
Ask HN: How do you focus? tools and other - esseti
How do you people avoid distraction when working (I code mostly)?. What tools do you use (I&#x27;m a Mac user, no relegion wars pls)
Personally:<p>- Quitter to quit thunderbird, skype, etc after 10mins. Slack is just hidden.<p>- Leechblock (FF) to avoid more than 10mins on distractions website<p>- Timer.app (http:&#x2F;&#x2F;martakostova.github.io&#x2F;timer&#x2F; you can compile it) for pomodoro with a script that kills Slack when a pomodoro starts and reopens it once finished. The script was setting the DND but the notifications keep popping up (the red dot), which bother me, so I switch it off. I think that messages can wait 40 mins, if not they can call.<p>- I don&#x27;t keep thunderbird open (see point 1), but I&#x27;ve a plist script that opens it at 11 and 15, so I check the emails every now and then.<p>- Rescue Time and Waka to keep track of my habits and productivity<p>- Trello (was BulletJournal but i&#x27;m not alone anymore) to schedule stuff.<p>- In the open space nice pair of headphones, a good music, and avoid to reply when asked questions if i&#x27;m in a &quot;pomdoro&quot; or working.<p>- A reason to leave work
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tbirrell
Pssh... You just need to adjust your setup (filthy mac user). I code in
assembly on Windows 95 and IE 1. Nothing works on the computer and nothing
loads on the browser. Ergo, no distractions!

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tedmiston
15-minute time boxing 24 hours a day

When I'm working, I use a physical egg timer on my desk. I also don't check
Slack when I'm coding. I keep my MacBook and iPhone in Do Not Disturb mode.

I take an nx 15-minute break when I need one. A typical ratio is 75% work to
25% breaks where break could be doing something enjoyable either fun or actual
work but a task I'm really excited about.

Throughout the day I accumulate the number of 15-minute periods of good work
for personal reference.

A pocket notebook to write down random thoughts that pop into my head while
working.

I don't have one myself, but I've heard good things about Saent [1] which
seems like a slightly more polished version of this workflow.

[1]: [https://www.saent.com](https://www.saent.com)

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jventura
I use the Pomodoro technique with this app:
[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tomato-one-free-focus-
timer/...](https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/tomato-one-free-focus-
timer/id907364780?mt=12)

I do tasks in 30 minute chunks with 5 minutes to go to the bathroom, get up,
stretch, etc.. On my best days I can do 11 pomodoros, but my average is 6/7
pomodoros. I'm currently lecturing on a local university, so the pomodoros are
mostly for when I'm preparing classes, and I try to do as few as possible,
which means I'm freeing my time successfully..

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Bvalmont
\- SelfControl app, you can change the timer to 1 month instead of 24 hours,
so you are not forced to click it every morning.

\- Simple Pomodoro timer, which honestly I use more as a signal for me to get
up and stretch my legs a bit.

\- Disabled all notifications on phone, macs.

\- Things as my todo list, simple and tells me what to focus on every day with
recurring todo's.

\- Only really visit 3 websites: HN, Designer News & Stack overflow, tagging
the interesting posts in the morning, then reading them on Kindle in the
evening. Or sometimes between Pomodoro breaks, like now.

\- I block all the news websites and other useless information with Opendns.

\- Bought a Wacom pen and a mac so I can't play videogames.

\- Podcasts for when I'm doing the dishes, Spotify for when I'm doing work.

\- No mail, slack before 1pm, I'm most productive in the mornings.

I read in Do The Work that the best thing is to not think, but just start. So
I meditate in the morning and try to be completely free of thoughts when I
arrive at work, sit down and just start. That was the single thing that made
the biggest difference for me. Don't give The Resistance a chance.

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esseti
SelfControl is nice, in the end it adds an entry on your /etc/hosts .

For what is worth the script for the timer app tokill slkck and set DND START:
if application "Slack" is running then tell application "Slack" quit end tell
end if do shell script "curl
'[https://slack.com/api/dnd.setSnooze?token=<YOURTOKEN>&num_mi...](https://slack.com/api/dnd.setSnooze?token=<YOURTOKEN>&num_minutes=$duration'")

END: if application "Slack" is not running then tell application "Slack" to
activate end if do shell script "curl
[https://slack.com/api/dnd.endSnooze?token=<YOURTOKEN>](https://slack.com/api/dnd.endSnooze?token=<YOURTOKEN>)

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urahara
I don't use any specific tools as they are time consumers themselves. I just:
1) don't turn on anything I don't need for work (tools, browsers, soft, sites,
etc) 2) rest well when I feel I need a break (one of the most counter
productive things is to proceed working when you're tired to the point you
can't focus.) Works great for me.

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fatherofone
I just finish my work first, once finished I don't care what I do. So, that
means I don't need to use other tools or techniques.

I think its just a habit, I find very annoying to see task assigned to me
being in ToDo Status. I want to make that resolved as soon as possible.

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rtcoms
I just install SelfControl app on Mac. Haven't wasted time on facebook after
that. So that's a goo start :)

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mythrwy
Your distraction prevention tool stack sounds like it would be a major
distraction for me.

