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Anti-procrastination software?

Megalith

Megalith

24-bit/48kHz
Joined
Aug 20, 2006
Messages
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Does anyone know of a program that will allow you to enter a task and constantly nag you until it's checked off/completed? I could probably use a calendar program to do this, but I'd rather have something that is very simple and doesn't require a time/date/place to be designated for every task.

I have something similar on my Android phone called "Procrastinate," where you simply enter a task you need to performed and it will stay in your notifications drop-down until you manually check it off. But something like that would be far more useful on my desktop PC, where I'm more inclined to waste my time.
 
I don't know of any software like that, but you should consider getting RescueTime.
 
Wait with that, wife will fill your day with tasks for her own good so eventually you'll never going to do the tasks you planned anyway.

Try "Remember The Milk" with Chrome extension, or Wunderlist installed on your computer.
 
Two tools, although neither are exactly what you've asked for --


Orzeszek Timer (http://www.orzeszek.org/dev/timer/)

Very simple timer, but with a lot of latitude of ability. I have mine tied to a WinKey-# shortcut. When I need to do something, I'll quickly pull up the timer, enter in a number, and bam -- I've got X minutes to focus on this or that.

Further, the timer can be set to loop/restart, so you can alternate yourself between tasks. Sometimes I find it more effective to limit my free time, and sometimes more effective to limit my work time. Depends on the time/day.


Workrave (http://www.workrave.org/)

This has been a clutch piece of software for me. It's purpose is to help prevent repetitive stress injuries like carpal tunnel, but I use it to break my repetitive browsing injuries :) I frequently get lost in a void of browsing/Wikipedia/research, and Workrave's three timers helps me to stay in control of this beautifully.

There are three continually-running timers -- short, medium, large. The short timer is for "micro breaks" -- I set mine at the standard 25-minute pomodoro timer. I'll then open up a Notepad and put the main task I'm about to do at the top -- this will be the main focus for the next 25 minutes.

I set the "medium" Workrave timer for 90 minutes. That means, every three "pomodoros", Workrave pops up a window that announces it's time for a rest break. At the same time, it displays a visual office-desk exercise to perform, like simple stretches. I follow through the three exercises I have it set for (takes 1-2 minutes), and then Workrave essentially locks the screen out for the next 15 minutes. This forces me to get up from the computer and go walk somewhere, get something to eat, or do something else.

The lock isn't a hard-lock, either. Of course, you can get around it. But it's enough of a deterrent to me that I've adhered pretty well to the regimen. And it feels pretty dang good to get kicked off the computer for 10-15 minutes every couple hours. I'd say I more than gain the time back with the rejuvenated return to working.

As for the third timer, it's essentially a daily-use timer, where once it's hit, you're not supposed to use the computer anymore that day. I'm not disciplined enough to use that one yet, though :)

As for the Notepad -- while I'm working on my main task, I'll frequently get thoughts and ideas of other things I need to do. As per the Pomodoro technique, I'll switch to the Notepad and jot down a bulletpoint reminder. This clears it from my mind so I don't have to think about it or worry about forgetting it.

After the pomodoro is done, I'll start a new line in the Notepad, dropping the completed task down a line (if finished), and mark it off with an "X" and a timestamp to signify it's complete (press F5 in Notepad to get timestamped). Additionally, I also put a label before each task, helping me to categorize what I've been working on, e.g., "(PROG)" for programming work, "(WEBD)" for web development, "(WRIT)" for writing, etc.

At the end of a day, I'll have a Notepad of text, chunked into complete items/pomodoros, and future ideas/tasks/notes that I'll save and file away for next time. I'll reuse the same .txt file to keep track of my week all in one place.

(Note: when I say "Notepad", I've actually since switched to SublimeText2 -- it autosaves everything, it reopens the file when the program opens, I can quickly switch between other tabs where I'm programming, awesome search functionality, I can use the keyboard to easily and quickly move lines and blocks of text around -- like if I want to move up an idea/to-do bulletpoint from my last pomodoro up to the top as the next task, I can easily shift it up the queue without having to cut/paste)



LeechBlock (https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/leechblock/)

Browser-wise, I've had some good success with this Firefox/Cyberfox addon. It's basically a time-tracker for browsing, with the ability to block sites out according to timers, days, times of day, amount spent, etc.

It's very versatile, allowing one to set tiers of certain websites and controlling them independently, through either an allow-all/blacklist approach or forbid-all/whitelist approach. It also has some useful features for how it goes about blocking sites (e.g., when you've used up an allotted time/timer/day, you can have it present you with a long 64+ character of random letters/numbers to type to gain access to the page. This is useful if it's a page that's necessary to visit, but with just enough hurdle to help stem a moment of procrastinating weakness).


ManicTime (http://www.manictime.com/)

This has been a helpful one. RescueTime wasn't good enough for my needs, but ManicTime filled in where necessary. It runs in the background, keeping track of where I use my time on the computer. Specifically, it not only shows what apps I was using at any given time, but also shows what website I was on and/or what documents I was working on (Word, PDF, etc.).

A potential perversion of privacy, yes, but it's more important for me to know how many hours I'm spending on wikipedia or [H] than whether someone gets access to my history :)

You can also categorize programs and websites accordingly into different subsets of productivity, and also color-code them for an easy lookover of your day/week/month/year. That's another nice thing -- you can get some great stats on a daily/monthly/yearly basis. This is important because we often aren't aware of where our time is going, as well as the crux of our procrastination(s).



If anyone has any others, please share! I've experimented with many different Pomodoro apps, on both phone and desktop, but I've never really grabbed on to any of them. The workflow above has worked out best for me.


(Note: I have no vested interests or involvement with any of the above software. Additionally, besides ManicTime, they're all free. ManicTime has a trial mode available)
 
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