The Pomodoro Technique + Strict Workflow
My productivity secret weapon
If not the technique, you’re probably familiar with the pomodoro itself. If you’ve ever baked or used a kitchen timer, you’ve used a pomodoro. These tiny, sometimes tomato shaped timers have been a staple in my kitchen for as long as I can remember, only recently have they made it into my office workflow. To use this technique, you may want to upgrade to something digital and quieter if you work in an office setting like myself.
For anyone familiar with a tabata, or fartleks for you runners, this technique is very similar albeit less sweaty. The pomodoro technique relies on intervals of work rather than long sprints. The breakdown is simple, work for 25 minutes, straight, no distractions, break for 5. After your 4th round take a longer break, around 10–15 minutes. Rinse and repeat as necessary.
You may be thinking the same thing I was when I first read about this. I’m spending almost a quarter of that time not working. It might seem like a large period of time but you would be surprised how much more productive you can be after training your brain to be flexible, giving it enough time to recover and start again fresh.
My largest issue with this became sticking to the full 25 minutes without getting distracted by time-killing websites; looking at you reddit. For readers with more self-control than me, this recommendation won’t be as useful. After finding Strict Workflow, I was quickly drawn to one of its features which prevents that very distraction in a clever way. The beauty of this feature is, in addition to the timer, it also blocks time killing sites during the 25 minutes window. During the 5 minute breaks, regular browser functionality is restored and any site can be used. Strict workflow comes with over a dozen sites pre-loaded ranging from social media, gaming and media. This default list can be edited by adding or removing sites as needed. If during the 5 minute period you happen to go over on time, hopefully just finishing up a really good read, don’t worry. You won’t be kicked off after 5 minutes leaving it up to you to finish quickly and resume the next 25 minute work period.
I don’t use this technique all day. Many of my tasks don’t fit into easy 25 minute buckets, however, anything I would consider busy-work is easy to break down into chunks. Breaking these tasks down helps avoid the mind-numbing monotony associated with busy-work, leaving me focused the entire time.
Keeping track of the time I spend on a project also helps me remain and become more productive. I’m aware of how long a method of completion takes giving me an opportunity to fine tune it and test that change in the next window. After each 25 minute round and the end of each project I have a strong sense of accomplishment, I know exactly what I completed in that time. It may surprise you, as it did me, how quickly 25 minutes go by and how much time you’re spending on those, other, websites.
I hope this has been a helpful read, good luck staying productive.
