TIL my grandma's wind-up timer was a focus beast

She had this loud kitchen timer from the 70s for getting through her daily list. I tried using it to power through my own tasks, setting it for short bursts. The thing was so jarring when it went off that I'd jump every time. My quiet phone timer just doesn't have the same urgent, do-it-now feeling.

4 comments

4 Comments

brookelewis3mo ago

I mean, it's a loud timer, not a life coach. My phone does the same job without giving me a heart attack. Seems like you're just trading focus for being startled, which is its own kind of distraction. Maybe the real trick is just doing the thing instead of making a whole show about timing it.

pauld993mo ago

Trading focus for being startled is a good way to put it. Sometimes these productivity hacks feel like people are just adding extra steps to avoid the actual work. You might be onto something with just doing the thing instead of setting up some loud, jarring system. It’s funny how much energy we spend on the tools instead of the task.

noahmartin3mo ago

Exactly, people overcomplicate simple tasks in my line of work too.

grace_campbell21d ago

Pauld99 brings up a good point about how people spend so much energy on the tools instead of just doing the work. This whole overcomplicating thing plays out everywhere in everyday life too. I see it with people who buy fancy coffee machines but still rush through making a cup, or folks who sign up for four different meal kit services just to end up ordering pizza anyway. It's like we think a shiny new gadget or a complicated new system will somehow trick us into being more productive or organized. But most of the time, the simplest approach wins because it removes all the extra noise. @pauld99 nailed it when he said we trade focus for being startled, we just trade one distraction for another and call it progress.