I don’t use Windows nowadays, and many of my crucial tricks are either browser extensions, web services, or hacked into my general dev setup.
Generally though? On every device or medium I try to have:
A timer that I can start the instant I recognize time-boxing myself might be helpful.
Unobtrusive note-taking/thinking space. I use notepad or nvim with markdown highlighting.
A random number generator (and/or list shuffler), to arbitrarily narrow decision spaces that are taking more effort to think about than they’re worth.
In the long run, simple tools that do exactly what you tell them beat out complex gadgets that try to anticipate every use case. If you want a smart aid that can act precisely to cause good outcomes on your behalf, consider going out and making friends.
I don’t use Windows nowadays, and many of my crucial tricks are either browser extensions, web services, or hacked into my general dev setup.
Generally though? On every device or medium I try to have:
A timer that I can start the instant I recognize time-boxing myself might be helpful.
Unobtrusive note-taking/thinking space. I use notepad or nvim with markdown highlighting.
A random number generator (and/or list shuffler), to arbitrarily narrow decision spaces that are taking more effort to think about than they’re worth.
In the long run, simple tools that do exactly what you tell them beat out complex gadgets that try to anticipate every use case. If you want a smart aid that can act precisely to cause good outcomes on your behalf, consider going out and making friends.
Do you have a timer that you prefer?
Howler Timer