Pomodoro Technique: How a tomato can make you productive

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Flat Tomato summary on iOS

Lately, I've been experimenting with a productivity method called the pomorodo technique. I'm not sure what "pomodoro" has to do with productivity (it's Spanish for "tomato"), but I like the technique, nonetheless.

The concept of this method is simple:

• Pick a task you want to get done.
• Set a timer for 25 minutes (a pomodoro interval).
• Focus on that task - and only that task - until the timer goes off.
• When the timer goes off, take a 3-5 minute break, and really quit working on the task when the time is up.
• After the break, repeat the cycle again (you can continue on the same task, or pick a new one).
• After 4 pomodoro intervals, take a longer break (usually 15-30 minutes) and do something enjoyable.

This method is great for momentum, particularly on boring or daunting tasks, since you always feel like the next break isn't far away. The feeling of momentum and progress is also hard to describe - it reminds me very much of the 'sprints' used in the Scrum method of software development. In essence, this is very much like time boxing, but I prefer the use of fixed intervals in the pomodoro technique.

Gadgets can help

No surprise, I turned to gadgets to help me with the pomodoro method:

• Old school: I started this process using a mechanical kitchen timer shaped like a tomato, which I found on Amazon. This was fun, but not really portable (or at least I never remembered to bring mine with me when I left my desk). I eventually graduated to using my smartphone...
• Flat Tomato for iOS: On my iOS devices, Flat Tomato is my go-to pomodoro app. It is easy to use, and is perfectly-aligned with pomodoro, including timing the intervals, the breaks, and remembering that you've done 4 cycles so you need a longer break. It also tracks user-defined categories so you can review how you've spent your time (in an attractive, graphical chart). It also shows the status of the current interval on the lock screen.
• Clockwork Tomato for Android: On my Android devices, I use Clockwork Tomato. It has many of the same functions as Flat Tomato, with the addition of weekly and monthly summary graphs to show how you've spent your time.
• Computer- and web-based apps: I tend to use my smartphone for my timer, so I don't really have a computer-based timer to recommend for pomodoro. If you have one that you like, please share it in the comments below.

Bottom line, I am a fan of the pomodoro technique as a way to keep me productive, help me get through mundane tasks, and to reinforce the need for regular breaks during the day (that last one is huge in terms of energy management).

By the way - this blog post took almost exactly one pomodoro to write.

Do's and Don'ts for Password Creation

In today’s world of online shopping, online banking, cloud data management and Internet-based teleconferencing, protecting yourself is more important than ever. The recent batch of stories relaying the horrors of celebrities and corporations being hacked and sensitive data being exposed only serves to highlight the necessity of having good security. The first place to start is with your own passwords.

People assume that if something has a password, it is protected. This is not always the case. Many hackers are adept at guessing passwords, giving them total access to all of your personal information.

How can you make your password more secure? There are several techniques you can employ, all of which will increase the strength of your passwords and help keep you and your information safe and secure. Here are a few do’s and don’ts.

Do's

Do go long. The longer the better. While you don’t want to go crazy because long passwords can be impossible to remember, make sure yours is longer than nine characters. Can't be bothered to come up with your own unique passwords for every site you belong to? Check out Norton's free password generator where you can specify length and contents at the click of your mouse.

Do mix it up. Have a combination of lower case letters, capital letters, numbers and symbols, preferably at least two of each. And don’t put them in a predictable order (in other words, don’t start your password with a capital letter).

Do use an anagram. Create your password using an anagram or sentence. “W!t2gMp&#b4uX” may look impossible to remember until you realize it stands for “Wait! try to guess MY password and numbers before u FAIL.”

Do take precautions. Remember that even the best password is not foolproof. For added protection, take advantage of services like LifeLock. It'll keep track (and alert you) of any suspicious activity on your accounts and will help you get your life back on track if identity theft happens to you.

Do use a password manager. Keep your passwords in a password vault (such as 1Password, LastPass, or a similar product). These products allow you to create random, complex passwords for each web site and stores all of them in a secure manner. 

Do change it regularly. If you've had the same password for more than a year, it is probably time to change it. I recommend a minimum of once per year - more often for critical sites. For example, I know someone who changes their online banking passwords at every time change (the same time he changes batteries in his smoke detectors). That is a good habit.

Use two-factor authentication, if it is available. More and more sites are offering two-factor authentication in which you not only enter a password, but you have to enter an additional verification code that changes all the time. The most common method these days is to send a text message to your mobile phone with a code that must be entered to complete the login process. Many banks and payment processors (such as PayPal) offer this as an option - it is easy and adds a lot of security to your account, and is highly recommended. 

Don'ts

Don’t use common passwords or familiar patterns. Using common passwords that are easy to remember might sound like a good idea, but they are often the first ones tried by hackers. Don’t use things like “iloveyou” and “password1." Check out the 25 worst passwords and read as a cautionary tale.

Hackers are also adept at using familiar patterns to guess passwords. Putting a capital letter at the beginning, numbers at the end or finishing with an exclamation point are all very common and predictable.

Don’t use your names or numbers. Avoid using common names or people in your life as part of your password. Also avoid things like the street you live on or the company you work for. All of these can be found out by doing a little digging.

Same goes for any numbers that can be associated with you or someone close to you. Birthdays, anniversaries, addresses, social security numbers, etc., all of these are easily discovered by potential hackers.

Don’t overlap. Using the same password for multiple devices or multiple websites can put you in danger. It may be a pain to remember all of them, but if a hacker is able to deduce one of your passwords, it is the first thing he will try on the rest of your security locations.  See the "Do" about password managers for ways to make this easier. 

How To Go From Rookie Engineer To Valuable Asset

I have a position on an industry advisory board for a local university's Engineering department, which means I get to hear a lot about the challenges of newly-graduated engineers who are looking for jobs. I've also had the chance to speak with some of the new graduates who were able to get engineering jobs, but are wondering how to make their mark (or at least fit in among their corporate peers).

Imagine this: You've just spent four to six years getting a degree or two in engineering. That's a solid decision considering the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that all engineering fields have a high median salary and show better than average growth over the next decade. Of course, getting the engineering job is much different than excelling at the engineering job. As a new engineer, your fresh education is your greatest strength and, although only time will make you a veteran, there are ways you can further advance your knowledge once on the job to position yourself as an indispensable member of the team.

Learn The Jargon

All facets of engineering are full of technical language, some of which you learned in school or gleaned from technical writings, and some that you will need to research or learn as you go. Depending on the field and your role within the organization, there is differing terminology; for example, the engineers in the non-destructible testing (NDT) department have idioms that differ from the R&D group. Pick up some of the jargon from resources like The Most Used Engineering Terminology Defined list on StruCalc or go even further and read the policy and procedure manuals word for word, as this is where engineering acronyms are born.

I happen to work with a lot of software engineers, and we have our own jargon - not only about engineering and software development, but also about the processes surrounding the coding (think Scrum and Agile). We don't expect everyone to know our jargon, but we're suspicious of anyone who doesn't :-)

Know Your Journals

For many fields, scientific, peer-reviewed journals are where the newest ideas are shared. Since new concepts are among the most valuable things you can bring to the table, stay abreast of the latest scientific literature. SJR ranks scientific journals by field, citations and country. According to SJR, the best journal for mechanical engineering is the Journal of Nature Materials which is a UK-based monthly journal that brings together multi-disciplinary articles on cutting edge material sciences. Electrical engineers may want to subscribe to the Journal of Nature Nanotechnology for its vanguard electronic sciences. I regularly read the IEEE Journal, for example.

Sites To Follow

In an online world, there are reputable websites for scientific literature and engineering technology, with one of the best for civil and industrial engineering being the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers website. Besides giving you a solid history of engineering, the Army Corp of Engineers is the final word in civil engineering, risk management and safety and occupational health.

For very different reasons, another site to follow is Engineering For Change. Not only does this website offer the newest engineering innovations across technical fields but it does it with a socially responsible, philanthropic agenda. Partnered with IEEE and Engineers Without Borders, Engineering For Change lets a rookie engineer networks with veterans around the world, building up his knowledge and support network.

Carve Your Niche

Having a specialization is a good way to become invaluable to your company. Within each brand of engineering, there are specialties that call for additional education. Quality assurance is one of the largest specialties, as every engineering concentration needs a quality assurance department or liaison. For example, rubber seal manufacturer Apple Rubber is QA certified in several areas; in aerospace, Apple Rubber is AS9100 certified; for medical components, the manufacturer is ISO 9001 compliant. They even have a certified cleanroom which is class 10000, ISO 7 compliant.

Each of these quality assurance specializations requires specific expertise, record keeping and detailed reporting. The Bureau of Labor Statistics lists quality assurance in each engineering sector, from electrical to industrial to computer.

Try to find a field or specialization that not only hold your interest, but maps to your talents. For example, if you have an eye for detail, QA (Quality Assurance) may be the specialization for you. If you are adept at chemistry, you may want to get into a laboratory environment creating coatings. In any case, deciding where you want to specialize - and doing that early in your education or career - can help you prioritize and come up with a plan for success. 

4 Apps That Will Help You Achieve Your Daily Goals

Many of us are busier than ever and increasingly more stressed. If you’ve got a long list of goals to accomplish, you might need a little help. The good news is there are apps you can download onto your smartphone that can help you accomplish those goals. Here are 4 that are interesting and a bit unusual, with a variety of focuses:

Pact

Going to the gym is something you know is important for reducing stress, helping your self-esteem and giving you more energy to do everything else you need to do. But, at the same time, working out tends to be one of the first things you put off.

To eliminate that problem, you can try using money as a motivator by downloading Pact. The concept is pretty interesting: LInk this app to your bank account and if you don’t go to the gym, Pact will take money out of your account. Where does the money go? It is redistributed to those who did make it to the gym. If you do accomplish things like completing your gym workout or taking 10,000 steps in a day, you’ll get a cash reward paid by those who didn’t meet their goals.

You can’t fake it either. GPS, photos and other services are used to keep everyone honest. It can also be used for other challenges, such as eating your veggies or tracking the food you eat.

CARROT

I've seen some people call CARROT "sadistic" because if you don't finish your tasks, the app gets very upset. However, it's not all bad -- if you complete your tasks, the task master will praise you.

This unique app works by calling you out for being a slacker. If you tend to forget to pick the kids up after school or don't pick up your dry cleaning, this app strives to ensure you don’t do that again. It can also be used like a tyrannical gym instructor if you’re trying to get fit or help you stick to your diet plan. CARROT will force you to accomplish your goals as if you have a nun hovering around with a ruler just waiting to make it sting. This one is a little intense for me, but you might like it.

BetterMe

If you have a difficult time waking up in the morning without several alarms or someone shaking you awake, BetterMe is an app that can do the trick. The twist? It’s based on public humiliation rather than private shaming. If you don’t get up when you’re supposed to, the app will post a message to your Facebook page that tells your friends you were too weak to get out of bed.

In addition to serving as a rude alarm clock, it can help you get to your classes or work on time. All you have to do is input the address and time of your commitment, and the app will use GPS to see if you’ve arrived at your destination on time. If not, it could be a little embarrassing when all your Facebook friends start asking why.

SmartyPig

If you’re having trouble saving money, SmartyPig is an app that can help you save for a specific goal such as a vacation or a down payment on a house. It also allows friends, family members and other users to contribute to your savings goal. It can make saving fun by "feeding the pig” and encouraging you to add money you would have spent on a latte into your savings instead. Because it shares your goals via Facebook, Twitter and other social network sites, it makes it a lot more likely that you’ll stick to those financial goals.

If you like edgy, you might like one or more of these apps. Enjoy!

OurGroceries Is A Great Family App

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For the past 6 months or so, my wife and I have been using an app called "OurGroceries" to manage our shopping lists, and I recommend it highly. Through a smartphone app, we can easily add things to various shopping / errands lists, see instantaneous updates as we shop, and a lot more. The app is very easy to use, both in adding and crossing off items on your shopping list - we use the iOS version on our iPhones, and there is an Android version, as well.

In spite of the "groceries" reference in the title, you can use this for just about any shopping or errands list. As you can see in the screenshot, we've set up lists for a number of our commonly-visited stores, as well as a general purpose "Groceries" list. As we think of something, it is very easy to add it to the list, and it automatically shows up for the other person.

As you use the list over time, you tend to repeat items, and the app makes it easy to add those items to the list. You can either start typing and it will autocomplete based on your history, or you can tap on one of the crossed off items (as seen below) and that item will be moved back to your list. I also find I am less likely to forget things if I scan through old items to jog my memory.

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Another cool feature is the ability to set up recipes (we only have one, at the moment as you can see in the first screenshot). With recipes, you can bulk-add items for a specific recipe or project. Once you define the recipe, a single tap will add all of its items to the appropriate lists. The recipes don't have to be literally recipes - for example, you might have a "Backyard BBQ" recipe that includes a bunch of items you want to stock up on to prepare for an upcoming event.

OurGroceries has two versions - a free, ad-supported version and a paid, ad-free version (paid via an in-app purchase). After seeing the value a few weeks in, I paid the $4.99 for the ad-free version and I haven't regretted it.

You can also edit and manage your lists via OurGroceries' website. We don't really use it that way, but it is good to know that the option exists.

If you need to coordinate shopping and errands with other people, give the free version of OurGroceries a try - I think you'll like it.