, WORK_TICK)
    alarm(ALARM)
    display("Rest now")
    tick(int(trest)*60, REST_TICK)
    alarm(ALARM)
    display("Cycle complete")
    return 0

if __name__ == "__main__":
    sys.exit(main(sys.argv))

Pomodoro technique RPG game.

pomodoro forms

In order to have daily productivity report it's required to log completed pomodori and interuptions.
Here are forms to do it in pomodoro way:

classic :

• To Do Today Worksheet
  
• Activity Inventory Sheet
  
• Cheat Sheet
  

Alternative:
This contains estimated pomodori columns - they can be usefull to calculate daily productivity.

• Excel Form
  
• GoogleDocs form
  

Pomodoro technique game.