Filed under: Utilities, Windows, Productivity, Freeware
Procrastination Hack: Instant Boss
by Grant Robertson Aug 1st 2006 at 7:30AM
Face it, many of us are overloaded. We've got a million things to do, and no time to do them. How do you chip away at that ridiculous to-do list, without getting side-tracked and losing your momentum? 43folders says the answer just might lie in tiny slices of time. Taking an hour and shattering it into 5 periods of 10 minutes, with 2 minute breaks between, hence "(10+2)*5" (yes, we're math geeks too and we know the "*" is redundant.. but it looks pretty). The idea is to work in small sprints, giving 100% + for short bursts of time and then taking a micro-break. The rigid definition is supposed to whip even the most diligent of procrastinators right into submission. My limited trial of the technique was inconclusive, but its worked wonders for some.
Instant Boss aims to be the clockwatcher for all us procrastinating brainy-types. A simple hack designed around the original 43folders concept counts the work sprints and breaks for you, with a programmable number of repetitions. The timer features a large display, and keeps track of the total number of minutes worked over all your sprints.
[Thanks Mouser!]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
derrick said 10:18AM on 8-01-2006
My problem isn't that I don't watch the clock, my problem is that I don't care about all the precious minutes ticking by. I need something that will increase my motivation to do my work.
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app103 said 5:43AM on 8-02-2006
Thank you for featuring my program. I really appreciate it.
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Peter said 6:32AM on 8-02-2006
The problem with all these "systems" is that they require you to spend a lot of time keeping track of what you are doing (or not doing). Any time you spend monitoring and recording what you are doing is time you aren't actually getting the work done. For people with procrastination and/or organization issues, making the task take even longer and require more steps is not helpful.
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Sable said 4:16PM on 10-09-2006
April, make it bigger and in purple for meeeeeeee
you know i like that lol :)))
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