Pomodoros and planning

2013-09-09T11:56:22Z

astolat posted about the Pomodoro method, which I've also been using for a while now. Basically: concentrate on work for 25 minutes, take a break for 5 minutes, repeat. It works!

I'm using Focus Booster for Windows, which is just a little free timer that counts down the minutes for you and dings when you're done. I also use Workrave to deal with RSI, so I still take microbreaks in between.

Now here's a related question: what software or apps can I use to plan stuff better?

I don't know what terms to use for googling - 'open source planning software' gets me stuff designed for entire teams and whatnot, but I would like something a little simpler that's just for me.

What I'm looking for:

Software that's preferably free, preferably open source, but if it's awesome and paid I will shell out for it.
Works on Windows XP (which they will pry from my cold, dead hands, or at least I will wait until Microsoft sees fit to repent from their Windows 8 sins before buying anything else.)
Something that lets me keep track of hours worked, weekly and monthly deadlines, maybe a daily popup to remind me of my goals for the day?
Something geared toward fiction and wordcounts would be awesome, but probably not necessary.
Something that keeps my data local and not in the cloud, if possible.

I'd appreciate any tips you have!

comments

Just let me lie here on the tile

Pomodoros and planning