Today we are launching a new column where we will discuss the most popular and accessible services, libraries, and utilities for students, scientists, and professionals.
In the first issue, we will talk about basic approaches that can help work more effectively, along with corresponding SaaS services. Additionally, we will share tools for data visualization.
Chris Liverani /
The Pomodoro Technique. This is a time management method designed to make your activities more productive and enjoyable in terms of effort. It was formulated by Francesco Cirillo in the late eighties, and for several decades he has been consulting companies and helping people work more efficiently. The essence of the technique is as follows: fixed time intervals are allocated for solving a specific task from your to-do list, alternating with short breaks. For example, 25 minutes of work followed by a 5-minute break. This cycle can be repeated several times or 'Pomodoros' until the task is completed (it is important to remember to take a longer break of 15-30 minutes after four such consecutive cycles).
This approach allows for maximum concentration while also acknowledging the necessary breaks our bodies need. Naturally, a plethora of applications has been developed for such a simple time management method. We have selected a few interesting options:
- Pomodoro Timer Lite () — a timer with no unnecessary features and ads.
- Clockwork Tomato () — a more 'heavyweight' option with a customizable interface, capabilities for analyzing work progress, and syncing task lists with services like Dropbox (partially paid).
- Productivity Challenge Timer () — a strict application that helps you compete in productivity with yourself (partially paid).
- Pomotodo () — here you have a to-do list implemented along with a Pomodoro timer. Additionally, there is data synchronization across different devices (Mac, iOS, Android, Windows, with an extension for Chrome). Partially paid.
GTDThis is an approach proposed by David Allen. His eponymous book from 2001 was named the 'best business book of the decade' by Time and received positive reviews from numerous publications and tens of thousands of readers. The main idea is to move all planned tasks to an 'external storage' to free oneself from the need to remember everything. Task lists should be divided into groups: by location—home / office; by urgency—now / in a week; and by projects. For a quick study of GTD, there is .
Like the Pomodoro method, the GTD technique does not inherently require any specific tools. Moreover, not all application developers are willing to pay for the right to associate their product with this methodology. Therefore, it makes sense to focus on those to-do managers that seem most convenient and suitable for you personally. Here are some of the most popular applications: , and (each of them offers a free version and paid options for additional features).
Mind Mapping. In one form or another, there is evidence of the use of graphical methods for categorizing information since the . Modern approaches to building 'mind maps' were outlined in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Mind mapping software is suitable for quickly outlining ideas and simple concepts. Here are a couple of examples:
- — a service for creating mind maps in the cloud (users have access to various templates, such as graphs or trees, as well as different shapes and colors of elements; maps can be saved as images). MindMup
- GoJS mindMap
- Franki Chamaki / .
Data Visualization
. Continuing the topic, we move from services for visualizing ideas and concepts towards more complex tasks: building diagrams, function graphs, and others. Here are examples of tools that may be useful:Continuing the topic, we move from services for visualizing ideas and concepts to more complex tasks: creating diagrams, function graphs, and more. Here are some tools that may be useful:
- — a toolkit for creating interactive visualizations. It allows you to build graphs, trees, diagrams, and charts with animation features. Examples are available . The project's author, a former Uber engineer and employee at Mapbox (a project with 500 million users), provides detailed for this tool.
- — an open tool for working with mathematical functions and performing symbolic computations in the browser (also available ).
- — a JavaScript library for data visualization using object-oriented in the form of HTML tables, interactive SVG diagrams, and others. On GitHub, you will find a basic and for mastering the fundamental and advanced features of the library.
- — supports a computer typesetting system . A cross-platform application allows you to create and edit TeX diagrams using the PGF and TikZ macro packages. ready-made diagrams and graphs, and the project.
- — helps you create BoxPlotR runs from a virtual machine, in the browser, and from the R console. the project.
P.S. We decided to start the first edition of our toolbox with fairly basic tools to enable everyone interested to dive into the subject without much difficulty. In upcoming editions, we will cover other topics: we will discuss working with databases, text editors, and tools for handling sources.
Photo tours of the ITMO University laboratories:
Source: habr.com
