Pomodoro & other Productivity Hacks

Pomodoro timer counting down

I’m getting so saturated with tasks, I really need to upgrade my scheduling and tracking game. I need to re-read Getting Things Done. And Hyperfocus. I invested in a Pomodoro timer. Downloaded an every-thirty-minute day planner. I have Things on my iPhone, iPad, and macOS computers (all cloud synching).

The Pomodoro Technique. (Race against the clock. Stay focused. Ding. (Are you doing what you should be doing?)) (The Pomodoro Technique Really Works, Says This Productivity-Hack Skeptic.)

Eliminate distractions. I’m not taking unsolicited calls, I have my assistant schedule a call-back time. Jol on Software has a great discussion (Item 8, on quiet working conditions.) “It takes an average of about 25 minutes (23 minutes and 15 seconds, to be exact) to return to the original task after an interruption.” How Distractions At Work Take Up More Time Than You Think.

The other day I started just putting down a list of tasks and the time I expected each one to take. About half of them I was spot on, the others I was way off (like, I’d budget 30 minutes and have it take 60; very few things took less time than I anticipated).

I’ll get there. I have faith. I just need to develop a system that works.