Tweak Your Productivity Habits And Be More Efficient With Tinker

Tinker - Tweak Your Productivity ($0.99) by Leef is a new way to approach productivity. Instead of going with the traditional starting a task and checking it off when you’re done, Tinker goes with a Pomodoro technique approach to things, similar to apps like Task Player. In the end, the goal is to help you be more productive by being able to visualize your tasks and the time you dedicate to them.

I’m a productivity nut. I’ve tried basically all of the to-do apps out there, from your basic lists to serious GTD tools like OmniFocus 2. While I’ve been using OmniFocus 2 and Fantastical 2 for Reminders for all of my tasks (work related as well as small little things), I’m always up for dabbling with new task apps, especially those that have a new outlook on things. So when I saw Tinker in the App Store, I was definitely intrigued.

Tinker features a very simple interface that makes it easy to focus on your tasks. The dark color scheme is very simple on the eyes, the light typography is easy-to-read, and it has nice use of colors on the task ring to show your progress. Tinker also makes use of simple gestures like taps and pinches for various actions as well. Overall, even if you’ve never used the Pomodoro technique before, you can instantly pick up Tinker because it’s so intuitive.

When you launch the app for the first time, it will have several tasks already, so that you can understand the basics. To pause your tasks, just tap a goal or cover the screen (enabled in settings) to pause. You can also swipe on a task to delete it. You can also edit a task by doing a tap-and-hold on it. Access the settings by pulling the screen down.

You’ll notice that Tinker does not have any real buttons or standard iOS chrome when it’s active in the foreground. In order to create a new task, all you need to do is pinch outward. Then you can give your goal a name, as well as set a time allotment for the task (both a start and end time). You will get notifications when your task is complete or when you should be starting a new one.

If you have multiple goals going on at once, the circles will show up like a list on the screen, and you can scroll up and down to view them all. Pausing one will pause them all, which is a good thing as you can take a break from everything at once. Completed items will be cleared out automatically.

So far, I’m fairly impressed with Tinker. I don’t normally go with the Pomodoro technique for managing my tasks and goals, but Tinker makes it simple and easy. The app is pretty barebones, but that’s the point — reducing the number of features to just the bare essentials helps you focus on getting your tasks done. If you need a little push, then perhaps Tinker can help you out.

I recommend checking out Tinker if you want to become more productive with the Pomodoro technique. You can get Tinker on the iPhone App Store for $0.99.