Change your life in just 30 minutes
Scheduling sometimes seems to take more time than it really should.
There are simply too many ways to balance your time. If you love your job, like we love ours, then you may struggle with taking the breaks you need. And your brain actually does need a break.
Sometimes you may find that a little bit of structure works wonders on your to do list. One way of structuring your time is to work with the Pomodoro Method.
The whole technique is based on those tomato shaped kitchen timers (hence the name, of course).
It’s very simple – it works like this:
- Determine the task you need to work on
- Set a timer for 25 minutes
- Work solidly for 25 minutes until the buzzer sounds
- Take a 3-5 minute break, then repeat
- After 4 work sessions, take a longer break, say 15 to 30 minutes
If you are interrupted during a Pomodoro session, either make a quick note of the call, text or email to get back to, or abandon the session.
The Pomodoro Method suggests recording how many Pomodoros you accomplish every day. This does something incredible inside your brain – it tells you that you’ve accomplished something, even if you haven’t quite managed to tick an item off your to do list.
This method certainly helps to keep focused on what’s necessary at any given moment. And, at the end of every session, you will feel productive and deserving of a delicious slice of cake. You may find it is so effective that you only think in Pomodoros when setting out to accomplish anything.
Take Action!
Try out the Pomodoro method on your next focus day.
Or try it out for just an hour or two today.
You won’t believe the extraordinary effect it can have on your time.
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This is part of Time Management month on the Rethink Retreats blog. Check out these other useful articles on the subject:
Prioritising sex
Time management: instantly increase your productivity!
The ‘busy’ trap
Let us know how you get on; and, please do keep us posted on your time management success.
