What is Pomodoro - And Why You Should Care

bythelungdoc

3.2K followers

4 years ago

We at WA are some of the most driven, busy people around. Often we have to work at a full time job, try to be with our family as they need us, and also working on this business.

IT is difficult to balance all the time.

Sometimes we get really tired, even exhausted.

We need to be able to work more efficiently. You have heard the expression - work smarter, not harder.

Time management people have tried to figure out how to improve efficiency and productivity without leading to frustration and exhaustion.

These are two techniques I personally use to help with getting the most important things done, as well as the least enjoyable things done first.

Meet M.I.T.

No, this is not the college in Boston. This is a simple technique popularized by Leo Babauta several years ago.

When you face your day in the morning, you determine your Most Important Tasks. These are the three things you absolutely must get done that day. - your Most Important Tasks or MITs

It might be something as simple as a phone call, or as difficult as writing a report.

But these are you must dos (not just your to dos) for the day.

You have to get these done first before anything else.

Then, you do the thing you most would like to avoid - first. Get it out of the way.

So it goes like this;

1. Thing you most want to avoid,

2. You next must do for the day

3. You next must do for the day

Interuptions

OK, all well and good, but what happens when the interruptions come; you would like to check Facebook so see how your brother is doing, the phone rings, message alarm goes off, etc.

These get you off track. You end up spending 30-minutes checking the email and more time with other distractions and your MITs slip to the next day.

So - time management people developed a way to handle this problem.

Pomodoro Technique

Francesco Cirrillo developed the Pomodoro technique in the late 1980s, and charges people and corporations a mint to teach it to them.

You can find it online here. Notice how much he charges for the nuances of this technique. There are also books published on how to do this.

But this is the nitty-gritty of how this is done.

Step one

You choose one of your MIT tasks, and get a simple timer - even one on your cell phone.

Set it for 25 minutes - for that 25 minutes you will not interrupt your work at any cost. Total focus on your least enjoyable but most important task first.

After 25 minutes you put a check mark on a piece of paper and take a short break - like for a cup of coffee, something relaxing - a gift to yourself. BUT NOT WORK. You are not allowed to do anything during your break related to work. That time is yours to enjoy.

You do not check email, answer the phone, or check your messages.

Step Two

Every four blocks of time you take another longer break maybe 20-30 minutes long.

The idea is that these break allow you to recover from intense work and concentration - because that is what you are doing while working on your 25 minute tasks.

Assessment

At the end of your day after you have done at least your MITs, you evaluate.

You count up the number of checks to determine how much time a task requires. This is important if you hare repetitive MITs each day.

It significantly cuts down on the interruptions and wasted activity (like browsing the Internet)

It keeps you focused on the most important things first, and the things you least want to do first. Often we just do the things we want to do first, and somehow never get to the unpleasant things.

Habits Over Time Make a Difference

This may seem simple - and it is. But it helps you to get things done. While you are working those 25 minutes - no interruptions unless the house is burning down.

You will be amazed at how much you can get done using this technique. You allow yourself blocks of time with no interruptions and your brain will learn to focus - because you have breaks coming up.

You will be unburdened right at the beginning of the day because your least enjoyable task is done.

You have given yourself rewards to encourage continuation of this technique. Over time - maybe a month - it becomes a habit.

Let me know if you already do something like this, and how it works for you.

Or, let me know what you think!

Dave.