Harris Fellman Live Life To Its Fullest

Fawesome Free Productivity Tools

Pomodoro Technique + Focus Booster + Stay Focusd = MORE PRODUCTIVE THAN EVAR!

(StayFocusd is for the Chrome Browser; if you use Firefox, you’ll use Leech Block instead; if you use Safari or Internet Explorer just google ‘leech block for ___’)

If you’re in a hurry to be more productive — just go grab the Pomodoro‘s book for free — and especially the CHEAT SHEET. All you really need to know is in the Cheat Sheet LOL.

When my buddy Jack Sinclair first told me to check out Pomodoro, the timing couldn’t be better. I have 6 or 7 projects going right now and I haven’t really been getting as much done as I’d like. Basically, Pomodoro says “write your to-do list, set an egg timer for 25 minutes, work on a single project for 25 minutes straight with no distractions, take a 3-5 minute break, rinse, repeat”. Simple. Highly Effective.

Oh, and listen, I’m a technology junkie. My kids each have hand me down iPhones. I have more gadgets in the garage than I could sell on ebay. And yet, I find that WRITING the tasks on actual paper works best (or a whiteboard).

Wait… wait… did I just “set an egg timer” a second ago?!? Yup. Pomodoro teaches to use an egg timer. Rather than going to target and buying one, I first installed an app on my iphone that simulates the time and sound… that worked fine. But I wanted something better b/c if I got a text or call it would stop the sound & force an interruption. Enter Rob Toth from IQuitIM.com. Rob’s the creator of this freakin’ awesome Skype Group I’m in … he recommended that I grab Focus Booster and Leech Block (I went and found Stay Focusd for Chrome instead).

Focus Booster basically simulates the egg timer right on your computer – complete with countdown bar and clicking sound. Works great on Mac or PC – and absolutely free. Works like a charm. You can set it to whatever time intervals you want – but I recommend starting with the default 25 minute + 5 minute break (and maybe exercise a bit on the break like I do). Something about the clicking keeps me working, too, btw. And it’s pretty rewarding to keep track of all the Pomodoros I do in a day.

Now, I’ve saved my biggest problem for last… getting sucked into the Facebook. My biggest time stealers are pretty much Facebook, Twitter, and now Pinterest (lol, I just posted about this a few days ago if you’re not familiar.) Leech Block and Stay Focusd will allow you to set websites in your browser (like those 3) and say “I only want to be on these a total of 15 minutes a day … or whatever. Once you hit your quota, you’re blocked from going in.