Pomodoro technique & other ways to increase personal productivity

Question

I recently came across the Pomodoro Technique as a way to increase productivity, get in the zone, and in general feel a sense of accomplishment at setting some short programming goals and achieving them. So far I have enjoyed it and the sense of accomplishment I get after seeing a bunch of short goals add up at the end of the day to a lot of work done on a programming project.

What other ideas, similar or not, add a little variety to achieving goals, personal productivity, get in the programming zone, and so forth?

What ideas or techniques are expressed formally, such as those in the Pomodoro paper, rather than trite maxims?

Answer 1

Pomodoro is it for me. There's a balance to be found in productivity tools, and sometimes people go overboard. Some of the people in the Cult of GTD are spending more time GTD-ing than G-ing TD!

Answer 2

Wow. I had never heard of the Pomodoro Technique. However, I have read the book "Getting Things Done" by David Allen. The bottom line principles are the same. Prioritize and break things down into smaller chunks.

Answer 3

I find that Pomodoro helps me get into flow, and then stay there. I find that if what I'm doing isn't that interesting, I tend to get distracted easily. I'll check my email 3 or 4 times before starting; if a compile takes longer than a few seconds, I'll get up and do something else.

I use a tool called "Focus Booster", rather than a physical timer, and just having the countdown telling me how long I have until I can slack off keeps me in the groove. I can defer checking email (or SO) until the timer runs down. Usually, once I'm in the groove, I skip one or two break periods. I know that this isn't strictly Pomodoro, but it works for me.

I also find that the start-of-day activities (figuring out what you're going to do, etc.) helps me keep better track of how I'm getting on.