Hey guys, what do you use for time/task tracking that is not org mode, but is as unintrusive?

(Being able to add to it/log things from anywhere without having to remember to go to a website/open an app/type out a full incantation is important)

is anyone using a current Macbook Air 16GB for their programming while traveling - any good?

@lady3janepl I use iPhone and Mac so notes is the one for me. Everything is synced and it’s quite simple. Otherwise I will use simple txt file in Dropbox.

if I make a project kanban board on github, can I get it to make a label on the issue with the same name of the column it’s in?

that way you can see in /issues immediately what’s the status

I need to quickly get on the same page about the flow of some UI with our UX guy. Is there a tool where I can rapidly spec out state machines to put in front of him and get feedback on? I know of https://sketch.systems, but its DSL is slightly more investment than i want to make considering its alpha nature.

How do people generally deal with PRs that are stalling, i.e. the contributor doesn’t respond anymore, but you’d like to finish a feature related to that PR?

I work frequently with references to well-known texts in Org-Mode. I want to: - Syntax highlight those references based on Regex’s - Expand the references to their literal text with a key-press (e.g. M-x toggle-reference would expand or collapse the reference just like Tab does for an Org-Mode header - The text for the reference would be retrieved via http. I imagine this should be very easy, but I have no idea what I’m doing with elisp modes. Any guidance how to get started?

I basically need macroexpand for literature!

I could use some advice: How do you retrain your work habits? After realizing I didn’t finish a single long-term side-project last year I’ve made a point to spend some time each day on one. However I’m having a lot of trouble working on a small part of it for a brief period of time without sinking hours into it. Sprinting like this is what I think feeds the cycle of burnout that prevents me from finishing projects. How can I retrain myself to treat it more like a marathon and be more disciplined?

@jayzawrotny I can relate to that! I don’t think sprinting is necessarily bad, but it’s important for me to take time to clear my brain and reflect between long sessions (reading articles, exploring tools that could help, thinking about my approach to a problem). I think it’s also important to divide the work up into manageable pieces, so that a given session means realizing a goal and feel accomplished. Issue tracking is good for that, or making notes of what is you hope to accomplish in one session, keeping reasonable expectations and scope for n hours of work. I’m no expert but hope to commit to a personal project for this entire year.

That’s great advice but my problem is I can get carried away or stuck on a problem best solved with hammock-time. I’ve tried pomodoro timers and smaller tasks but even when I accomplish a small task I impulsively set another timer, and another, and another suddenly 4 hours have gone by and I’ve lost track of time. It feels enjoyable, and productive but the pace isn’t maintainable and consequences will pile up if I don’t get on it.

Pomodoro is great for very small batch focus — 25 mins focused work, 5 mins break, 25 mins focused work, 5 mins break, etc — but doesn’t help with time-boxing something longer. I’d suggest an additional timer, set for however many hours you want to work on Project A, and set it far enough away from you that you have to physically get up and go switch it off.

The pom timer can be on your computer, as long as you’re good about taking the five minute breaks in between, but the time-boxing timer has to be physical and away from your computer so you are forced to get up and move about — and use that “far timer” as your physical signal to think about the next project to work on, so you don’t go back to your desk with Project A still on your mind.

Taking those five minute breaks is critical with pomodoro tho’ — you must stop work on the project and do something completely different for the full five minutes for that system to be effective (so you don’t just set another pom timer and go straight back to work @jayzawrotny! 🙂 )

I think it’s stopping myself that is the hardest part. I like your solution with the physical timer but that’s going to be tricky to pull off later at night or at the end of the day in a public co-working space.

Yeah, it can be hard to pull yourself away from a fun project when it’s evening and you have no other demands on your time.

How does one go home after work and spend hours doing more development? I'd like to do this too but I just can't. That last thing I want to do after work/commute is open up my laptop and write more code.