Procrastination expert

I must confess: I’m inherently a lazy person. I hate studying and I especially hate doing hard work. I would rather spend hours playing video games or mindlessly scrolling through social media than sit down and be productive.

And then there’s my attention problem. Like many of my peers, I have a phone with dozens of apps ready to steal my focus at any given moment. One moment I would be working, and the next, without any idea of how I get there, I would be infinitely scrolling away in some social media app.

Both of these mean that I would procrastinate for hours (sometimes days) on end without finishing or even beginning work.

This is bad. I need an antidote if I want to accomplish anything meaningful in life.

Pomodoro to the rescue

Fortunately, there’s a lot of solutions for unproductive people like myself. Most popular among them is the Pomodoro method. The idea is simple: Work for 25 minutes, then take a break for 5. Then another 25, then 5. Then again.

I like Pomodoro because it simultaneously solves the laziness problem and the distraction problem. I would definitely wince if I have to work continuously for 4 hours (it would probably feel like an eternity). But 25 minutes? I could probably do that. Besides, if I am aware that there’s a clock counting down how long I have to concentrate, I would be more conscious in avoiding my phone.

The idea works, at least in theory . But how do I implement it? Correction: How do I implement it in the fastest way possible?

The fastest (and best) way to start a timer

All things considered, I have at least FIVE different ways to a timer (don’t ask why). I’ll break them down one by one to see which is one is the best, a.k.a: the fastest.

As you can see, most of these apps takes around 4 steps to get started (usually: unlock the phone, open the app, open the timer menu and press the start button). Using Siri or Google Assistant only requires me to use 1 command, but it’s really weird to speak aloud when in the workplace.

But this Forest app? It’ just *insert chief kiss*. Let me show you.

So Forest is basically a focus timer app. It lets you set a time and press start.

But here’s the twist: during a focus session, Forest blocks access to other apps. If you even try to open any app when your timer’s still running, a sign will show up warning you to stay away. No more scrolling through Facebook when I’m supposed to work. (Of course, you can set some exceptions: I allow Messenger & other productivity apps to be opened).  

No more scrolling!

Here’s another twist: the “timer” in Forest is a cute little tree. If you finish the timer, you will have planted a tree, which will be added to your “forest” at the end of the day. If for some reason you get distracted and don’t finish the timer, your tree will wither and die. Quite the guilt trip huh?

My forest for this week.

When you finish planting, you’ll receive some reward money that can be spent to plant real trees. (I’ve planted 4 real trees so far)

Ontop of all that, its widget on the iOS lockscreen can start a pomodore with ONE click. No need to swipe up from my lock screen. Absolutely no risk of getting lost among the adundance of apps on my phone. Fast and simple, just as I like it. (You need to update to iOS 17 for this to work)

The fastest way to start a timer (or more exactly: to plant a tree).

The antidote worked

That’s probably enough reason for me (and indeed you, dear reader) to start using Forest as a pomodoro timer. By far it offer the most satisfying experience out of any timer app. Back in 2020 when I was still a phone addict (6+ hours of screen time wasn't uncommon for me at the time), Forest was the antidote that I needed to get back my stolen focus. By extension, it also enabled me to start working and stay productive by making hard work a little more fun. Hopefully it can help you in the same way.