One of the more difficult aspects of the work-at-home, freelancing life is having the discipline to STAY ON TASK. There are a myriad of distractions: odd jobs, checking social media, responding to emails, diving down the internet rabbit hole to read about theonethingyoushouldabsolutelyknow, making a snack, cleaning the kitchen, sweeping the floor, weeding the garden, watering the garden, walking the dog, feeding the chickens, patting the dog, pitching for work, trawling Pinterest, generating clients, checking the sheep, writing a blog, checking social media (again), making another snack.
There are so many things to be done that my mind flits between them; I have 30 tabs open on my screen (none of which are productive), seven hours have passed, the floor still needs sweeping, and, in the cyclonic tumult of a never-ending to-do list, I’ve completed none of them.
My brain is stretched . . . I end the day with an even longer list of unfinished jobs
My brain is stretched in too many places at once; I feel adrift in a sea of distractions, flailing for a rope to haul me back in. In this state, I manage to start a dozen and finish . . . zero . . . zip . . . zilch. I end the day with an even longer list of unfinished jobs. “Tomorrow,” I tell myself, with a hint of gloom and more than a trace of doubt. “I’ll get to those tomorrow.”
Finally, in an act of desperation, I turn to Google and type “how to learn good time management”.
Enter the tomato. Well, more specifically, the Pomodoro.
In the late 1980s, and while he was a university student looking for ways to do more in less time, Francesco Cirillo developed a time management system called the Pomodoro Technique. Named after the red tomato-shaped mechanical timer Cirillo used when creating the system, the Pomodoro Technique allows for short bursts of time to focus your energy into a single, uninterrupted task. It raises productivity, teaches you to understand how much effort each task requires, and creates a sense of achievement.
The process is delightfully simple:
- Choose a task
- Set your timer for 25 minutes (a pomodoro)
- Work on that task AND NOTHING ELSE until the timer goes off
- Set the timer for a five-minute break
- Take your break completely away from your task
- Return after 3-5 minutes, and set the timer for another 25-minute pomodoro to either carry on with the previous task or begin a new task of your choosing
- After four pomodoros you can take a longer break – say 15-30 minutes
- Rinse and repeat
There are a couple of important things to note: You must create a to-do list so that each pomodoro has a focus, and you should record your pomodoros so you can feel good about what you’ve achieved.
Cast aside any interruptions
Another key component of this method is that the pomodoros must not be disturbed. Cast aside any interruptions. Let the phone ring. Do not reply to that text. Leave your email till later. Avoid social media. Or, better still, schedule those tasks to take place inside a pomodoro. If your pomodoro is interrupted beyond your control, abandon it, and restart when convenient.
Cirillo’s website has a great little video explaining more about the technique. You can jump to that here.
So, how did it work for me? I didn’t have an old-fashioned tomato timer, so I downloaded an app called Focus Keeper. (You can get it here, but there are numerous others to choose from in the App Store.) I set up my workspace, jotted down my to-do list, set my timer, and got to it.
And, incredibly, it worked! Knowing I had a limited time to complete my task, and that the job in front of me was my only concern, helped me focus in a way I had not experienced for a long time. I worked furiously, and the pomodoros whizzed by. At the end of my set of four, I had finished a job that I had procrastinated over for the last five months. I ticked it off my list and breathed a huge sigh of satisfaction.
So, what makes this technique so great? The 25-minute focus? The race against the clock? Or the knowledge that you have nothing else to do but what’s in front of you, and everything else can wait its turn? Probably a combination of all three. All I know is that it worked for me. Perhaps it will work for you, too.
Hmmmm . . . I wonder . . . How many pomodoros should I allocate for a session on Netflix?
