Tag Archives: time management

App review: Timeful

Or, how Kim learned to stop worrying, and trust the machines.

Timeful is an iOS-only app that helps you to schedule time to do the things you want to do, as well as the things you have to do. Free to download, it accesses your calendars (Google, Outlook, iCal) and once you’ve told it some things you’d like to do – finds time for them, and schedules them in.

This video explains it pretty well:

Aside from the slightly odd feeling that your phone is dictating your actions, it’s been really useful. I’ve been using it for about three weeks (on and off – you have to remember to open the app to see what it’s suggestions are) and I’ve actually got things done.

So I’ve set Timeful to help me:

  • Blog once a week (on which note, check!)
  • Tidy my kitchen up each night (ahem)
  • Exercise three times a week
  • Work on a book I might one day be writing three times a week

And – checking my stats:

  • I blogged successfully
  • the kitchen looks much better
  • going to the gym feels more like an achievement
  • and I’ve written a chapter or two

You could, of course, use it to set aside time to revise a particular topic, work on a particular essay, rehearse for a play, or anything else at all.

If you remember to open Timeful a few times a day, you’ll see that the suggestions it makes change as you go through the day, depending on what you choose to do. Suggestions appear in between your scheduled events, and one tap selects the action at that time. Then, you can go about your day, but when your scheduled event comes around, Timeful sets off an alarm to remind you. When you’re done, you can tap the action again, and it’s crossed out and added to your stats. If you ignore an event that’s suggested or scheduled, Timeful tries again another day, and you can also postpone events for another day when you know you’ll have more time.

Fitting in the demands of study, work, family, etc, can be difficult – and this can help you to identify time to work on the things you want flexibly. Think about using it during pre-exams, to identify time in between society meetings, lectures, and work to get some revision done. All you need is an up to date calendar and Timeful will save you the age-old procrastination trick of writing out a revision timetable.

Good luck! And let us know how you get on – is there another tool that you prefer?

Other reviews: PC mag UK, Macrumours, Techcrunch.

Time Management Tools: focus booster

Faces of Time
Faces of Time. Todd Lappin. Flickr. CC-BY-NC.

As well as working as an Information Consultant for the Drama and Theatre, Media Arts, and English departments here at Royal Holloway, I had the bright idea of taking my Library and Information Science MSc part time. It has been very challenging and very interesting – and it’s nearly done! My final year of three has just begun and I’m currently making the first steps towards writing my dissertation (a study into first year arts undergraduates experience of libraries before university and how this influences the way in which they find information at higher education level, since you ask).

So I was browsing through the Library’s helpful Tools for Researchers prezi and I discovered (among other things): focus booster. http://www.focusboosterapp.com/  Focus booster is great.

What is it for?

Do you ever have those moments where you just don’t know where to begin? Or you’ve too many tasks and not enough time? Or too much time and you feel that you’ll never settle down and get something productive done. Focus booster allows you to set yourself short tasks in a timed period, followed by timed breaks, and is great for knuckling down and getting things done.

How does it work?

Focus booster uses ‘The Pomodoro Technique’, a time management method that “uses a timer to break down periods of work into 25-minute intervals (referred to as “pomodoros”) separated by breaks and is based on the idea that frequent breaks can improve mental agility.”

As the website states:


There are five basic steps to implementing the technique:

    • decide on the task to be done
    • set the pomodoro (timer) to 25 minutes
    • work on the task until the timer rings; record the task status
    • take a short break (5 minutes)
    • every four “pomodoros” take a longer break (15-20 minutes)

How do I get it?

You can download the app to your PC or Mac from http://www.focusboosterapp.com/download

Even better (for me, as I use a Chromebook), it’s available online: http://www.focusboosterapp.com/live

Both versions will tick to let you know a pomodoro has begun, change the timer colour to indicate how close you are to your next break, sound an alarm to let you know when time is up, and also let you adjust the time of pomodoros and breaks.

(There are whispers on Twitter that this will soon be available for iPhone and Android, so watch this space.)

Why should I use it?

Focus booster is a great psychological trick: you know you have a lot of work to get done, but the timed aspect means that you need to break your work down into manageable chunks – great, it already feels easier! Also, rather than thinking that you have the next seven hours to get something done, you have 25 minutes: long enough to focus, but not so long that you get distracted or tired.

If you’re easily distracted, this can be a great way of ensuring that short bursts of time are well spent; or if you find that you spend long periods staring down your computer screen this technique can encourage you to take regular breaks and relax rather than stress out. Personally, I find it really great for getting started; 25 minutes is just long enough not to be frightening, but I often find that I’ll get into what I’m doing, safe in the knowledge that a break is imminent, and then find that I’ve missed a break as I’ve got so into the task.

Burning the Clocks Cup Cakes
Burning the Clocks Cup Cakes. somewhereintheworldtoday. Flickr. CC-BY

 

 

Try it out – and comment below: was it useful?

What are your best techniques for managing your time and being more productive? Share in the comments below – tips are always appreciated!