I kept struggling to sit down and start my side projects, so I tried reading more about productivity and motivation. At some point I realized I just needed something simple to get me moving — so I wrote a tiny Pomodoro timer in Python.
It’s intentionally minimal: you enter the title, work time, break time, and number of intervals. After the session it generates a short report and asks you to write your own conclusion. I like reviewing these later, so I added that part for myself.
I enjoy building small tools instead of searching for the “perfect” app, and Python made it easy to keep everything clean and simple.
Works on Windows & Linux, pure Python.
GitHub: https://github.com/Mietkiewski/MPomidoro
Gumroad PWYW $0+: https://mietkiewski.gumroad.com/l/mpomidoro
I’m still experimenting with what helps me start working. If you have any small rituals or tricks, I’d love to hear them.
My ritual to get started is usually make a cup of tea, close the distraction apps, put on music, take a deep breath of the tea, and then get started.
Like where you were going with ordering tea.
For seasoning recommend, nutmeg and cinnamon. And just assume it smells nice. Without the ritual rolling a $ bill and snorting it.
For variety, can also add turmeric and powder pepper. The combination is supposed to be good for health, but guaranteed to blow the mind of your neighbors. Who are not used to putting pepper in tea.
Nice. For me those first steps always stretch out… I sit down “just to start” and suddenly 20 minutes are gone.