Journal, Learning, Positive Life, Productivity
The Pomodoro technique may sound familiar if you’ve been searching for ways to improve your productivity online. In the ranks of time-saving methods, this technique ranks up there. Have you ever taken the time to think about just what it is or where it got its start?
Exactly what is the Pomodoro Technique?
Using a basic kitchen timer, the Pomodoro technique is a time-tested method for maximizing productivity. Use a kitchen timer (the tomato-shaped timer from which this technique takes its name) and set it for 25 minutes. This is the time period in which you devote yourself entirely to whatever it is you’re attempting to finish. When the alarm goes off, you have five minutes to relax and regroup.
Following the period of the break, the timer is reset and work resumes. You should rest for 15 to 30 minutes after every four sets (or Pomodoros). This process is repeated until you have achieved your goal.
Who developed this method, anyway?
Francesco Cirillo, a student at the University of the Netherlands, came up with this method because he struggled to find an efficient method of studying. He realized he had to bargain with himself to study for even 10 more minutes. “I’ll give it 10 more minutes of studying and then I’ll reward myself with a short break.”
After some time, he realized that this “bargaining” actually worked. He purchased a kitchen timer and began keeping track of how long his study sessions lasted, ultimately settling on 25 minutes.
Working in short sprints is effective, but you can achieve the same results without resorting to the Pomodoro Technique.
The Pomodoro Technique suggests working in 25-minute intervals, but you may discover that this is too long or too short for your needs.
If you want to get work done in short sprints, you don’t have to resort to the Pomodoro technique. Both your work periods and their accompanying breaks are flexible, depending on your preferences. One of the great things about the Pomodoro technique is that it can be modified to suit anyone’s specific needs.
You will profit from using a timing system, whether you use the Pomodoro approach or come up with your own. Get a timer and break up your next project into manageable chunks.
Journal, Learning, Self Discovery
It’s real easy to become one of those people who love to
complain (the woe is me people). They tend to complain all the time about
everything under the sun. As a youth and young adult, I was innocent enough to
believe what people were saying. I really thought there were plenty of valid
reasons to complain: about the weather (most often), lack of money (runner-up),
“white” folk, “black” folk, neighbors, friends, coworkers,
the heavy set person taking up two seats on the subway, bad health, etc. I
assumed the world just turned out to be like this and there was nothing much I
could do about it. Being in that environment it’s really easy to get infected
by that way of being.
Fortunately for me something clicked though, especially as I
started traveling outside of the U.S., and reflecting on the culture and
society I was born into. One of the great benefits of being born and spending
time outside of the United States is having a different view of the world. Even
though I was born and raised in the central city of Georgetown, Guyana, and we
had indoor plumbing; I knew of and were friends with other kids who weren’t as
fortunate. I saw poverty of a kind not comparable to that in the U.S. Yet these
folks often had nothing but big smiles on their faces, while we had everything
and were still complaining! How could this be?
It became crystal clear to me that the complaints had
nothing to do with the outer circumstances. It was an attitude, a habit formed
over time.
As I matured, and through countless interactions in the
world, I learned that inner loneliness, clinging to expectations of how “we”
think things should be, instead of appreciating what is, was among the reasons
why we complain so much.
I realized further that the people, who seemed to complain
very little, were those who connected to something “greater” than themselves.
Here’s what shifted for me. I began to express sincere
gratitude for all the love and “hate” I had received and will keep receiving
throughout your life. I became grateful for the clean water coming out of the
tap, with just a simple gesture of my hand. Take into consideration that there
are many people in other parts of the world spending upwards of six hours every
day to get a little bit of water, and an unfortunate number die of thirst.
I became grateful for the lights that came on when I would
flip the switch in my apartment. Large parts of the world have to do without
electrical power! Say “thank you” for the variety of food that is available to
you every day, around the globe there are countless numbers who get by on one
scarce meal a day, or are simply starving.
