Personally, I prefer an analog kitchen timer for Pomodoro Technique® (created by Francesco Cirillo). As I wrote in my book Pomodoro Technique Illustrated it will support an established pattern of gestures and reflexes.
However, since both individuals and the environments we work in differ, there are also screen timers. Many are targeted for Mac OS X, such as Renzo Borgatti’s Pomodori and Guillaume Cerquant’s TimeBoxed. Viktor Nordling’s Pomodairo on the other hand, is developed in Flex in order to reach both Linux, Windows, and OS X with Adobe’s desktop application runtime AIR. In addition to these three there are many other screen timers.
Below is a wish list for a screen timer. Some of these features are already available in Renzo’s, Guillaume’s, and Viktor’s timers.
- Countdown instead of counting up time
- Default 25 minutes, but configurable length
- Title of each Pomodoro is saved in a file for statistical analysis
- Configurable ring signal and volume, or alternatively, the clock goes on top of the screen when the time runs out
- Title of the interruption is saved in a file for statistical analysis
- Activity Inventory where new titles can be added both during and after a Pomodoro
- Void Pomodori without saving to a file
- Automatic counting up of time during the break – without timebox or ringing
- P2P communication between team members’ screen timers:
- See the title of your friends present Pomodoro
- Delayed messaging to friend – appears in the recipient’s timer when it rings
If you have a developed a screen timer, please tell us about it in the Pomodoro Technique google group or in a comment to this blog post.
Pomodoro Timer
Tweet This Post
