Consciousness is one of the major problems of our modern society. Everyone always seems to be in a hurry. And how many people do you know who can eat their meal NOT in front of a TV or newspaper? Can you work on your computer 30 minutes straight, without checking the news, social media sites, or your emails?

Nowadays, we are doing a lot, but nothing very well. Distractions force us into multitasking, and the human brain is not really meant for multitasking: All what it is good for is the release of stress hormones.

You all know Sherlock Holmes (okay, he is a fictional character, but still much can be learned from his behavior), he appears to be the incarnation of a master mind. However, at least for the most part, all he does is to be “mindful.” He pays attention to his surrounding, he observes, and only because of those attitudes he can make his famous logical deductions.

Some time ago, I wrote an article about an awesome App for Mac OS, called Mindful Mynah, which I was using to remind myself every half an hour to get up, relax for some moments (maybe do some stretching of have a few sips of water), and then go to my task well focussed.

Now, I was really positively surprised and delighted when the developer of Mindful Mynah sent me a redeem code for his new Mindful Mynah iOS app recently. I have been using it for a couple of weeks now, and it’s really sweet.

I think, the best way to describe Mindful Mynah is simply to say: It’s the Zen version of a Pomodoro timer!

For the folks who don’t know what a pomodoro timer is: The word “pomodoro” is Italian and means “tomato.” And a pomodoro timer simply is a kitchen timer in form of a tomato; this was the initial tool of the author who came up with the Pomodoro Technique – a productivity method where you do small breaks at 25-minute intervals.

Mindful Mynah is the Zen approach: It’s very simplistic, but this is why it’s so great in relieving stress and boost your productivity at the same time. There is no clutter in Mindful Mynah and no unnecessary preferences: Just choose one out of the 10 amazing chimes and a time interval.
Mindful Mynah sounds like a very simple app, but it feels “comfortable” and because of its nice design you just want to
use it.

Just as its name implies: Being conscious is all what it is about! I highly recommend you to try this simplification of
the Pomodoro techique: As soon as you hear the pleasant Mindful Mynah reminder (ideally every 30 minutes), stop working and pause for a few moments. Do something telaxing for a 1-3 minutes such as standing up, brewing a tea, walking around, or even do some exercise like pull- or push-ups. Believe me, you will feel so much better at the end of the day!