Forest Pomodoro timer

An app I often use for studying in the forest app. Forest is a Pomodoro app that encourages you to stay focused on the growth of a tree.

The Pomodoro technique is a productivity method where you balance 25 minutes of focused, efficient work with a 5 minute relaxation time. I do a deeper in my other post which you can find here.

The forest app will show a Pomodoro timer, and a little growing tree bud, that slowly grows throughout your study time.

What sets apart this app from a standard Pomodoro timer is the automatic reward of a grown tree at the end of each focus period.

Many studies show how setting tangible rewards, even as small as growing a virtual tree, can motivate you to work efficiently.

However, once you leave the app during the 25 minute focus periods, (to check your social media feeds, games, surf the web…) your tree sadly shrivels up and dies.

I know it sounds silly as you are reading this, that the life of a virtual tree would motivate you to not get distracted.

But once you use it, you grow a deep connection with your growing tree : ).

Another feature that this app offers is the ability to grow trees with friends. You can set up a fun accountability system of sorts where you and your friends grow a forest together, then if just one of you leave the app, both sets of trees will die.

Donate Trees to Charity

I think my favorite aspect of the app is its real-life connection. By planting your own virtual trees in the app throughout many study sessions, you earn coins.

Those coins can then plant an actual tree. Forest will donate money to the nonprofit organization Trees for a Future which provides the resources and training for communities to grow trees that provide sustainable food for themselves and for income, that will last for generations.

For more information about Trees for the Future, click here. You can also donate here.

So that’s a quick snapshot of the Forest app and some of its key features. For more information, check out their website. (Update: They have released a chrome extension as well)

Download for Android: iOS: Chrome Extension

Thanks for reading. Be sure to put any comments you might have down below, and as always, contact me with any questions.

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Originally published at http://runtostudy.wordpress.com on May 4, 2020.