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I’m a multi-tasker.
I’m not very good at it but I try very hard.
Persistence and determination are the key to getting things done.
Unfortunately, I have very little of those.
I was born that way, I’m afraid.
See, I told you I was a multi-tasker.
But deadlines are deadlines.
If you have a project due Tuesday – then there’s no choice but to complete it by Tuesday.
tools, categorized into 3 groups.
Distraction busters
Yup, that’s right.
Productivity’s number one enemy is distraction.
The enemy is sly and cunning.
To deal with distraction, I’ve come up with not one, not two but three applications.
The first one probably needs no introduction.
This simple little app helps you concentrate by providing an overlay that blocks out everything but the active system.
The next distraction buster isIsolator.
Isolator is pretty similar to Think but it’s much more configurable.
Unlike Think, you could also easily switch between apps by clicking through the overlay.
Isolator will automatically re-render the overlay so that the topmost app is unaffected.
While using Isolator and Think, I found that the Dock was still in view and a little distracting.
This app has been around for a while and most Mac users will have already heard of it.
Nevertheless, that doesn’t make it any less useful.
On the contrary, Spirited Away complements Isolator and Think!
What Spirited Away does is very simple – it hides inactive applications after a certain period of time.
This minimizes clutter and removes distracting windows from view.
Pomodoro Timers
What the heck is a pomodoro timer, you ask.
Literally translated, pomodoro means tomato but no, they’re not what you think.
The “pomodoro technique” is a time management strategy.
There’s a wholewebsitededicated to teaching the technique as well as anebookwhich you might download for free.
Once you master the pomodoro technique, you’ll notice that your tasks get done pretty quickly.
The golden rule when working with pomodoros – don’t break it.
Once you start a session, make damn sure that you complete it.
The first isFocus Booster.
It’s an Adobe AIR app that looks sleek and awesome.
Each time Focus Booster starts, it will run as long as one pomodoro i.e.
a 25-minute work session followed by a 5-minute break.
You’ll have to manually initiate a new session if required.
The second app to help you work with the pomodoro technique is well, Pomodoro.
This menu bar app is simple yet at the same time, powerful.
Start a session and it will ask you what you’re aiming to achieve.
I entered “Finish Article” and the timer started with a Growl notification.
When I said that Pomodoro was powerful, I wasn’t joking.
Knowing that, I can speed up or slow down my work accordingly.
“Just 5 minutes,” that’s what you keep telling yourself.
Before you know it, over an hour has passed and you still haven’t gotten any work done.
In these situations, only Self Control can prevent you from straying.
Self Control is a Mac program (doesn’t that clear up a lot of confusion?)
that will block the internet access to any sites in its blacklist for a preset period of time.
Once it has been started, nothing can circumvent the blocked access.
Restarting your Mac will not help, neither will deleting the software.
You will just have to wait for the timer to run out.
It forces you to concentrate on work.
Even if you wanted to stray, you could’t!
So there we go.
Here they are once again:
