pomm.el/README.org

#+TITLE: pomm.el

[[https://melpa.org/#/pomm][file:https://melpa.org/packages/pomm-badge.svg]]

Implementation of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique][Pomodoro]] and [[https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/RWu8eZqbwgB9zaerh/third-time-a-better-way-to-work][Third Time]] techniques for Emacs.

[[./img/screenshot.png]]

Features:
- Managing the timer with the excellent [[https://github.com/magit/transient/blob/master/lisp/transient.el][transient.el]].
- Persistent state between Emacs sessions.
  The timer state isn't reset if you close Emacs. If necessary, the state file can be synchronized between machines.
- History.
  History of the timer can be stored in a CSV file. Eventually, I want to join this with [[https://activitywatch.net/][other activity data]] to see if the state of the timer changes how I use the computer.

* Installation
The package is available on MELPA. Install it however you usually install Emacs packages, e.g.
#+begin_example
M-x package-install pomm
#+end_example

My preferred way is =use-package= with =straight.el=:
#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(use-package pomm
  :straight t
  :commands (pomm pomm-third-time))
#+end_src

Or you can clone the repository, add the package to the =load-path= and load it with =require=:
#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(require 'pomm)
#+end_src

The package requires Emacs 27.1 because the time API of the previous versions is kinda crazy and 27.1 has =time-convert=.
* Usage
** Pomodoro
Run =M-x pomm= to open the transient buffer.

The listed commands are rather self-descriptive and match the Pomodoro ideology.

The timer can have 3 states:
- *Stopped*. Can be started with "s" or =M-x pomm-start=. A new iteration of the timer will be started.
- *Paused*. Can be continuted with "s" / =M-x pomm-start= or stopped competely with "S" / =M-x pomm-stop=.
- *Running*. Can be paused with "p" / =M-x pomm-pause= or stopped with "S" / =M-x pomm-stop=.

The state of the timer can be reset with "R" or =M-x pomm-reset=.

"u" updates the transient buffer. The update is manual because I didn't figure out how to automate this, and I think this is not /really/ necessary.

With "r" or =M-x pomm-set-context= you can set the current "context", that is some description of the task you are currently working on. This description will show up in history and in the csv file. Also, =M-x pomm-start-with-context= will prompt for the context and then start the timer.
** Third Time
Run =M-x pomm-third-time= to open the transient buffer for the Third Time technique.

[[./img/screenshot-tt.png]]

Essentially, the techique is designed aroud the formula:

#+begin_example
Time of break =  1/3 x Time of work.
#+end_example

I.e. you work as long as you want or need, and then take a break with the maximum duration =1/3= of the time worked. If you take a shorter break, the remaining break time is saved and added to the next break within the same session. [[https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/RWu8eZqbwgB9zaerh/third-time-a-better-way-to-work][Here is a more detailed explanation]].

The Third Time timer can have 2 states:
- *Stopped*. Can be started with "s" or =M-x pomm-third-time-start=.
- *Running*. Can be stopped with "S" or =M-x pomm-third-time-stop=. This resets the accumulated break time.

Use "b" or =M-x pomm-third-time-switch= to switch the current period type (work or break). If the break time runs out, the timer automatically switches to work.

* Customization
Some settings are available in the transient buffer, but you can customize the relevant variables to make them permanent. Check =M-x customize-group= =pomm= and =M-x customize-group pomm-third-time= for more information.

** Alerts
The package sends alerts via =alert.el=. The default style of alert is a plain =message=, but if you want an actual notification, set =alert-default-style= accordingly:
#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(setq alert-default-style 'libnotify)
#+end_src

** Sounds
By default sounds are disabled. Set =pomm-audio-enabled= to =t= to toggle them. Set =pomm-audio-tick-enabled= to =t= if you want the ticking sound.

This functionality needs =pomm-audio-player-executable= to be set so that the program could be invoked like: =<executable> /path/to/sound.wav=.

The package ships with some built-it sounds, which you can replace by customizing the =pomm-audio-files= variable.
** Modeline
If you want the timer to display in the modeline, activate the =pomm-mode-line-mode= minor mode.

** Polybar module
If you want to display the Pomodoro status in something like polybar, you can add the following lines to your config:
#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(add-hook 'pomm-on-tick-hook 'pomm-update-mode-line-string)
(add-hook 'pomm-on-status-changed-hook 'pomm-update-mode-line-string)
#+end_src

Create a script like this:
#+begin_src bash
if ps -e | grep emacs >> /dev/null; then
    emacsclient --eval "(if (boundp 'pomm-current-mode-line-string) pomm-current-mode-line-string \"\") " | xargs echo -e
fi
#+end_src

And add a polybar module definition to your polybar config:
#+begin_src conf-windows
[module/pomm]
type = custom/script
exec = /home/pavel/bin/polybar/pomm.sh
interval = 1
#+end_src

** State file location
To implement pesistence between Emacs sessions, the package stores its state in the following files:
- =pomm-state-file-location=, =.emacs.d/pomm= by default
- =pomm-third-time-state-file-location=, =/.emacs.d/pomm-third-time= by default

Set these paths however like.
** History
If you set the =pomm-csv-history-file= (and/or =pomm-third-time-csv-history-file=) variable, the package will log its history in CSV format. Just keep in mind that the parent directory has to exist.

The file for the Pomodoro technique has the following columns:
- =timestamp=
- =status= (=stopped=, =paused= or =running=, according to the [[*Usage][usage]] section)
- =kind= (=work=, =short-break=, =long-break= or =nil=)
- =iteration=
- =context=

One for the Third Time technique has an extra column called =break-time-remaining=.

A new entry is written after a particular state of the timer comes into being.

To customize timestamp, set the =pomm-csv-history-file-timestamp-format= variable. For example, for traditional =YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss=:
#+begin_src emacs-lisp
(setq pomm-csv-history-file-timestamp-format "%F %T")
#+end_src

The format is the same as in =format-time-string=.

* Alternatives
There is a number of packages with a similar purpose, here is a rough comparison of features:
| Package                | 3rd party integrations | Control method (1)             | Persistent history       | Persistent state                             | Notifications             |
|------------------------+------------------------+--------------------------------+--------------------------+----------------------------------------------+---------------------------|
| [[https://github.com/SqrtMinusOne/pomm.el][pomm.el]]                | -                      | transient.el                   | CSV                      | +                                            | alert.el + sounds         |
| [[https://github.com/marcinkoziej/org-pomodoro/tree/master][org-pomodoro]]           | Org Mode!              | via Org commands               | via Org mode             | -                                            | alert.el + sounds         |
| [[https://github.com/TatriX/pomidor/][pomidor]]                | -                      | self-cooked interactive buffer | custom delimited format? | +, but saving on-demand                      | alert.el + sounds         |
| [[https://github.com/baudtack/pomodoro.el/][pomodoro.el]]            | -                      | -                              | -                        | -                                            | notifications.el + sounds |
| [[https://github.com/konr/tomatinho/][tomatinho]]              | -                      | self-cooked interactive buffer | -                        | -                                            | message + sounds          |
| [[https://github.com/ferfebles/redtick][redtick]]                | -                      | mode-line icon                 | +                        | -                                            | sounds                    |
| [[https://github.com/abo-abo/gtk-pomodoro-indicator][gtk-pomodoro-indicator]] | GTK panel              | CLI                            | -                        | -, but the program is independent from Emacs | GTK notifications         |
Be sure to check those out if this one doesn't quite fit your workflow!

(1) Means of timer control with exception of Emacs interactive commands

Also take a look at [[https://github.com/telotortium/org-pomodoro-third-time][org-pomodoro-third-time]], which adapts =org-pomodoro= for the Third Time technique.

* P.S.
The package name is not an abbreviation. I just hope it doesn't mean something horrible in some language I don't know.

The sounds are made by Mike Koening under [[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode][CC BY 3.0]].