This is an excerpt from a post a published at posts.boy.sh.
Time is a huge distractor for me. Time indicators more specifically. The moment I look at a clock while working, it changes my mood.
10.00 – Only 10 am?? It feels like I’ve been doing nothing for ages.
11.30 – Better not start something new because it’ll be lunch time soon.
14.00 - Sheesh this day is never going to end…
16.00 – It’s already 4 pm?? Well, too late to start working now.
Hide the clock
To remedy this, I stopped wearing my Apple Watch and hid the clock on my Mac and my PC.
The effects are noticeable; I can just sit, work and not care about how the day is progressing. It’s much easier to lose myself in what I’m doing.
There are downsides: it also stops me from getting up and do basic things like drink water or getting some fresh air. I work from home and if I’m not careful I skip lunch and scramble to make something for diner, because I forgot to buy groceries.
Notifications
I set notifications and reminders for important events that I should not forget. To avoid becoming a slave to my calendar, I came up with a different way to give me a sense of time passing (and make sure I eat properly). It’s an app called Timeless.
Timeless
At its core Timeless gives me a general idea of what part of the day I’m in: morning, lunch time, noon etc. It lets me continue working when I’m still in the time range I’m expecting to get stuff done. Then, in a glance, it lets me know that I’ve entered a new part of the day. If it’s between 12pm and 2pm I should probably get lunch.
Beta sign-up
I’m getting ready to let others give this a go as well. If you’d like to be invited to try the beta, subscribe to the mailing list. Thanks!
