Pomodoro Productivity: Simple Hack for Deep Work
Our attention span is decreasing.
Microsoft conducted a study and the findings are staggering: in 2000, the average person could focus on one task without being distracted for 12 seconds. In 2013, that number has decreased to 8 seconds.
A goldfish has an attention span of nine seconds…
Another problem in our work culture is the fact that we are constantly being interrupted.
Seems like every minute there is a new notification on our phone (hint: turn them off) or a colleague who needs us for “just 5 minutes”.
Interruptions are expensive too. They cost the U.S. economy $588 billion a year, according to a Basex study.
In addition to dollar damages, you need to factor in the costs of context switching.
In a study from the University of California Irvine, researchers shadowed workers on the job, studying their productivity. Here is what they found:
“You have to completely shift your thinking, it takes you a while to get into it and it takes you a while to get back and remember where you were…We found about 82 percent of all interrupted work is resumed on the same day. But here’s the bad news — it takes an average of 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back to the task.“
The Pomodoro Productivity Hack
Good news: there is a simple fail-proof productivity hack you can apply today to have big chunks of deep work.
The Pomodoro productivity technique is one of the simplest (yet most effective) productivity systems.
The basic rule is to work in 25-minute increments.
Here‘s the step-by-step:
1. First, choose one task and one task ONLY
2. Now, set a timer for 25 minutes. I use this app
3. Work on that task until the timer rings and then put a checkmark on a tracker
4. Time to relax: take a 5-minute break
5. Repeat 1-4 three more times, followed by a 15-minute break
I know, 25 minutes doesn‘t sound a lot. However, that’s 25 minutes of completely uninterrupted deep work.
The term deep work, coined by Cal Newport in his book “Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
”, refers to ‘professional activities performed in a state of distraction-free concentration that push your cognitive capabilities to their limits.’
And that’s exactly what this simple hack brings you.
I use it every single day, normally 4 cycles in the morning and 4 in the afternoon. My quantity AND quality of work skyrocketed!
Do it every day from now onwards so you can develop the habit of working with the Pomodoro Productivity.
The results will amaze you.
Tags:: Hack
