Pomodoro Timer

> does anyone else feel like using a pomodoro timer ruins any chance at intense focus during the workday

You don't have to use it for projects where you're naturally in flow and can maintain intense focus without productivity tools.

The Pomodoro Technique is for those who /get out of flow/ easily and can't be productive without taking breaks often.

I've used it, and it was for tasks where I was able to hold the state of a program's structure even when AFK for ten minutes. I've noticed lethargy and fatigue sets in every 10 minutes, since I'm usually chaired and my wrists have mild RSI which needs to be repaired via breaks.

There is a law of diminishing returns the longer you are stationed at a desk doing focused work. Your boss might not like all your breaks, but you can calmly explain 'It's science!' to them.

I'll likely get judged for this, but I'm using a paid proprietary Windows Application (w/browser extensions) called "Cold Turkey" (no association, just a customer). It has Pomodoro Timers, but they're enforced, meaning you can blacklist out certain applications or websites during your "work" blocks and allow them during your free time. I'm doing 20/20 during the work-day, with an hour off for lunch.

I'll say this about that specific application: You can tell whoever created it, created it for themselves. What I mean by that is that they really gave a lot of thought into how people may try and disable or bypass it. For example there're different ways to lock your own rules, to stop you trying to remove your favorite website during the middle of a work-day.

As I said I'll get judged, but truthfully a lot of bad habits can use a helping hand to break. People just don't take social media (Reddit, HN, YouTube, et al) seriously as a potentially addictive habit.

PS - I won't link it since this already reads like an advert. It costs $40, the free version I don't consider useful and doesn't support Pomodoro Timers. Their privacy policy is legit, and the software outside of updates is offline.

There is a good global pomodoro timer for working and chating with others. Every 30 minutes a global pomodoro starts. The design is also clean and minimalist. https://pomodorr.io

Having used Cold Turkey before, I can confirm that it's really good at doing what it set out to do (though I have a few annoyances with it, since there are a few things it doesn't allow me to do). What's impressive about it is that it is quite difficult to bypass it, and all of the naive approaches just won't work (eg. uninstalling it or switching to a different account).

I wish there were a Linux equivalent of it, but nowadays I don't need it as much as before anyway—I'm not sure if that's complacency, or if I just got better at focusing.

A similar Mac version of this is HeyFocus - https://heyfocus.com It is paid but it really gets the job done. I don't really use it these days (kinda built up the habit). I remember setting the quotes to just one phrase -- "Get the F*K back to Work" or something like that or was it like "You ought to be Working" (as seen in the ceiling of Kevin Bacon in Hollow Man.