I know a guy who made a bread clip productivity ring

And that’s one of the most elegant productivity techniques I’ve seen.

Computers are multi-functional. That’s their benefit. Is is also a biggest threat to the productivity for people who mostly work on a computer, as you can switch from being super productive and focused to browsing cat videos for an hour in a matter of keystrokes. Switching back, however, is hard, as we all know.

Factory workers, delivery guys, and other not-so-digital employees don’t have this problem — it’s kinda hard to get into Netflix marathon when you are on a 10 hour shift in a uniform and your hands are kinda busy. Many productivity techniques try to mimic these limitations. Pomodoro promotes kitchen timers, which are loud and red. Some authors recommend to change clothes, making your work and leisure times different. Others say that flipping 18 sided dice each time you change an activity helps concentrating, and there are more approaches than can fit in a medium article.

Breaking down these techniques I can point on two things that make a difference — one is having a physical token and two — make it annoying enough so you can’t just snooze it. You can’t snooze an UPS uniform, it’s just here and reminds you that you are at work.

A guy I know — full time Scrum master, geek, and a father of two — made this ring of a bread clip to constantly remind himself of his work and, I may say, this is brilliant.