Comments on: Gadgets

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:43:57 +0000

Hey MooNWalker — I’ve heard a lot of good things about the pomodoro technique. I’ll contact the team over there and check it out.

-s

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:43:13 +0000

Hey Yancy — I just checked out the pomodoro technique and it looks really neat! Thanks for the recommendation.

By: MooNWalker

MooNWalker — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 05:30:11 +0000

I’m using “Pomodoro Tasks” program for Android platform. Allows to enter tasks quickly, easily and quickly arrange them in a priority list, mark as done. It has very simple interface, allowing to focus on task at hand instead of fiddling with program for half an hour. Plus it has built-in timer to use it for practicing Pomodoro technique described by Yancy.

By: Yancy

Yancy — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 23:35:18 +0000

I’m also a fan of paper lists, which I’ve been using with the Pomodoro technique: http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/

In a nutshell,
1. make a list
2. choose one task and work on it and nothing else for 25 minutes (set a timer)
3. when the timer is up, mark an x next to the task, take a 5 minute breather
4. repeat steps 2-3 until the task is complete and move to the next task

I’ve found the technique is really about reducing distractions, and cultivating focus.

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:58:54 +0000

Tom — I really like that system. I’m a big fan on paper to-do lists; as I’ve experimented with most (if not all) other to-do lists and they’ve failed in comparison to plain paper.

Here’s another nifty resource that I’m going to test out soon. Likely going to pick one up this weekend: http://www.paperblanks.com/us/en/product

By: Scott

Scott — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 13:54:52 +0000

Thanks for the additions, Andrew. Appreciate it. I’ll check those out now. Thanks.

By: Tom Knight

Tom Knight — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 12:13:38 +0000

One of the best tools I have found is a good notebook – I prefer Moleskine Large Soft Cover Grid Rule.

In addition to taking notes from meetings, I create to-do lists in the notebook. I take these on 4×6 ruled Post Its, so I can move them forward in the notebook and keep tract of lists for different projects. This completely eliminates hunting for coded info in the notebook.

I also like to use two different symbols for to-dos I am going to delegate vs. do myself – a square box for me and a box with an arrow for others on my team.

By: Andrew Wilcox

Andrew Wilcox — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 07:33:34 +0000

Two I have been using for more than ten years:

Above & Beyond Diary http://www.1soft.com
You can organise your diary based on a number of parameters.
Also good for recording and tracking time.

MindManager http://www.mindjet.com
Free thinking management of tasks. Easy to link to all the tools and files needed for the current job on the current map.