App Review: Pomodoro « Android Junkies

27Oct/090

App Review: Pomodoro

I am a fan of the convergent device. I try to use my Android phone for every task imaginable. I mean, if I could use it to beam a wave of energy at my bowl of oatmeal in the morning, cooking it right in the bowl at the table, I would! I am always on the lookout for new apps that are useful to me in my day-to-day activities. Enter Pomodoro.

Before I get into the app itself, I need to give a quick explanation of why one would want to use Pomodoro. The app is means of tracking time when using a time management technique called “the Pomodoro Technique”.

Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that can be used for any kind of task. For many people, time is an enemy. The anxiety triggered by “the ticking clock,” especially when a deadline is involved, leads to ineﬀective work and study habits which in turn lead to procrastination. The aim of the Pomodoro Technique is to use time as a valuable ally in accomplishing what we want to do, in the way we want to do it, and to enable us to continually improve the way we work or study. www.pomodorotechnique.com

The basic use of the Pomodoro Technique is to work for 25 minutes and then take a 5 minute break. Each 25 minute session is called a Pomodoro (Italian word for tomato). After 4 Pomodoros take a longer break. The premise here is that we are more efficient when we work in bursts, concentrating on one task at a time. It’s a highly effective way to manage one’s time.

As far as apps go, Pomodoro is fairly simple. It keeps track of your time and your Pomodoros. In the settings there are five options: Tomato Duration, Rest Duration, Notification Timer, Tomato Ringtone, and Rest Ringtone. In the apps main screen there is a timer and buttons to start and stop working. There is also plenty of screen space for all of the Pomodoros that you will collect as you are diligently working. The red Pomodoros are complete and the green Pomodoro is the one that you are currently working on. If you choose to show the notification timer, then you will have a little Pomodoro icon in your notification bar. You can go back to your homescreen and Pomodoro will continue to keep time for you, and alert you when your Pomodoro is finished and it’s time for a break.

That’s all there is to the app. The Pomodoro technique can be used for virtually any activity. The beauty of this app is that you will always have a way to track your time, no matter where you are, without setting alarms or constantly eyeballing the clock. The original method of tracking your Pomodoros is to use a tomato-shaped kitchen timer and mark slashes on a piece of paper for each completed Pomodoro. By using your convergent device you save yourself the hassle of carrying a tomato timer around in your pocket!