LukasRos' Blog

• 2013-04-13

  The Phone number is alive

  Martin Weigert, who’s a writer on the German tech blog netzwertig.com, proclaimed on his personal, English-language blog: “The Phone number is dead.” The article made me think quite a bit about his statement, so I decided to write a reply and explain why I disagree with it - at least for now.

  His proclamation comes from the fact that he stayed in Japan for three months, put a Data-only SIM in his smartphone and didn’t miss a thing, since “99 percent of [his] digital communication is done via email & messaging anyway”. While this might be true for him, I think nothing can replace a good old voice call. Speaking is so much faster than typing texts and mails and some points, especially when emotions play a role, come across much better if you can listen to the tone of the voice of your conversational partner. Of course voice calls can be made without phone numbers, for example through VoIP software such as Skype, however I think on a mobile network they are not yet a satisfying replacement in terms of call quality and reliability. The regular “dialer app” is still an important part of a smartphone.

  Martin also says that “being not in the need of a phone number is the final liberation of customers from the dependency of their telecommunication operators”. That is true if we replace phone numbers with EMail addresses, XMPP identifiers or SIP URIs. However if we use messaging tools such as Twitter DMs, Facebook chat, Moped, or App.net channels, we put ourselves in the walled garden of that particular network and all our friends have to use the same software or we have to install and sign up for dozens of these networks. Phone numbers are at least portable between carriers within the same geographical location and you can call any number from any carrier. Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we should completely stay away from walled gardens, because they are often the best solution for a certain situation and they “just work”, however I wouldn’t want to rely exclusively on them at and least have one widely accepted federated identifier with me. And that is the traditional phone number.

  We all have a legacy of phone numbers in our phones and we still exchange them with new acquintances. But what’s maybe even more important than this is that phone numbers are now the preferred means of signup for mobile apps and discovery of contacts, not just for over-the-top messaging apps like yuilop, WhatsApp or Viber, but also other network-based apps such as Kicksend or Instabridge. These apps basically replace email addresses, which are typically required to sign up for services in a desktop browser, with phone numbers, and import contacts from our phone address books instead of our email accounts.

  In my opinion and with some irony, it will be those latest and shiniest mobile apps that will ensure the phone number stays with us as a personal identifier for a long time to come. Maybe longer than EMail.

• 2012-05-29

  Tracking Time with Tomatoes?!

  The Pomodoro Technique is a time management system. Unlike GTD it is not a complex task management system, it merely focuses on the time. Francesco Cirillo, who first formulated this approach, used a mechanical kitchen timer in the shape of a tomato to track his name, hence the name. The idea is simple:

  1. Choose a task (or continue the last one).
  2. Eliminate all interruptions, and focus working on this task for 25 minutes (this interval is called a pomodoro).
  3. Take a 5 minute break.
  4. Rinse and repeat. After 4 pomodoros, take a longer break.

  I’ve started experimenting with this time management system in the last couple of days and so far it seems to work well for me

  My Tool: Instead of a mechanical kitchen timer, I’m using an Android application called Pomodroido on my smartphone. The advantage of this app over a simple timer is that it has a built-in, but customizable work-break schedule. Also, it shows some motivating hints about productivity and statistics; it even uses some game mechanics.

  There’s a couple of things I like about the technique:

  • The emphasis is on focused work! In fact you are supposed to void a pomodoro in case of any distraction. There are many tasks which require your complete focus and distractions can be a huge productivity killer (Jason Fried from 37signals, about whom I wrote earlier, talks a lot about this as well).
  • I tend to fall into procrastination when I have many things to do and don’t know where to start, because each task feels like the most important one. With a time management like the Pomodoro Technique, you can just get started on any of the tasks and delay your decision what to do next or to switch tasks into the next break. It doesn’t ensure the truly most important thing gets done, but it ensures at least something gets done. It is a similar “mind hack” like what I described in the 10 Minute Tidy Up. It’s also good to do the things which can be done in 25 minutes but always end up undone, because knowing you can do something else after half an hour makes it easier to get started on unpleasant work.
  • There are regular breaks. In my opinion this makes it easier to focus during your pomodoro, because a temptation like “I should quickly check my Facebook” is easier to resist if you know you can do it as soon as the timer rings.
  • Actually, the 5 minute breaks are perhaps the most interesting part of the pomodoro technique. Getting up from your desk and stepping outside the door is something that really feels refreshing, but it’s something you usually don’t do on a regular basis. And the best thing is that it is happening without guilt, because you know (and have a timer to ensure that) you’ll return to work in 5 minutes. If you do nothing in your break, you’ll notice how long and relaxing 5 minutes can be. But if you do some small things (e.g. checking your mails), you’ll also learn (and possibly be surprised by) what you can achieve with a few minutes to spare.

  As you see, I’m very positive about this right now. But it never works 100%, especially if you are not “a lone wolf” but have to synchronize your time with others. I may also experiment with alternate durations, but if I do that I’ll surely write a follow-up post.

  (photo source and credits)