This is the fourth learning article in this series – if you want to read the initial article go to Leg Learning One – Ask for help and be specific
Leg Learning Number Four – The ‘Pomodoro’ Effect
Do you ever struggle with prevarication? Open an email, know you should deal with it, but instead close it again, swearing you’ll deal with it later? Do you struggle with focussing on one thing?
I recently came across the book, The Pomodoro Technique by Francesco Cirillo that came up with a suggestion that I have found useful so I thought I would share it.
He suggests breaking up your day into 25 minute chunks with 5 minute breaks in between. He says that when a task stretches ahead of you with no end in sight, it is hard to maintain the focus to get it done but most people are about to keep that focus for 25 minutes. Clearly, revise the timing of 25 minutes feels too much initially. It is called the Pomodoro Technique because he initially used his tomato shaped kitchen timer to keep the 25 minutes. It is important to keep to the timings so perhaps set your phone to remind you when to take a break. If you are at all competitive, see how much you can achieve in 25 minutes and whether you can get more efficient so that amount keeps creeping up.
It is certainly worth a try…..