You know those un-fun days at your desk when you have a lot to do, but don't want to do any of it? When I have long lists of mundane tasks that seem way less interesting than checking (again) what people are saying on Facebook?
A simple technique
I came across a little online club a couple of years ago that celebrates a productivity tool called the Pomodoro technique. (They explained that pomodoro was italian for tomato.) You can get all the info straight from the source here. Keep reading after the jump to get my take on the technique.
The official technique uses a couple of papers and a tally system so you can keep track of how well you are staying on task. This gives you a metric so you can better yourself day after day. For me, the core part of the technique, which requires no additional preparation or distraction, is based on a kitchen timer. (The tomato-based name is due to the shape of the common tomato-shaped timer.)
25 minutes of concentration
As soon as you are ready to work, set the timer to 25 minutes and go! During those 25 minutes the rule is that you have to work on a single task (unless you finish it, in which case you move straight into the next task.)
What you don't do
No checking Facebook. No checking weather reports. No reading incoming emails. When I started doing this, I couldn't believe how many crazy distractions had been tempting me away from my work. By setting a hard 25 minute limit, I'm able to put off all the other things that I might otherwise be drawn to.
What you should do
I do keep my to-do list at hand so that I can write down the important things that come to mind that I need to do later.
After the 25 minutes
Take a few minutes to do whatever you need to so that you can focus during the following 25 minutes. Get up and stretch. Get a drink. Make a phone call. Check Facebook. Lately I've been reading a lot, and I take a few minutes to read a couple of pages.
Rotate your tasks
If you have a few time consuming tasks that can be put down and picked up again, I recommend rotating projects during each time period. For example, if I need to update information in my company's database, and I also need to call a long list of clients to inform them of an upcoming seminar, I'll spend 25 minutes updating the database, and then the next 25 minutes making phone calls. Time goes by a lot faster when I'm switching between them.
Benefits of the system
The most obvious benefit is that it helps me commit to focusing on my work when my mind might otherwise wander.
Aside from that, it helps me spend time on the tasks that are most important. Because I am such a chronic multi-tasker, I sometimes work in reaction mode, instantly responding to incoming emails, or working on every other task that comes to mind simultaneously. This sometimes causes important, but not-urgent tasks to be put off indefinitely.
Lastly working in manageable chunks of time keeps my mind fresh. After hours of working on a single mundane task, I may feel like I've hardly accomplished anything. Starting with a new commitment ever half hour helps me to see how much progress I'm making.
Has this or another productivity technique helped you get more done in a day? Join the discussion in the comments!
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