

OSX Apps To Help You Focus & Be Productive - abraham
http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/6-apps-to-help-you-focus-be-productive-mac/

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ptomato
You know what helps me focus? Not messing around with half a dozen apps
intended to make me more productive.

~~~
jawngee
Huh? When I'm uberproductive I have, at least, these things running:

* iTerm (3+ windows)

* TextMate (Multiple windows)

* Eclipse or XCode

* Safari (Multiple windows)

* Firefox (Multiple windows)

* AquaMate Studio (Multiple windows)

* Charles

* iTunes

* Photoshop

* Finder (Multiple windows)

If you hesitate when navigating the flow, it's easy to get lost. It gets even
worse when you are using a lot of java apps because they always seem to
refocus when you tab back to them, which can throw your flow for a loop.

By turning on OS X's Single App Mode, that hasn't happened to me yet. I
definitely noticed an increase in focus.

I am happy for you that you are able to be so focused, but one size does not
fit all.

~~~
johnnybgoode
What's AquaMate Studio?

~~~
jawngee
Sorry, I meant Aqua Data Studio.

It's a pretty good general purpose SQL query tool (the best I've found for
PostgreSQL anyways).

<http://aquadatastudio.com/>

~~~
johnnybgoode
Got it, thanks.

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MikeCapone
Yeah, I know that a Real Productive Person(tm) should answer: "Just stop
trying to find a widget that will make your more productive and get on with
the work, dammit!"

But I think that different people can get to the same place using different
roads. To some the "helpers" might be superfluous and pure willpower is all
that is required. To others they might help give a necessary extra push.

I'm definitely looking forward to trying some of the "isolator" types of
software, because I find that I'm usually distracted by others thing that I
see around on my desktop (they're just so tempting to quickly switch to, just
to check if XYZ..). Maybe if I see fewer of those others thing I'll be less
tempted to switch to them.

Worth a shot. Won't replace discipline, but hey, everybody seems to think that
an uncluttered desk, an uncluttered office (an uncluttered life!) are the way
to go. Same should work for my virtual desktop.

~~~
lupin_sansei
Here's a nice free one for Firefox to block out sites that distract you
<https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/4476>

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dimas
Apps might be helpful but nothing is better then self determination and self-
discipline especial when outcome of work directly impact your profit and well
being. Multitasking is a bitch of today's productivity. It makes you think
that it helps you get things faster but research indicates then on the
contrary it does not. The laps of time you brain takes to switch between the
task is the waist. It is also very addictive. I used to multitask a lot and
now try to discipline myself not to do it unless one task is taking time
without my direct control(like coping large files or running long process).
Sometimes I find myself ridiculously starting to read and article or code few
lines of code while my brain start doing something also and looking for other
task to start. I started finding it destructive and in need to eliminate.

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callahad
I'm fond of Freedom - <http://macfreedom.com/>

It kills your networking a configurable period, with the only way to
circumvent it being a reboot. Or so it claims. The claim alone is enough to
keep me from trying simple things like an ifup. And that's what I needed.

~~~
stcredzero
Instead of taking away all network, what about your own configurable proxy
server? All I need is some sort of periodic restriction on my favorite
procrastination sites. (Like Hacker News)

I couldn't use a total network restriction for my current work. I need to
interface with stuff I can't install on my own machine. (Legacy enterprise
software running in a basement data-center room.)

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chrischen
I'd have to say that Self Control is probably the only useful one for me. If
an IM pops up or I have an urge to browse HN, I'd circumvent any of the apps
that just dims other apps if I want. And for the Pomodoro timers it's too easy
to deviate off schedule, and too many tasks that are too short to time.

Self control however is ingenious. I can impulsively block sites, only to
block impulses to visit sites afterwards.

That reminds me though, I seriously have to start using the procrastination
feature here at HN.

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pjhyett
Auto-hiding the dock has easily been the most productive change I've made to
OS X.

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wrinklz
We should add Guest Login to the list. Because nothing focuses the mind like
total data loss. (OK it almost certainly affects productivity, but 1 out of 2
ain't bad.)

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wrinklz
Multitasking is often necessary but can decrease focus and productivity, I
agree. But I often require several apps to complete a single task. So hiding
apps wouldn't help me be productive. I find judicial use of "Spaces" along
with 2 or three large monitors helpd me quickly focus on the task at hand and
get the job done. I like to keep the finder open in all Spaces. And learn the
key commands for tabbing through windows and applications, etc.

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jawngee
I use OSX's Single Application Mode:

 _defaults write com.apple.dock single-app -bool true

killAll Dock_

Has been a big boost.

~~~
raganwald
More on Single-Application Mode:

<http://db.tidbits.com/article/10624>

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fr0z3nph03n1x
I like Spirited Away.<http://drikin.com/spiritedaway/> I found it a long time
ago, it auto hides windows that have not been active in a long time, keeps
things simple.

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truebosko
Not a bad list. The Pomodoro timer is built on Adobe AIR so it works under
Linux as well.

~~~
peregrine
I was looking for something similar to the more powerful app on Linux. The
FocusBooster app works great but its only a timer.

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callmeed
I've just recently been trying pomodoro so I'm looking forward to trying some
tomorrow.

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NathanKP
This is a very comprehensive list. I'll have to try a few of those apps
myself.

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PStamatiou
Just tried Isolator, pretty nifty!

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ilitirit
This doesn't really seem like it belongs on HN...

