As Dorothy Parker once said, probably apocryphally, “I hate writing; I love having written.” With deadlines looming, my morning to-do list can feel insurmountable.
It’s why I started using the Pomodoro Technique.
In the 1980s, Francesco Cirillo came up with the technique. Using a tomato-shaped kitchen timer, he’d study for 25 minutes then take a five-minute break. After repeating that pattern four times, he’d take a longer break, between 15 and 30 minutes.
You can easily do this with your phone’s timer, but there are a few benefits to having a dedicated app.
I like the flexibility and features of Focus To-Do.
8 best Pomodoro timer apps for Android to beat procrastination
Stay productive using the Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique makes any task less daunting
The promise of a break is great motivation
Sometimes a stray thought will lead me down a rabbit hole. What was it that Dorothy Parker suggested for her epitaph? (“Excuse my dust.”)
Chasing them down can easily derail what I’m working on. A pomodoro timer urges me to postpone those detours until the break.
My phone’s focus mode keeps distracting notifications at bay, but it doesn’t stop me from wondering what I’m missing.
Instead of constantly checking for an email or text I’m expecting, I’ve trained myself to wait for the five-minute break window.
Sometimes I give into temptation, but I can just pause my timer and pick up where I left off.
Focus To-Do combines scheduling and timing
Plan out your week in advance
One benefit of using Focus To-Do, a dedicated pomodoro app, is that I can plan out my whole week (or month) in chunks of time.
Some of my frequent tasks, for example, outlining or taking photos, require different amounts of time. If I expect something to take an hour, I can either adjust the pomodoro timer for 60 minutes or split it into two sessions of 30 minutes with two breaks.
Focus To-Do also lets me assign different due dates to tasks and add reminders. It’s like a cross between a planner and a focus timer.
There’s an option to set up a recurring task every day, week, month, or year.
For days when I’m restless or have a fast-approaching deadline, strict mode locks my phone and blocks app use during the 25-minute timer.
Create projects with multiple steps
A life-saver when you have a lot going on
I often have multiple projects going on at once or several articles due in a week. Focus To-Do’s project feature helps me break down my lists for each and schedule them out, so I’m not completely overwhelmed on Friday, trying to finish everything at once.
The app lets me know how long a project will take based on all the task timers I’ve set up. It’s amazing for planning out my week.
I can assign each project one of 20 colors, so it’s easy to tell them apart in the Events tab. This is essentially a calendar view.
One negative is that I have to manually drag tasks into the calendar instead of being able to set a specific time and have them appear.
Work in total silence or add some background noise
I prefer a roaring fire
If you find a ticking clock motivating, there are a few different options that you can play during your 25-minute spurts. The low murmur of voices in a café or classroom, turning pages in a library, or burbling stream are also available.
The default sound of the alarm letting you know the timer is done is pretty jarring, but you can change the volume and sound for that, too.
There are other ways to personalize the app. You can choose from a few pictures for the timer’s background and decide if you want the big countdown clock to take over your whole screen.
Gamify the experience, if you want
Or just ignore those features
Focus Friend is another pomodoro app that motivates users with a little bean friend and the ability to decorate the legume’s house. Focus To-Do’s forest feature is similar but not as cute.
Completing timers and other milestones help grow your forest. There’s also a ranking of power users.
If that all sounds intimidating or unnecessary, you can hide those features.
Take it to your computer
There’s a Chrome extension, too
For years, I used Focus Keeper, a simple pomodoro timer. It’s not as involved with scheduling tasks. I also like that Focus To-Do has a Chrome extension, which lets me track my tasks even if I’ve banished my phone to another room.
It’s not just for work
I can handle 25 minutes of housework
Maybe you tend to let the dishes pile up in the sink or push off vacuuming for just one more day. Adding these chores to your Focus To-Do list might help you stay on track.
Exercise, reading, and other hobbies also make great additions.
Keep an eye on your battery life
Focus To-Do might drain it
Apps like this can drain your battery. Focus To-Do wants permission to ignore battery optimization and turn off power-saving mode.
You can turn off your screen while it’s running, though. As long as you’ve let it send notifications, it should let you know when your timer is up.
Focus To-Do is a customizable way to tackle your tasks
No matter how big or small
While the app has a few quirks that make it less-than-perfect, overall I like using it to keep on top of my daily and weekly tasks.
It’s made long to-do lists seem manageable and given me realistic expectations of what I can accomplish in a week.
It may seem counter-intuitive to use your phone to encourage some digital downtime, but it helps quell the urge to pick up my phone when I’m in the middle of a book or doing some other offline activity that’s supposed to help me relax.
