Timepiece for Mac 1.0
I’m a big fan of working in intervals (if you want more information about it, read on). This method requires a timer. I was never quite happy with any of the existing apps for macOS, so I made my own.
Today I want to introduce it to you.
It’s called Timepiece and it’s is aimed to help you working in intervals efficiently, improving your focus and helping to get more important tasks done.
You can download it on the webpage: http://timepieceapp.com
If you already a fan of working in intervals, you can just download and try out the timer. If you aren’t yet — I will introduce it to you now 📖.
Working in intervals
and why you should care about it
I love to work in intervals. This method improves the quality of my work days, helps me to get things done more efficiently and keep the mind focused. If you heard about the Pomodoro Technique and its benefits, that’s exactly it.
To work in interval you need to follow the algorithm:
- choose a task to work on;
- set up a timer for a few (5—45) minutes;
- disable all the notifications, put the computer into “Do Not Disturb” mode, quit all the messengers, email clients, put the smartphone in a silent mode;
- (maybe) start some music or white background noice (see http://asoftmurmur.com);
- concentrate only on the chosen task for this period of time, ignore all the distractions;
- if a thought appears in your head about something else to be done, write it down and return back to the task;
- when the timer fires, take a break (5—25 minutes), read your messages and email;
- repeat.
This way of working has several benefits.
Show the true value of focused time
Usually people are surprised about how much can be done in just 15 minutes of focused time. And 30 minutes is much more. You start to value your time. No more “oh, there is just 33 minutes before the next meeting, I can’t do anything useful now, let’s browse some Pinterest”.
Delay distractions and focus on a single task
Messengers, social networks, email clients and even you coworkers distract you from getting your work done. There is no way to get rid of it completely.
Though, it is very easy to just delay a notification for 15 minutes, to promise yourself that you will get back to it a bit later and to continue whatever you are doing. You only ignore the rest of the universe while the timer is on.
No big deal for universe, a huge win for your 📈 productivity 👍.
Fight the “cold start” issue
The interval technique makes it easier to start a long and scary task.
This huge task, it will take a lot of time. We need to prepare to work on it, but it’s not the right time.
Does it sound familiar?
Though, if you plan to spend just some limited time (like 5 minutes) on a huge task, that’s no big deal. No preparation needed for 5 minutes, right?
You can start even if you lunch is in 10 minutes.
And when you start, ✨ magic happens ✨, and the task doesn’t look that scary anymore.
A few repetitions and the huge project is already half-done and you know what to do next.
Why Timepiece?
There are plenty of timers on the market nowadays.
I made Timepiece to fit my needs.
The app focuses on bringing the best possible experience for the essential interval timer features: setting timers and getting notified.
It is very feature-light 🎈. I believe that we need to focus on the getting the job done instead of focusing on the tool.
There are 3 highlights of Timepiece I want to guide your attention to:
1. Keyboard
Almost everything in this timer has hot keys assigned to it. Whether showing/hiding the main window (⌘+⌥+T by default), selecting an interval, cancelling the running timer or extending it — everything is controlled from the keyboard.
2. Extend time intervals
It is much easier to start working if you promise yourself to concentrate only for 15 minutes. But then, when you get to the state of Flow 🚀, setting the timer again distracts you. In Timepiece, you can just press one button to extend the time interval.
3. Fuzzy timer in the menubar
To minimize distractions even further, the time left indication in the menu bar is fuzzy. It just shows you the amount of minutes left, until the last minute, where precision is changed to seconds.
If you are interested, here is Timepiece 1.0.
Feedback
I have some roadmap of the features that I want to add to the app in the future, but I highly appreciate your feedback.
If you have thoughts, feedback or suggestions, drop a comment to this post or send an email to: timepiece@mandrigin.ru
