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Ask HN: How do you focus? tools and other

18 points by esseti ↗ HN
How do you people avoid distraction when working (I code mostly)?. What tools do you use (I'm a Mac user, no relegion wars pls) Personally:

- Quitter to quit thunderbird, skype, etc after 10mins. Slack is just hidden.

- Leechblock (FF) to avoid more than 10mins on distractions website

- Timer.app (http://martakostova.github.io/timer/ you can compile it) for pomodoro with a script that kills Slack when a pomodoro starts and reopens it once finished. The script was setting the DND but the notifications keep popping up (the red dot), which bother me, so I switch it off. I think that messages can wait 40 mins, if not they can call.

- I don't keep thunderbird open (see point 1), but I've a plist script that opens it at 11 and 15, so I check the emails every now and then.

- Rescue Time and Waka to keep track of my habits and productivity

- Trello (was BulletJournal but i'm not alone anymore) to schedule stuff.

- In the open space nice pair of headphones, a good music, and avoid to reply when asked questions if i'm in a "pomdoro" or working.

- A reason to leave work

9 comments

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tbirrell
Pssh... You just need to adjust your setup (filthy mac user). I code in assembly on Windows 95 and IE 1. Nothing works on the computer and nothing loads on the browser. Ergo, no distractions!
jventura
I use the Pomodoro technique with this app: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tomato-one-free-focus-timer/...

I do tasks in 30 minute chunks with 5 minutes to go to the bathroom, get up, stretch, etc.. On my best days I can do 11 pomodoros, but my average is 6/7 pomodoros. I'm currently lecturing on a local university, so the pomodoros are mostly for when I'm preparing classes, and I try to do as few as possible, which means I'm freeing my time successfully..

urahara
I don't use any specific tools as they are time consumers themselves. I just: 1) don't turn on anything I don't need for work (tools, browsers, soft, sites, etc) 2) rest well when I feel I need a break (one of the most counter productive things is to proceed working when you're tired to the point you can't focus.) Works great for me.
tedmiston
15-minute time boxing 24 hours a day

When I'm working, I use a physical egg timer on my desk. I also don't check Slack when I'm coding. I keep my MacBook and iPhone in Do Not Disturb mode.

I take an nx 15-minute break when I need one. A typical ratio is 75% work to 25% breaks where break could be doing something enjoyable either fun or actual work but a task I'm really excited about.

Throughout the day I accumulate the number of 15-minute periods of good work for personal reference.

A pocket notebook to write down random thoughts that pop into my head while working.

I don't have one myself, but I've heard good things about Saent [1] which seems like a slightly more polished version of this workflow.

[1]: https://www.saent.com

fatherofone
I just finish my work first, once finished I don't care what I do. So, that means I don't need to use other tools or techniques.

I think its just a habit, I find very annoying to see task assigned to me being in ToDo Status. I want to make that resolved as soon as possible.

mythrwy
Your distraction prevention tool stack sounds like it would be a major distraction for me.
rtcoms
I just install SelfControl app on Mac. Haven't wasted time on facebook after that. So that's a goo start :)
Bvalmont
- SelfControl app, you can change the timer to 1 month instead of 24 hours, so you are not forced to click it every morning.

- Simple Pomodoro timer, which honestly I use more as a signal for me to get up and stretch my legs a bit.

- Disabled all notifications on phone, macs.

- Things as my todo list, simple and tells me what to focus on every day with recurring todo's.

- Only really visit 3 websites: HN, Designer News & Stack overflow, tagging the interesting posts in the morning, then reading them on Kindle in the evening. Or sometimes between Pomodoro breaks, like now.

- I block all the news websites and other useless information with Opendns.

- Bought a Wacom pen and a mac so I can't play videogames.

- Podcasts for when I'm doing the dishes, Spotify for when I'm doing work.

- No mail, slack before 1pm, I'm most productive in the mornings.

I read in Do The Work that the best thing is to not think, but just start. So I meditate in the morning and try to be completely free of thoughts when I arrive at work, sit down and just start. That was the single thing that made the biggest difference for me. Don't give The Resistance a chance.

esseti
SelfControl is nice, in the end it adds an entry on your /etc/hosts .

For what is worth the script for the timer app tokill slkck and set DND START: if application "Slack" is running then tell application "Slack" quit end tell end if do shell script "curl 'https://slack.com/api/dnd.setSnooze?token=<YOURTOKEN>&num_mi...

END: if application "Slack" is not running then tell application "Slack" to activate end if do shell script "curl https://slack.com/api/dnd.endSnooze?token=<YOURTOKEN>