Using the Pomodoro Method for Productivity
Or as I like to call it, the Get Sh*t Done When You Don't Want to Method.
Happy Monday, Substackers! I hope this is the start of productive week and that you’re able to take a good nugget away from this week’s Substack!
My exciting news this week:
*I’ll be interviewing Dave and Jenny Marrs of HGTV’s Fixer to Fabulous for the cover story of a national project on home improvement for USA Today.
*I’ll also interview Dr. Terrence Ferguson and Dr. Vernard Hodges of the show Critter Fixers.
*In two weeks, I’ll be flying to Oaxaca to spend a few days doing a tour of the city and the area Mezcal production with Chef Richard Sandoval. I hope you’ll follow my adventures on Instagram and Facebook!
Other upcoming travel this spring includes Tucson, AZ; Albuquerque, NM, and Kalispell and Flathead Lake, MT.
What’s happening in your world this week? Drop a comment below and share your upcoming travels and projects!
Scroll down to learn about my very favorite anti-procrastination technique: The Pomodoro Method.
Happy writing,
Rebecca
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I am a master procrastinator. I am also easily distracted and a great avoider of doing things I don’t want to. Enter the Pomodoro Method.
As a student in the 1980s, Francesco Cirillo was struggling to keep up with his workload. He discovered that he could get more done and retain more of the material he studied if he worked in 25-minute blocks with short (five minute) breaks in between and a longer break after the fourth session. He called it the pomodoro method because he used one of those little tomato-shaped kitchen timers. (Pomodoro means tomato in Italian.)
Cirillo wanted to improve his work time effectiveness and also have a better idea of how long he was actually spending on completing a task by recording how he utilized his time. This is a great tool for freelance writers, especially when just starting out—it’s so easy to go down a rabbit hole of research and fact finding only to discover you’ve spent so much time on a project that you end up earning a dollar an hour. Keeping track of how long a task takes not only helps you focus but makes sure you’re spending your time wisely (and making enough money).
For example, if you’re offered $300 for an article and you want to make $50 an hour, you don’t want to spend more than 6 hours on the interviews, research, writing, and asset gathering for the piece. (Also, when you travel and later write about it, that is actually work time!) Pomodoro is useful if you get contracted for projects if you get paid by the hour to keep track of your time. Or in tackling those things your just keep avoiding.
Personally, I like to think he named it pomodoro after the pasta sauce—which also takes about 25 minutes to cook. As you can see in the photo, I’m a life-long pasta eater— Sophia Loren’s fresh and tangy pomodoro is my all-time favorite for a fast and easy meal. She was once reported as saying “Everything you see I owe to spaghetti” and I feel seen. The sauce takes the same amount of time to cook as one block of time—I don’t think that’s a coincidence, do you?
Here are the basics of The Pomodoro Method:
Choose the project or task you want to work on.
Set a timer for 25 (or 30, whatever your preference is) minutes.
During that time slot, don’t check your phone or email, surf the web or get up from your work station.
When your timer goes off, take a short break.
Repeat this three more times.
After the fourth session, take a longer break.
Track your time in a notebook/paper log or online.
I’ve found The Pomodoro Method is a great way to trick myself into getting things done, because usually once I start I find my groove and can finish something. These short sprints minimize distraction and improve focus and flow. Rather than working on a project for hours, breaking things up with sessions and a short rest has really increased my productivity.
While this is great for things I’m procrastinating, it can also be applied to something like writing a book. Writing the whole thing may seem really overwhelming, but if you know you can just set aside an hour a day and chip away at it rather than spending an hour in front of the TV or scrolling social, timing yourself can be really effective.
What are some of your tricks to being productive and making the most of your time? Leave me a comment below!
Did You Catch Me On The Media in Minutes Podcast?
Earlier this month, I was a guest on the Media in Minutes podcast hosted by Angela Tuell. We talked about how I got into freelance writing, how PR professionals can best work with writers, how to become a successful freelance writing, and my coaching sessions.
Check it out on the Media in Minutes site or on Spotify (below)