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Show HN: ADHD-friendly Pomodoro web app

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Re: Show HN: ADHD-friendly Pomodoro web app

#111

Post by dottedmag »

To the fellow ADHDers out there: the Pomodoro timer is not what you think it is!

Until I got diagnosed, I thought Pomodoro to be "keep focused for 30 minutes, do not context-switch, do not get distracted" timer.

After I got diagnosed (thankfully a mild case) and started taking medications, the use of Pomodoro switched to "don't sit more than half an hour focused on one task without standing up, streching and getting some tea" mode.

You can use this phase switch to your advantage, to measure the degree of ADHDness and efficacy of medication.

Re: Show HN: ADHD-friendly Pomodoro web app

#113

Post by rootsudo »

The best "app" I discovered is on my iphone, theres a count down timer. It works great. I do not know if android has a built in app, it's been years since I used one...

That's it, the biggest thing is having something by you/on you that works. I didn't know how to use the Clock app fully outside of different timezones/alarms. I was surprised there was countdown. You can extend continuously, so you can set 15 mins or 30 mins countdown and have it continue all day if you so desire.

It's pretty powerful, I wonder how many basic built in features of operating systems I completely miss - because, the clock app seems innocent enough, it's application is really unlimited.

Re: Show HN: ADHD-friendly Pomodoro web app

#114

Post by Yizahi »

loloquwowndueo wrote: post #99
Yizahi wrote: post #77

No offense author, but what is specifically ADHD related in this timer? Actually I'd argue that it is ADHD unfriendly because it is in the web browser. So now I need to open a browser and hunt down one tab among hundreds, because as a ADHD person I tend to hoard them to process later and of course never do it. There are also no notifications or sounds in your website (I may have nuked all browser notifications at som…

> So now I need to open a browser and hunt down one tab among hundreds You can convert the tab into a window and keep it visible :)

There is a problem with hoarding tabs and multiple windows of a browser. If you have a window with 100 open tabs, and then a second window with 3 open tabs, and then you close the 100-tab window first and 3-tab window second, then browser will silently close all 100 and save only 3 tabs you have closed the last.

It is easy issue to avoid until that one time you accidentally forget about it. So I try to avoid multiple windows of Firefox.

Also if we are talking about a separate icon on the taskbar, then why not make it a dedicated app with proper settings, notifications and stuff, which you can't forget or disable?

Re: Show HN: ADHD-friendly Pomodoro web app

#115

Post by rpozarickij »

courseofaction wrote: post #58
dangwhy wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Love this comment. I suffer from some of the same problems and feelings. One weird thing that works me is playing reality TV in the background (love and hip hop, vanderpump ect). Seems to have really calming effect on my brain which lets me focus on work. I've realized over the years that my adhd is just suppressed anxiety in disguise and reality TV masks it.

A cognitive psych professor of mine couldn't work without music playing to 'occupy a certain part of his brain', almost always prog rock. Didn't seem to be holding him back - sometimes a mask is a workable solution. :)

Nowadays it's as if silence creates some type of mental pressure inside me.

I found this to work really well in many different situations: https://youtu.be/P48QELwruQs

Re: Show HN: ADHD-friendly Pomodoro web app

#116

Post by comprev »

xanathar wrote: post #75
courseofaction wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A cognitive psych professor of mine couldn't work without music playing to 'occupy a certain part of his brain', almost always prog rock. Didn't seem to be holding him back - sometimes a mask is a workable solution. :)

I am the same. Some things (code, writing docs) I can only do them with music in the background, usually music that is either downtempo, instrumental or both (for the most part Pink Floyd, Sting, Mogwai, Morcheeba or several jazz/fusion artists). Without music it 10x harder for me to get those activities going.

Since being diagnosed and medicated it’s the total opposite for me.

Before I needed some background music - electronic or hip-hop in any language but English (to avoid my brain focusing on the lyrics).

Now with meds I sit in silence all day.

Re: Show HN: ADHD-friendly Pomodoro web app

#118

Post by snissn »

doorhammer wrote: post #53

app looks clean. I dig it. Kind of unrelated to the app, but wanted to share a related thought that's been useful to me over the years in case it's useful for anyone else. I have pretty strong ADHD. Pomodoro and other time tracking techniques never really worked well for me long-term because they end up being associated with a lot of anxiety and self-shame as I used them, so I tend to stop using them as negative feel…

I’ve been getting into wearing and collecting not that expensive wrist watches as a hobby to help feel more connected and aware of time and it’s been a great and enjoyable thing for me! Along the lines of you comment

Re: Show HN: ADHD-friendly Pomodoro web app

#119

Post by aendruk »

lelanthran wrote: post #25
grzracz wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's designed to be somewhere in view of the person using it. People with ADHD (myself included) struggle with time blindness and just starting tasks in general, so this helps with that (I hope) by: a) making the start of your tasks just a simple press of a button b) keeping your progress of time and your deadline right in front of you. It's just another one of pomodoro apps that I made specifically for myself and wa…

> It's designed to be somewhere in view of the person using it. Then it really shouldn't be a browser app, it needs to be a local app that runs in the taskbar. I've made two of these in the past: V1, browser based: the browser simply wasn't viable because there's no taskbar timer. V2, Bash+zenity script to run locally, pops up a uncloseable, uncoverable and omnipresent (across all workspaces) window, with a progress…

> uncloseable, uncoverable and omnipresent window

What’s worked for me was turning the screen grayscale to signify a break:

https://andrew.kvalhe.im/2020-11-18

Relatedly for a while I was using periodic ~zenity prompts to keep myself on track:

https://andrew.kvalhe.im/2014-11-02

Re: Show HN: ADHD-friendly Pomodoro web app

#120

Post by [deleted] »

doorhammer wrote: post #53

app looks clean. I dig it. Kind of unrelated to the app, but wanted to share a related thought that's been useful to me over the years in case it's useful for anyone else. I have pretty strong ADHD. Pomodoro and other time tracking techniques never really worked well for me long-term because they end up being associated with a lot of anxiety and self-shame as I used them, so I tend to stop using them as negative feel…

[deleted]
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