Pomodoro Technique (Not the Sauce)

Are you one of those naturally organized people who always makes a daily to-do list, who always writes everything down so you won’t forget, and who never misses a deadline because you keep track of everything with your handy time-management notebook or your palm? Or are you one of those flexible, creative, go-with-the-flow people who dislike planning and organizing because it restricts your freedom, energy, and performance? 

Some people are natural planners. They love it and can only see the benefits of planning, while others can be major procrastinators that leave everything to the last second. 

Given the global pandemic we are currently facing, it can be difficult to get work done from home. I have been reading different tips and tricks on staying productive at home, but I found the following to be the most useful. 

We all know there is a set amount of hours in each day to get our work done. We all also know that there are certain people or things that can steal minutes and even hours from your day – that take you away from your work. These time stealers can take many forms like too many meetings, no opportunities for delegation, telephone interruptions, demands from others, procrastination, or poor follow-up. You can control some time eaters, and cannot control others. Examine your day and identify the time eaters that you can control. Work to eliminate them to make each minute count.

Ask yourself:• Can I control this time eater?• If I can control it, what will I gain if I eliminate or reduce it?• What steps will I need to take to eliminate this time eater?

Eliminating time-eaters is a great starting point to improving productivity, but what then?
The amount of work that lies ahead sometimes can appear daunting. It can cause even the most laid-back person to become stressed out. This is where the Pomodoro Technique is the most useful. Pomodoro, in this case, is a unit of measurement that is exactly 25 minutes. In order for the technique to work, you must spend 25 minutes of complete concentration on the task at hand. 25 minutes seems like a less intimidating task than an hour or more, which makes the person willing to concentrate fully on that amount of time. 

Basically, It involves 5 easy steps:
1) Choosing a task to be accomplished.
2) Set the Pomodoro to 25 minutes (the Pomodoro is the timer)
3) Work on the task until the Pomodoro (timer) rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper
4) Take a short break
5) Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break

After reading about this technique, it has really improved my productivity and focus. Give it a shot!