For those of you who don't know, I love using the geeky productivity method called Pomodoro. It is great for improving focus and really sinking yourself into a particular task.
At first it starts with simply turning off all distractions, picking on thing on your To Do list, and setting a time for 25 minutes that counts down your intense period of focus. Then rinse, lather and repeat, well actually you take a 5 minute break and then repeat it 3 more times before a longer break.
This method has been helpful when I'm not feeling productive and having trouble focusing. It also helps me manage my use of social media and other important, but potentially distracting/working avoiding tasks (like reading the newspaper or your favourite blogs).
The whole process is so simple, and that is the beauty of getting started with it. If you can use the basic process than you can move to high levels of the methodology. This includes breaking down projects into Pomodoros, keeping a log of your pomodoros, and then reviewing your productivity (time of day, location, etc.) to look for ways to improve it.
For a few years I've used the technique at the most basic level, because it seemed like to much work to everything else. I used a basic free App called Pomodoro Timer, but recently I found out they started offering a paid app, with some fun features. It turns your IM to a pomodoro focus message, so others will know why you aren't responding, which is just kind of neat. The best part is it marks the time you do it in your calendar and also collects the data about interruptions (whether I interrupted myself - sent text messages/turned on the tv) or if someone else interrupted me (received a call etc.).
I've only been using it for a few weeks now, but I really like it. I created a separate calendar for it. You can see in the picture above where it has put entries (I turned off my work/home/other calendars). When I have all my calendars on it gives me an interesting perspective of how I use my down time and space between meetings, social time and when on the road. This has been helpful.
Hopefully it helps me continue to see opportunities to use my time effectively.
