Experiment

GSD

Getting Shit Done: a pomodoro timer. Twenty-five minutes draining out of a glass one drop a second, then five minutes of break while a tap fills it back up. Tick, bell and the rain are all synthesised in the browser.

25:00, focus, ready

Phase
Focus
Today
0
Ends at
·
Minutes

Clockwork

Ambience

Install it as an app

The same timer, on its own: no site around it, full screen on a phone, and it works offline.

Open the app
iPhone, iPad
Open the app in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. It launches full screen, with its own icon.
Android, desktop
Open the app in Chrome or Edge and accept the install prompt, or pick Install from the browser menu.
Offline
Everything it needs is stored on the device at install, sounds included, since they are synthesised. No network needed after that.
Updates
The app looks for a new version whenever it comes back to the foreground and offers it at the foot of the screen. A running timer carries on through the update.
Background
The screen stays awake while the clock runs. If the phone locks anyway, iOS pauses the app: the clock keeps time and catches up, but the bell only rings with the app open.

The technique

  1. 01

    Pick one task

    One thing, written down. The timer is a promise to that task and to nothing else for the next twenty-five minutes.

  2. 02

    Watch it drain

    Press start. A drop leaves the glass with every second and the clock ticks it off. When a distraction turns up, note it and let it wait.

  3. 03

    Let it refill

    At zero the bell rings and the break starts on its own: five minutes while the tap fills the glass back up. Stand up, look away from the screen.

  4. 04

    Go again

    A full glass is the next pomodoro. After four, take a longer break of fifteen to thirty minutes. Keep going chains the cycles without a click.