Tomighty: Pomodoro technique timer for Linux

By , Published April 15, 2011

“Getting things done” is, of late, a phrase alien to my work ethic. Rooting around for ways to help my concentrate I remember the ‘Pomodoro Technique‘ – a time-management method that is, supposedly, meant to help.

How?

The Pomodoro technique teaches you to break down your work into 25 minute chunks, with a 5 minute break taken between chunks. After every 4 ‘pomodoros’ you’re advised to take a longer break.

Like so: -

  1. Choose a task
  2. Set a timer for 25 minutes
  3. Work on that task until the timer goes off
  4. Take a 5 minute break
  5. Repeat.
  6. Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break

Sounds great in theory but the hard part is keeping track of time. Enter Tomighty – a small tray-based timer tool designed specifically for use with Pomodoro technique.

Once launched it will countdown from 25 minutes…

During the last minute the icon will live-countdown until the time is up and a break should be taken:

It has a basic set of options including

  • Configurable times
  • Set break time period
  • Configurable sounds
  • Option to show time on tray
  • Basic themes

Dude, that’s just a timer.

Yeah, it is. But it’s a time designed solely for Pomodoro activities and works very well as such.

Tomight won’t win any style awards when used in Linux – it’s a java application – but it does what it intends to and for that one can’t complain too much.

Download @ tomighty.org

Related posts:

  1. Enhance your productivity with Docky’s timer applet & the Pomodoro technique
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  • http://twitter.com/timdavies3 Tim

    Hm, I think I’ll give that a go. Shame it’s in Java, especially as it’s such a simple app, but still. Looks like it could be quite good.

  • http://tomslominski.net/ Tom Slominski

    All those time management techniques take up too much time…

    • dRewsus

      Maybe if you are blind and dyslexic

  • http://tomslominski.net/ Tom Slominski

    All those time management techniques take up too much time…

  • http://tomslominski.net/ Tom Slominski

    All those time management techniques take up too much time…

  • http://anaershadowynomaly.deviantart.com Farran Lee

    Installing this right now, see you in 25 minutes

  • http://anaershadowynomaly.deviantart.com Farran Lee

    Installing this right now, see you in 25 minutes

  • Carmelo Scollo

    If it uses the notification tray… does it mean you can forget about it as soon as 11.04 hits release? Or will the notification tray still be a part of the panel in 11.04?
    Not that I would miss it. I like indicators much more, because of the consistent experience…

    • http://twitter.com/tomdwright Tom Wright

      Java applications are currently whitelisted and can still use the notification tray (if you look closely you can see that the screenshot is from Natty).

    • Anonymous

      Apparently they got something for notification tray for devs that don’t keep up with the latest trends.

    • Anonymous

      Apparently they got something for notification tray for devs that don’t keep up with the latest trends.

  • Carmelo Scollo

    If it uses the notification tray… does it mean you can forget about it as soon as 11.04 hits release? Or will the notification tray still be a part of the panel in 11.04?
    Not that I would miss it. I like indicators much more, because of the consistent experience…

  • http://twitter.com/yogaxpto Diogo

    Too bad that it doesn’t look as a truly native appearance… :/
    But great app.. :)

  • http://twitter.com/yogaxpto Diogo

    Too bad that it doesn’t look as a truly native appearance… :/
    But great app.. :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/dehmialani Cool Dehmi

    how to install on ubuntu 10.10

    • http://twitter.com/teotoo Daniel

      Like this:
      1) Download the .jar file
      2) Open a terminal (Applications > Accessories > Terminal)
      3) type chmod +x (don’t press enter yet)
      4) now drag the .jar file you downloaded into the terminal with “chmod +x”. Your terminal should now look like the image attached below. Note that user will be your user-name.
      5) Press the enter button while your in the terminal.
      6) Last one! right-click the .jar file and click “Open with Sun Java 6 Runtime” (You might have OpenJDK, don’t worry about it and click it.)

      • http://anaershadowynomaly.deviantart.com Farran Lee

        Or you can right click on the file, select Properties, go to Permissions and mark it as Executable. Then java will let you run it :)

        • http://twitter.com/teotoo Daniel

          Yeah but that’s the boring way! Besides, it’s always good to learn a little about the terminal.

          • http://anaershadowynomaly.deviantart.com Farran Lee

            :P Sorry! Just thought I’d offer my version :)
            It certainly is, it helps [some people] understand what’s actually happening when you click all those things.

          • http://anaershadowynomaly.deviantart.com Farran Lee

            :P Sorry! Just thought I’d offer my version :)
            It certainly is, it helps [some people] understand what’s actually happening when you click all those things.

  • http://twitter.com/frandieguez Fran Diéguez

    Ufff… The UI is very very ugly.

    Some months ago I start to create the same thing with a better interface that this.
    I have made a mockup in a svg you can download from here: http://www.mabishu.com/downloads/pomodoro-indicator/pomodoro-indicator-mockup.tar.bz2
    And and improved icons set you can download from here: http://www.mabishu.com/downloads/pomodoro-indicator/pomodoro-indicator-iconset.tar.bz2

    It will be awesome get my mockups into this awesome work.

    Cheers.

    • http://blastfromthepast.se/ Tommy Brunn

      That looks a lot better (though the weird text in the bottom has to go). Also, I’m assuming that slider is supposed to be a progress bar? If so, use a progress widget instead.

      • dRewsus

        It looks like in the first one that the bar is for setting the timer in the first place

    • http://profiles.google.com/jonolumb Jonathan Lumb

      I would certainly use this if it was made available. The key for me is consistency – I don’t like icons and text that stick out like a sorer thumb on my panel.

    • http://twitter.com/Magnesus Magnesus

      I think the UI is great and your version is… ugly. :)

      • http://profiles.google.com/kurt.bruneau Kurt Bruneau

        Haha I was about to say the same thing XP

  • http://twitter.com/skiter11 Victor Romano ✔

    I use Focus Booster, it’s a program made in Adobe Air.
    Let’s try Tomighty.

  • http://twitter.com/skiter11 Victor Romano ✔

    I use Focus Booster, it’s a program made in Adobe Air.
    Let’s try Tomighty.

  • http://twitter.com/teotoo Daniel

    Great, only I found that the default theme didn’t work, you had to change it to “Gradient” theme. Any ideas?

  • Akshat Jain

    That ugly try icon….

    • Anonymous

      iTheif stole ur ‘a’ from tray ;p

    • Anonymous

      iTheif stole ur ‘a’ from tray ;p

    • http://twitter.com/ccidral Célio

      I’m sick of that icon too, but it was the best one I found out for free. I even tried to create my own icon but my design skills are terribly bad.

      I welcome anyone with proper design skills interested in creating a new icon for Tomighty.

  • Akshat Jain

    That ugly try icon….

  • http://bler.webschuur.com berkes

    Wonders what to do the next 23 minutes on OMG-ubuntu.

  • Waldir Leôncio

    Ubuntu has an RSI-preventing feature that can be easily tweaked for Pomodoro users. Just go the last tab of your keyboard settings and have the system make you take a 5-minute break every 25 minutes. I find this to be an awesome technique because when the time for a break comes, your screen gets locked and you are forced to leave your computer and effectively go do something that will make you rest, e.g. walk around the room or go have a glass of water, instead of trading half an hour looking at a screen with five minutes looking at the same screen). The system’s inflexibility is rather useful, because the clock is always resetting itself. That means no postponing of breaks and, when the break is over, you have to rush in back to work, because the clock restarts automatically!

    • Anonymous

      Cool. Never looked so deeply into the keyboard-settings.
      That is definitely a cool functionality.

  • Waldir Leôncio

    Ubuntu has an RSI-preventing feature that can be easily tweaked for Pomodoro users. Just go the last tab of your keyboard settings and have the system make you take a 5-minute break every 25 minutes. I find this to be an awesome technique because when the time for a break comes, your screen gets locked and you are forced to leave your computer and effectively go do something that will make you rest, e.g. walk around the room or go have a glass of water, instead of trading half an hour looking at a screen with five minutes looking at the same screen). The system’s inflexibility is rather useful, because the clock is always resetting itself. That means no postponing of breaks and, when the break is over, you have to rush in back to work, because the clock restarts automatically!

  • http://alaukik.myopenid.com/ Alaukik

    there is also rsi break (available in the software center) which is better?

    • Anonymous

      Correct! Better support and KDE-centered

  • Anonymous

    I hacked something like that together too called workcycler.
    Watch the demo here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyfUe1gXlXQ

    • dRewsus

      very nice. PPA please :)

      • Anonymous

        Gotta find out how to make PPAs now :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Pedro-Casagrande/1269034702 Pedro Casagrande

    You can use the timer dockelet in Docky, create 2 timer making it persistent, set the first to 25 minutes e the second to 5 minutes. Try it now!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Pedro-Casagrande/1269034702 Pedro Casagrande

    You can use the timer dockelet in Docky, create 2 timer making it persistent, set the first to 25 minutes e the second to 5 minutes. Try it now!

  • Anonymous

    Ah, didn’t know there’d be much interest in this. I guess it’s time resurrect my dead project, Gomodoro. My pomodoro timer is written in Python and it’s much easier to install. Unfortunately, there’s no project page up yet. But here you go.

    https://launchpad.net/gomodoro

    Installation:

    bzr branch lp:~mystilleef/gomodoro/dev

    To Run:

    cd gomodoro
    ./gomodoro

    This might be an excellent alternative to the good looking Timothy for those that don’t want to install Java.

    P.S. I’ve been working on this project since January. I’ve just been too lazy to set up a project page and do a release. But since there’s interest, I’ll try to make a release shortly. Also I don’t mean to take away from Timothy’s moment. It looks like a great app so please test it out and support the project.

    • Akshat Jain

      Python FTW!

  • http://profiles.google.com/jonolumb Jonathan Lumb

    There is a program that I use called “Workrave” (http://www.workrave.org/) which is available in the Software store. It might be a bit much for some but for those wanting to save their eyes and avoid having a bad back and stiff neck it is brilliant!

  • http://twitter.com/Jebril Pedo Bear

    “Dude, that’s just a timer.”

  • Anonymous

    Even as a Java developer, I’m hesitant to have a long-running Java app like this consuming resources in the background.

    This post did inspire me to check out pomodoro, though. The debian repos have ‘pomodoro-applet’, gonna test that out now.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KFF2PURLMSEKI3ALERT2PGJHTY NathanS

    Too bad that they banned panel applets in Gnome-shell and Unity. “OMG! Legacy Ubuntu!”

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_KFF2PURLMSEKI3ALERT2PGJHTY NathanS

    Too bad that they banned panel applets in Gnome-shell and Unity. “OMG! Legacy Ubuntu!”

  • http://twitter.com/Gonzih Gonzih

    i create simple gnome-shell extension for pomodoro
    Source: https://github.com/Gonzih/pomodoro-gnome-shell

    • Anonymous

      How exactly does it work? I started it, but I don’t see any timer or anything. Will it tell me when my time is up? A display timer would be nice when you click on it.

      • http://twitter.com/Gonzih Gonzih

        i work on timer, i fix bugs and that sould work

        • Anonymous

          It looks great. I had started looking around in your code to try and write my own, but yours is much better than what I had started.

          I had three things to comment on:

          1:
          I get a balance of 16 hours in addition to my 25 minutes on the counter, and I believe it is because of this section here:

          get_time_left: function() { //in miliseconds
          let time = new Date – this.time_start;
          time = this.time_limit – time;
          return time;
          }

          where you subtract the two dates in the first line to get a small number (~25 minutes), but then when you subtract again on the second line, you get a huge number (~ 16 hours, 25 minutes).

          Also, I’m not sure why it’s even necessary to show the hours, you could easily fix this by just displaying minutes and seconds.

          2:
          It might be hard to tell sometimes whether you should be working or breaking because you might miss the brief pop-up telling you ‘take a short break’ or ‘get back to work’, if you are working hard or leave on your break

          I would suggest either displaying in text beside the timer whether you are on “work” or “break”, or instead keep the pop up saying ‘Take short break’ on the screen for the whole break (the whole 5 or 15 minutes) to force you to get away from the computer.

          Finally, I would change the ‘after_break_notice’ to something shorter, as I don’t believe it is necessary to remain on the screen for 3 minutes as you will be using your computer for work.

          3:
          One last feature request because I have no idea how hard it would be, but maybe if you had a button to start each new pomodoro or break in case you aren’t paying attention when it automatically starts for you, it could screw up your whole cycle.

          You have done a great job on this extension here, and I will use this all the time! Thank you very much!

          • http://twitter.com/Gonzih Gonzih

            1 and 2 requests fixed, i take a look on idea with buttons later, for future request i think is better to use github isuses.

            Thanks for help in making my code better :)

          • Anonymous

            Looks absolutely fantastic. Just what I needed for exam time. Thanks again for the hard work!

  • Anonymous

    I like this a lot, but it seems to be using 75mb of private memory on my system…

  • http://twitter.com/ccidral Célio

    Hey, thanks a lot for posting about Tomighty.

    It’s really a shame that it looks bad under Gnome. I wish I had more time to work on these issues. In fact, there’s a lot of room for improvements (hey, it’s 0.6 by the way), but I do them as I find spare time for it.

    The general UI does not look great largely because I’m not a design expert, but I welcome anyone willing to contribute by improving the aesthetics of Tomighty by making mockups. That includes the UI (panels, icons, etc) as well as the website. I did my best on this matter but sure it can get much better if someone more skilled work on it.

    A PPA would do great too, that’s something else you guys might contribute.

    Those interested in making contributions, please drop me a line at Tomighty’s discussion group:

    http://groups.google.com/group/tomighty

    Cheers!

    Célio

  • http://hadret.com/ Hadret

    I believe pomodoro-applet is pretty much the same, but looks better and it’s not written in Java… (:

    • Anonymous

      How do you start the applet?

    • Shane Quigley

      java is awesome apart from the oracle thing

  • http://anaershadowynomaly.deviantart.com Farran Lee

    Erm… don’t know if anyone else has noticed this, but when the ticking is active (and probably any other sound), it takes over the entire sound server.
    Well it does for me at least. :C

    I’m on 64 bit Ubuntu, if that makes any difference, though I doubt it does cos I suspect it uses some ancient method of connecting to the sound?

    I don’t really have a clue what I’m on about :D

    • http://twitter.com/ccidral Célio

      That might explain why Tomighty often fails to play sounds on Ubuntu when there is another “sound-intensive” app running. I will review the sound code, perhaps I’m using the sound API the wrong way.

      Thanks!

      • http://anaershadowynomaly.deviantart.com Farran Lee

        Ahh okay :) Yes cos the first time I used it, I had Banshee playing, and I didn’t hear any ticking… it was only this morning that I even discovered it ticked!

        Sorry for calling your sound code ancient, I meant java’s method, not yours :P

        • http://twitter.com/ccidral Célio

          No problem :) It might be a coding mistake of mine. I’m not too familiar with the sound API.

          By the way, thanks a lot for trying out Tomighty. I hope it turns out to be useful for you.

  • Anonymous

    I refuse to install anything without apt support on my Ubuntu. PPA or it doesn’t exist.

    • http://twitter.com/ccidral Célio

      I will create a PPA for it ASAP.

  • Anonymous

    I’am using pomodairo (http://code.google.com/p/pomodairo/) , cons: adobe air is required.

  • http://profiles.google.com/waspbr wasp br
  • http://profiles.google.com/waspbr wasp br
  • Anonymous

    I used to use an app for Windows before I moved to Ubuntu called FocusBooster. It is built on Adobe Air so it would work on Linux as well.

    http://www.focusboosterapp.com

    They also have a online version that doesn’t require any install.
    Online Version: http://www.focusboosterapp.com/live

    ——————

    Anyone with a Palm Pre can use an app called Pre Gymnastics. This app is designed for workout timers but it works just great as a Pomodoro app. It also has a round system so you can set it to 4 and get a different sound notification for the longer break time.

  • http://barraponto.blog.br Capi Etheriel

    So far, I have liked pomodairo best. But I’d love to know what are my options, please write a post just about the alternatives!

  • http://twitter.com/wusiNwug RR

    hey, i love it, but could somebody please tell me why it’s so quite on my Ubuntu 11.04? on Windows it works just fine… Thx!

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Alex-Furmant/100002713613552 Alex Furmant

    there is timer with RPG game –  http://www.pomodorium.com   :)

 
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