How I Increased My Productivity with the Amazing Pomodoro Technique!

How I Increased My Productivity with Amazing Pomodoro Technique!

Until a few years ago,  my working day was filled with various external distractions and I was not focused on the tasks I had to perform.

 

I would set myself the goals of the day, but all the time my mind was distracted.

 

The mind was distracted by various factors :

• Do you familiar with “I have only one small question, Can I ask?” or “I need your help”.  A few years ago most of my day was distracted by my colleagues, who asked professional questions…Of course, it’s my professional duty to answer the professional questions but every question took me out of the focus. In those moments I felt out of control…
• Small talks between co-workers in the organization cafeteria 
• Social media, such as What’s up, e-mail, Pinterest and etc’

Quite a bit  at the end of the day, I would ask myself, “Did you complete all your tasks are planned by you?” Or another one “A day passed and I did not notice at all.”

 

Do you ever feel that way?

I would go through the tasks list for the day and I could hardly put a “V” on one of them.

 

And what about the goals I set for myself in my personal life? I have to say that the situation was quite similar …

 

I had a misunderstanding about what time management is and what techniques are in the field, I wasted a lot of time without value for myself …

What about you? Do you also have a problem with various distractions and concentration?

 

The issue of distractions is a serious issue and affects your productivity and effectiveness more than you think.

 

Look around yourself and answer the following questions:

• How long do you and your children spend on TV during the day/week?
• Do you and your kids have social accounts like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter?
• How much time do you waste on unnecessary phone calls and not for a specific purpose?
• How long have you been having cigarette breaks and coffee breaks during the working day?

Now, try to calculate the average of hours wasted by you on those “activities” during the day.

 

Did you count? How much did you get?

 

Studies for 2018 shows that today’s teens in the Western world spend more than 9 hours a day on social networks.

Just think about it.  That’s a huge number of hours a day.

 

I believe adults spend less but still, the difference is not far off…

 

Just imagine how much we could have done in those hours. 

 

As I mentioned at the beginning of the post I had an issue with similar distractions not long time ago…

 

I was looking for how I could get better at it.

 

The great goal I have set for myself is to manage time correctly in order to be more effective at work, to be more focused, and much more productive in the tasks I set for myself.

 

One of the important insights for me was that time cannot be returned …

Yes, we all know sentences that can not be returned time and must live today but never really internalized the meaning.

Suddenly this critical insight seems to have shattered all the illusions I had before …

 

I became interested in the issue of time management and how I can improve it. Especially in the techniques that can be used on a daily basis that should improve my performance.

 

I discovered the Pomodoro technique that improved my performance by several tens of percent.

Using the Pomodoro technique gave me the ability to be more focused on the goal according to the time I defined, to be more productive and effective.

 

So what is the Pomodoro technique and how does it work?

 

The Pomodoro technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo.

 

Pomodoro is an effective method for improving productivity and time management that is used around the world.

 

Cyrillo first developed his method of improving productivity while he was a university student in the early 1990s.

 

Using a kitchen timer in the form of Pomodoro (Italian to tomato), Cyrillo was able to concentrate the amount of time spent working on the project into 25-minute intervals, with short breaks of 5 minutes, to do more.

 

Any Pomodoro, or 25-minute working interval, is performed without interruption; By grouping 3 to 4 Pomodoros continuously, users can significantly improve their productivity, improve their focus, and better achieve their goal.

More information about the Pomodoro technique can be found here https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique

 

I personally like to use a Pomodoro timer designed more for those who work on a personal computer with the option of setting alerts at the end of each Pomodoro and personal intervals that are possible to set up in advance.

Pomodoro Timer can be found here: https://tomato-timer.com

 

Let’s see what could be achieved by you using the Pomodoro Technique?

 

•  Focus on your tasks – short intervals of 25 predefined minutes focus only on a concrete task without distractions, it is easier for you to focus because you know that every 25 minutes you will get a break.
•  Increases control over time – you are more aware of the time you spend on performing the task, you can measure the results at the end of the interval.
•  Work faster – The “deadline” method makes you work faster.

 

It is important to note that Pomodoro is an indivisible work unit – that is, if you are distracted by a colleague, meeting or emergency, or you need to finish the Pomodoro there (saving your work and replacing a new one) later, or you should reject Distraction until the completion Pomodoro.

 

Cyrilo offers the following strategy in using the Pomodoro Technique:

 

1. Inform the colleges or around you people that you are working on something now. Set a time when you can return to the colleges.

2. You will set up a follow-up immediately.

3. Go back to the colleges when your Pomodoro is complete 

 

Of course, not every distraction is simple, and some things require immediate attention – but not every distraction is important.

 

Sometimes it’s okay to tell your colleague, “I’m in the middle of something now, but I can come back to you … ten minutes?” Doing so will not only keep you focused but also gives you control over your workday.

 

Time is a Resource that Can Not be Returned, Use it Wisely!

Is this post helpful for you? Share your thoughts in comments on how it helped you. 

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