Procrastination is something that many people struggle with within today’s infinitely wast and attention-grabbing online world. There’s no perfect solution, and becoming more productive has a lot to do with self-discipline and motivation.
There is, however, one technique that has helped (and continues to help) millions of people worldwide: the Pomodoro technique. It’s a simple yet staggeringly effective time management solution that aims to improve focus, reduce procrastination, and improve productivity.
Solanum is a simple Linux utility designed to help you apply the Pomodoro technique to your work life. In short, it’s a time tracking app that forces you to work in four sessions, with small breaks in between each session and one long break after all four are completed.
GUI and workflow
One important aspect of most Pomodoro apps is their simplicity. It makes sense since less distraction equals more work. Hence, Solanum is not exactly impressively good-looking.
It describes a “Pomodoro” (the whole 25 min work period) as a “Session.” Each piece of the Pomodoro is described as a “Lap.” By default, it perfectly mimics the original recipe of the Pomodoro technique: twenty-five minutes for each lap, a five-minute short break, and a longer fifteen-minute break after the session is completed.
Solanum is not exactly big on fancy features, but it does offer you the ability to control the app keyboard shortcuts and, more importantly, the option to fully customize the work session.
You can customize the lap’s length, the short break length, the long break length, and, of course, the number of sessions until the long break. This should provide enough flexibility to make Solanum work for you and your work style.
Verdict
If you’re running a Linux distribution with the GNOME desktop environment and you’re looking for a simple app that can improve your productivity and focus, then Solanum is pretty decent choice.
