Inspired by my friend Kevin’s recent post on the subject – where he suggests using a pomodoro “to write AND SEND” the piece – I’m writing and sending today’s Tactical Tuesday piece in under 25 minutes. (23:20 left).
If you’re not familiar with the Pomodoro Technique, it’s this: You set a timer for 25 minutes and focus on just one task the entire time – not allowing yourself ANY distractions (including going to the bathroom – yikes!).
If you do get distracted, you have to cancel the pomodoro and start again.
At the end of each pomodoro, you take a 5-minute break.
For real. (21:11 left)
You don’t work through the break thinking, “Well, I don’t have anything else to do.” You take that break because it’s as much a part of the plan as the 25 minutes preceding it.
After the break, you (and your beautiful mind) are ready for another 25-minute pomodoro.
After 4 pomodoros, you take a longer 20-minute break.
And it’s amazing how much more you’ll get done in those 2 hours than you would if you had casually multi-tasked your way through them, heading to the bathroom willy-nilly as though it was going out of style. (18:48 left).
A variation on the theme can be to work for 50 minutes uninterrupted, followed by a 10-minute break. Do two of those and then take a longer, 20-minute break.
There’s Parkinson’s Law to consider here, which states that a task will expand to fit the time it’s given. But I’ve found, especially with more creative, flow-based tasks, a 50-minute chunk of time does actually serve one better. (15:48 left)
And maybe what’s best for you is two 25-minute pomodoros followed by one 50-minute one. As long as you’re keeping yourself focused, single-mindedly, on the one task you’ve decided to tackle in each pomodoro. You’ll be grand.
Even if you just try one, I bet you’ll be surprised.
Tomayto Tomahto,
James
P.S. (11:40 left)
P.P.S. Post-editing and as I hit send. (4:14 left)
Recent Comments