Hi, this is Radek -- I'm the creator of Tadam. I've been using the Pomodoro technique for years, but I never quite liked any of the tools for doing my pomodoros. You could, of course, use anything, even a simple kitchen timer, but there were always these little design issues that made it annoying for me. For example, I often had this situation that the 25 minute cycle was up, but I was in the middle of doing a small task. What I needed was just a minute or two to finish that little thing, and _then_ take a break. So I would ignore the timer, and 2 minutes later, I would forget I was supposed to take a break. Ugh.
I designed Tadam to solve these problems for myself. For example, a few minutes before the time runs out, a gentle notification pops up in the corner to remind me I need to hurry up. And when the time is up, a big window pops up prompting me to take a break. If I need just a few seconds, I can move it to the side, but I won't forget about the break, because it will snap back into place after 30 seconds.
At the same time, I didn't want a tool that's super complex, with many features I don't need. Or a big "productivity system", that requires me to be a religious about Pomodoro.
All I needed was a simple tool that helps me remember to take breaks, but without being too annoying. Tadam solved it for me. And I hope it helps others, too :)
I don't use Tadam often — because, as most of us, I'm under false impression that I'm smart about managing my time.
Of course I will accomplish that thing that I was supposed to do today.
But will you? Chances are, you won't. Because we're just not designed to perceive time in a precise manner. Our minds ebb and flow, in and out of productivity.
So yeah, I have to get better about that. I think we all, to some extent, could.
And boy, there's no better tool than Tadam for this. It's simple, it's fast, and it's effective. It gets out of your way, and then gets in your way exactly when you need to be reminded that time is linear, and you just might use a short break to grasp that. To re-asses. To be mindful.
And when you really, deeply realize that, you will feel something new. You will feel empowered. Because awareness of the time, and your decision on what to devote that time to is the closest we can get to being truly free.
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