There are many different ways to fight procrastination, and nothing works universally for everyone. However, there's no harm in upgrading your arsenal of productive techniques. Allow me to introduce you to the Pomodoro Method.
Photo: "Red Mountain Peaks" by Dr4kon, link here.
For your consideration, today's Featured Articles: Check out DealNews' Predictions for Black Friday Sales, how to Fight Procrastination and Use Supportive Habits to Get Things Done, read a Chart Detailing the Proper Times to Plant Vegetables, and read Scientific American's Article on Self-Control.
Written by Jameson Arthur.
Fighting Procrastination is a tough battle. At this moment, I have several things that are required of me this weekend, all equally important and necessary by Monday morning:
+16 hours of work
+A surprise Sociology essay on Neo-Malthusian Theory vs. Old Malthusian Theory
+A two-page French paper on a Francophone country, as an topical analysis
+Write a ten-minute presentation on said country, design visual aids
+Start catching up on my backlog of French homework assignments
+Start sifting through 90 textbook pages of questions to re-establish vague French knowledge
+Watch the film "Hanna" again, as per personal choice, to write a four-page analysis
+Complete a few time-consuming assignments in Computer Science
+Write twenty more pages in a fictional biography for YA author Maureen Johnson, whom I will be meeting in Houston in four days at a book-signing (she gave a call out for fanfiction of her life)
As you can see, I've got quite the workload ahead of me! But how do I plan on dealing with my procrastination? Simple: I plan on utilizing my good friend, the Pomodoro Technique.
What is the Pomodoro Technique, you ask? This simplistic but extremely useful method was developed by one Francesco Cirello in the late 1980s, and is the subject of several books and a large community that has adopted the technique. This revolves around the concept of a 25-minute allocation of time noted as a Pomodori, which is Italian for "tomato." This is a call-back to Francesco developing his technique around a tomato-shaped kitchen-timer that he kept around at all times. For further clarification, which admittedly won't be a lot, here is the wikipedia page on the subject.
The basic rules of the Pomodoro Technique are thus:
1) Evaluate today's task list, estimate roughly how long each part might take
2) Decide on any of the tasks
3) Set a loud, obnoxious, distant timer for 25 minutes (stove timers work fantastic for this)
4) Get to work--throw yourself into the task, ignoring all else to a safe extent
5) When the timer goes off, take a five-minute break (mark the task)
6) At the conclusion of break, rinse, either continue or, if completed, head back to #2
7) For every four Pomodori, give yourself a longer break, such as fifteen-to-twenty minutes
8) At the conclusion of your day, evaluate how long it took to complete tasks, track progress
9) Decide on a set of achievable tasks for the next day
The whole point is to produce mental agility. It is said that by focusing on one task completely, then giving your mind a break, is sort of like a cognitive workout--and by allowing yourself to drop your focus, problems you may have encountered have a brief chance to work themselves out subconsciously, so that when you return, something blaring obvious may jump up at you and present itself as an answer. I support this theory, as I've found success in utilizing the technique for these reasons.
Plus, it's cool to get a gauge of how long things actually take to get done. I was really surprised when I discovered how long it took me to iron my clothes, for example.
I've discussed what I've found with peers and coworkers, who admit to doing something very similar with their time. I was unaware of this, but my own mother mentioned that she had started working with the vague workings of the technique back around the time I was born, when it began receiving publicity. I don't hear many people working with the original time-frame, and virtually nobody who actually keeps a log of the time allocation; this is unfortunate, as the evolution of productivity stems from having a record to review at times.
So, while there are variants that have cropped up of people doing fifteen minutes of work for a five-minute break, or twenty minutes of work for a ten-minute break, I feel that the original scope is enough for me. Apparently the end result is to discipline yourself into doing an hour of work for five minutes of pleasure. I like being able to throw myself into a rigid structure, as I'm one of those people who never get things done because I have a lot to do and no real discipline to myself. I'm making changes with that by taking this simple yet effective approach to compartmentalizing my time. For instance, I am someone who spends too long on Facebook, and so I have delegated my time between breaks--and not any other time, while pursuing my goals for the day--to checking messages and notifications.
I've even researched, produced and written this blog today to the technique, including creating the graphic up there and hunting down worthwhile articles to sponsor. I currently have one minute left, thanks to my timer beeping off. I prefer to use my kitchen timer because it gives me a one-minute heads-up right before the deadline, so I can wrap things up and prepare for my break.
You can visit the Pomodoro Technique community here if interested.
Feel free to leave any feedback, or your own productivity hacks, in the comments below.
Oh wow, that's quite the schedule you got there.
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