A Tip to Stay Focused

byMarkA1

1.1K followers

Updated 5 years ago

I've struggled with my ability to focus for years, but didn't really notice it until I started writing. As much as I love what I do, the minute I sit down to do it, another part of my brain kicks in that tries desperately to stop me. The only way I can describe it is to say that it's like a feeling of tension that refuses to away until I've appeased its desire to do something else.

Rather than obsessing over why I have such a hard time with this, I choose to look for ways to power through it. One thing I've noticed is that I can usually focus for several minutes (at least 20 to 30), if I know that there's a short break coming up. So it makes sense to find a way to make this work for me, rather than against me.

A couple years ago, I came across a book called "The Pomodoro Technique," by Francesco Cirillo. I can't remember what I was actually looking for when I saw it on Amazon, but I read the description and realized it was a productivity guide that might actually work for someone like me. So I ordered it and I've been using this technique ever since.

A pomodoro is a tomato, in Italian. The reference is to the old wind-up kitchen timers that come shaped like tomatoes. The technique in the book involves using a timer to break up your tasks into managable bites, with short breaks in between to appease those urges to do anything else that little monkey brain wants to distract itself with (ie: social media, online shopping, reading the news, etc...).

The basic breakdown is 25/5, meaning 25 minutes of highly focused work, followed by a 5 minute break. Keep that up for 2 hours, then take a 15 minute break and start over. If you have a lot to tackle, you'll find that you can get more done in short spurts with breaks worked in, than in longer sessions, where you're battling your tendency to procrastinate, with no end in sight.

Just thought I would share this with everyone, since I've come across a number of people who have just as hard a time focusing as I do. There's actually more to the book, as it also gives you a system for tracking all this, along with many more helpful tips. It's pretty short, but packed with great information that anyone with a desire to be more productive and effective can benefit from.

I highly recommend getting the book!

Mark