A few years ago I bought a simple digital alarm clock from IKEA. I managed to set it without reading the instruction booklet. So far so good. Shortly after that I started hearing beeping sounds, but as they were single beeps and not too loud, I could not figure out where there were coming from. Finally, on a weekend, after a few hours on the sofa reading a book, I had an Eureca! moment - my clock was beeping once every hour. At first it felt annoying, but soon I realized it was a good reminder of time passing by, especially when I was doing something very lazy and slowly (while actually it could have been done much faster).
Last year a friend mentioned Pomodoro to me. It is based on the same idea, but it's much better!!! Why?
Because you can set the timer to 25min, 45min...anything you like, or anything suitable to the kind of tasks you do.
Because after '1 Pomodoro' (the length of time you work), you have to take a break of a few minutes (also timed!). It is important to take the break!
Because during the Pomodoro time you are not allowed to answer the phone, have a snack, or get distracted, which maintains your focus and makes you more productive.
You may be like me at first and already think that the Pomodoro technique is too simple, or too annoying, or too...whatever, but once I tried it I was sold on it! And I wish I had started using it sooner. Because it really works and improves time management.
This blog was written in one Pomodoro of 30 minutes. Now I'll have my well deserved break. And you....go download the Pomodoro timer and let me know how it works for you :)
PS. Thanks go to E. Pragt for introducing me to Pomodoro.
That's an interesting concept. But ain't writing this blog post a part of your break :) (my blog posts are my relaxation time). But, you are right, I will definitely give this a try. I find my concentration going in 10 different directions, and this actually might work for me!
ReplyDeleteWhat relaxation time ... ;-) OK, seriously, blogs are not relaxation time, but expression time for me personally. The stronger the reaction to the particular event, the better the blog...I wish to think :) But in terms of time, I have to use the Pomodoro...or else I'll use all my time for blogging :)
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