termodoro

Pomodoro TUI implementation in Rust 🦀

Table of Contents

• Installation
• Usage
• Config
• The science of focus
  • The brain's natural pulse
  • Basic Rest-Activity Cycle
  • Why pomodoro fits?
  • Psychological aspect
  • Conclusion
• Links

Installation

Currently there's no other way of installing then building it yourself. You need to have Rust Toolchain installed (see rust installation page). When you have the Rust Toochain, you can build the project with cargo:

cargo build -r

After it's done compiling, the binary will be target/release/termodoro.

Usage

To start the TUI app with an interval picker you can run:

./termodoro

If you want to skip the need for picking the interval or you want a custom one, you can run:

./termodoro -f <focus_time> -r <rest_time> -l <long_rest_time> -c <long_rest_rate>

Config

The default features include default sounds as well. When a focus or rest timer ends, it plays the default sound. You can configure this in config.json. To open config, you can run:

./termodoro config

You can then set custom sound or disable it like this:

{
    "focus_end_sound": {
        "Custom": "/path/to/sound.mp3"
    },
    "rest_end_sound": "None"
}

The science of focus

The Pomodoro Technique is often debated - some people love it, while others don't believe in it and fear that it breaks their "flow". But the method isn't just a random timer, it is designed with our biology in mind.

The brain's natural pulse

Our brains have many natural cycles. The Circadian rhythm is the best known, functioning over a roughly 24-hour period and most notably governing our sleep-wake cycle. Our brains also operate on shorter pulses called Ultradian rhythms, which have periods shorter than a day, but longer than an hour. There are many Ultradian rhythms, such as for blood circulation and blinking, but for our interest the Basic Rest-Activity Cycle (BRAC) is the most notable.

Basic Rest-Activity Cycle

The BRAC is an Ultradian rhythm of approximately 90-120 minutes. During the first half of the cycle, our brainwaves are faster, making us more alert and focused. In the final 20 minutes of the cycle, our brainwaves slow down and our body starts to feel more tired. This is a result of it preparing for the start of the next cycle.

Why pomodoro fits?

If you work without a break through the full 90-minute cycle, you hit a so-called cognitive cliff. Our brains begin to fatigue, which destroys our focus. The most common Pomodoro split is 25/5 (25 minutes of focus followed by a short, 5 minute break). After four sessions (totaling 100 minutes, 115 minutes including breaks), you have completed one full Ultradian cycle. To allow our brain to reset, Pomodoro includes a long break (usually 15 minutes), which aligns with the brain's natural recovery phase.

Psychological aspect

I am no psychologist, but one thing the Pomodoro technique does well is Time-boxing.

A time-box is a boundary that tells your brain exactly how long it needs to focus. This is significantly more effective than looking at the massive goal (such as "study all weekend"). The clear end point let's you begin so much easier.

This principle is core to building habits as well. If you want to start a reading habit, for example, the best way is to set an easily achievable boundary, like "read one page a day". The worst-case scenario is that you read only one page, but often you want to finish the interesting part so you keep reading. Initially it might be difficult to do, but once the friction is gone, you often overachieve your goal and read multiple pages.

Conclusion

A lot of people misinterpret the meaning of Pomodoro. It isn't meant to interrupt your focus, it's meant to ensure your brain actually gets enough time to recover to stay productive for longer.

Personally, I don't use Pomodoro for everything. I find it most effective when I'm struggling to start a task or maintain focus. For example, when I'm programming, I often enter a flow state where a timer might actually be a distraction. On the other hand, when I have a lot of studying to do, Pomodoro comes in handy. It helps me overcome the initial friction of starting and makes sure my brain stays fresh for longer, which translates to me learning for longer period.

At the end of the day, this technique is really subjective and requires you setting it up so that it fits your needs, so definitely spend some time tuning the intervals until you find the rhythm that fits your workflow!

Links

• Author: Martan03
• GitHub repository: termodoro
• Author website: martan03.github.io