Book Summary:
Help boost your motivation by cutting your tasks into shorter sections with the Pomodoro Technique. Gain more control over your work and boost your productivity.
Related Book Summaries:
Getting Things Done – David Allen – Book Summary
7 Habits of Highly Effective People – Stephen Covey – Book Summary
Quotes:
Reduce the stress caused by the pressure of time by using the Pomodoro Technique.
Book Summary Notes:
- Cut your work into pieces “pomodori” to make it more manageable.
- Time is the greatest enemy of anyone looking to get work done. We often fall victim to procrastination far too easily.
- Not being efficient and effective with your time at work can mean working extra hours or having to make up the work in your spare time depending on how important what you do is.
- Break your work into short 25 min chunks and work within those 25 min chunks without break or distraction to accomplish more with your day.
- Use a timer, the author recommends a simple kitchen timer, for 25 mins and work uninterrupted on your chosen task until the timer goes off. This section of time is called a Pomodoro and once complete take 5 mins to grab a drink of water or stretch your legs to refresh yourself. Knowing that you can stop work after only 25 minutes also helps you to just get started and avoid procrastination.
- These Pomodoro sessions help you stay motivated, get more done and keep your stress to a minimum.
- Structuring your day into Pomodori (Pomodoro sessions) is not particularly difficult and requires no expensive gear to begin or use. The potential upsides are huge for your productivity.
- You can set yourself goals such as 6 Pomodori per day, to help you to conquer your work and make progress towards your goals. Pomodori by themselves are manageable, don’t focus on the whole project just on your next 25 mins.
- A Pomodoro session is 25 mins. Don’t cut corners! Allocate enough work for the amount of time and if you happen to finish early review your work, make corrections or move onto the next task. Don’t waste the session and don’t half ass it.
- In the same vein as the above point, breaks are not optional. You need to take a short break after each session and a longer one after every few sessions. This helps you to stay focused while your in a session and let’s you recalibrate for the next session.
- Along with your timer you need a to-do list for maximum efficiency. Keep your list with you and use the Pomodoro sessions to knock off the items. It can help to ahead of time make a note of how many sessions roughly each item should take. If your a follower of GTD then you should have no problem keeping your next action or projects lists with you.
- Your greatest enemies in this system are interruptions. Try to work in an environment where you ideally will have none or at times where you can be sure they are minimised.
- Be aware of the 2 types of interruptions, internal and external. Internal come from within and could be something like a thought that suddenly pops up or a memory of something you need to do later. Keep a piece of paper nearby to jot them down to get it out of your brain and keep going with your session. External are things such as colleagues or family members with questions or other demands on your time.
