Node Timer: Keep track of your focus time

February 22, 2013 3:10 PM

Use the Pomodoro Technique? You might like to try Node Timer, a minimal timer that helps you track what you're working on, from fellow mefite orlick. [via mefi projects]
posted by ocherdraco (16 comments total)

Would suggest a screenshot or some other way to check it out without signing up.
posted by Mid at 3:17 PM on February 22, 2013 [2 favorites]

Yes. I am pretty much done with signing up for things, unless I absolutely cannot avoid it. A compelling demo that makes me want to use something is enough, sometimes!
posted by thelonius at 3:26 PM on February 22, 2013

Signing up is a deal breaker for me, especially for things that do not need signing up to really just work.
posted by zouhair at 3:30 PM on February 22, 2013

There's some other options for anyone looking for software to help them have a go at the the Pomodoro Technique.

I found it by clicking
posted by motty at 3:57 PM on February 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

Vaguely related: I recently found a fantastic physical timer at a Muji in Manila. I'm using it to remind myself to look away from the monitor every 15min.
posted by shortfuse at 4:02 PM on February 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

You might like to try Node Timer

My wristwatch doesn't ask me for my e-mail address.
posted by obiwanwasabi at 4:16 PM on February 22, 2013 [4 favorites]

I agree about the login to use thing as well, but there hasn't been a lot of time to change that model or respond here.

In the meantime, I recommend looking at timer questions in AskMe. Just sayin'.
posted by booksherpa at 4:28 PM on February 22, 2013

I really wanted to like this! But then it turned out I couldn't even learn about the thing I wanted to like! D:
posted by The Biggest Dreamer at 4:32 PM on February 22, 2013

So the thing that makes Node Timer unique is the tracking, right? Unlike a stopwatch, it keeps track of how much time you've spent on each project?
posted by Kevin Street at 4:36 PM on February 22, 2013

So maybe it is an answer to this askme.
posted by selfmedicating at 6:45 PM on February 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

While for years I have benefited from MeFi exposing me to Getting Things Done, I was talking to a colleague about how the complexity and variety of tasks at my job have increased and I feel like I am falling off track constantly. I wish, I said to him, that there was some sort of a system that would keep me re-oriented frequently throughout the day. It turns out that very morning the person across the hall from him had told him about Pomodoro and the Tomato Timer web site.

I'll check Node Timer out, but in the meantime I want to chime in on the effectiveness of the Pomodoro technique. These have been the most productive three weeks I have experienced in years.
posted by cgk at 9:54 PM on February 22, 2013 [1 favorite]

two issues for me - one signing up, fuck that it ain't my email. Two, it uses the internet and a browser (I assume). if i want to get something done then an open browser isn't helping.
posted by mattoxic at 5:01 AM on February 23, 2013

Made an account, took some screenshots. This is what Node Timer looks like.
posted by buriednexttoyou at 9:22 AM on February 23, 2013 [1 favorite]

Hey everyone! Wow, I didn't expect my tiny weekend project to make it to the front page of Metafilter!

I'll be making a bunch of changes based on the discussion here. I just pushed up an update to the front page so it has screen shots and a better description of what Node Timer is about. I'm also going to integrate with other login systems such as Facebook, Twitter, etc so you don't have to sign up for yet another service. I agree that's totally annoying.

Here's a quick background of what Node Timer is all about. I'm a software engineer and I was having a lot of success using the Pomodoro technique to help me focus during the day. Typically I was using the timer on my iPhone. What I missed was actually seeing a log of what I was focusing on. I was really curious to see what my day and week looked like in more detail and how my focus varied from week to week.

Future versions of Node timer will have more analytics about your day and week. What time of day do you have the most focus? When are you getting interrupted a lot?
posted by orlick at 12:10 PM on February 23, 2013 [2 favorites]

Looks good, but not being able to use it without internet access is a bit of a deal breaker.

If you're after a non-web alternative, I'd go with Tadam, a rather pretty menu bar app for OS X, or Tim, a cross-platform command line timer (which is useful for all manner of countdown/interval type stuff, not just Pomodoro timing).
posted by jack_mo at 2:05 AM on February 24, 2013

I made a little hardware one out of a MSP430 LaunchPad and Energia. It's very small, silent, and needs no soldering or parts. It gets its power from USB, but could probably be run from any tiny DC supply.
posted by scruss at 10:03 AM on February 24, 2013