Show HN: Physical Pomodoro Timer with ESP32 and e-paper screen

Yep. Any timer will do.

If you find yourself programming an eInk display and a microchip in order to improve your procrastination, it is time to stop working on the project, get a physical timer, and work on the thing.

If you feel inclined to shop around for a timer before getting to work, I'll save you the search. These work great. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TLC9SFZ (but any timer will do).

Go do the thing. You're worth it.

Indeed.

I tend to like quiet visual timers, though.

Something like:

https://i5.walmartimages.com/asr/63f18bde-f179-4b8e-a32a-8e4...

Watches that are already on most people's wrist work great too!

It's interesting that your experience is different, but in my region and social circles, I haven't seen anyone wear a watch in ten years or more, other than the occasional smart watch. That habit doesn't seem to last long, either. For people I know, watches have turned into fashion accessories for millionaires.

They also sell physical hourglasses if you don't want to be interrupted by a distracting beeping thing once the timer is over, especially if the activity you're trying to start with a pomodoro requires concentration like coding.

I wear a watch. Nothing fancy, but I do have a few of them (and none worth more than 2-£300.) it’s about the only accessory I wear so it’s nice to have some variety. My day to day is a smart watch (and has been for a few years now). Lots of my circle is similar.

Probably just demographics. I live in a mountainous city that's very outdoorsy and athletic so everyone has a garmin/apple watch.

But then you have to glance at the thing every few minutes to ensure it didn’t run out

It builds muscle memory over time.

Analysis paralysis and getting it perfect before beginning is the enemy of good.

I attached an ESP32 and accelerometer to an hourglass for this purpose, calling back to https://pypi.org/project/gitime/ to log pomodoros on my dev machine.

If it was overengineered and trivially redundant, it was relatable and tactile.

> other than the occasional smart watch. That habit doesn't seem to last long, either.

I'm gonna go on a whim and say the habit doesn't last cause you cannot truly depend on them. My watch never leaves my wrist, it never fails me, it is just a "dumb" one.

That's a very unhelpful link if you want to buy or comparison shop. Online walmart sells over 300 different styles of countdown timer, including ones shaped like a tomato. Note that the Pomadoro Technique recommends a timer that ticks or makes some other unobtrusive sound to remind you that you are in focus mode, and to associate the sound with focus.

https://www.walmart.com/c/kp/countdown-timers