I try to focus again. I’m writing a post. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. My whole desk vibrated because my friend sent me some memes with Donald Trump on Whatsapp.
Bzzz bzzzz bzzz… Adam is calling to ask if I need anything from the supermarket.
Bzzz bzzz….. it’s Messenger. A reader wrote to me via my fanpage to ask how much a six months volunteering project on Galapagos islands is going to cost. I wish I knew…
I look on the toolbar where my open Gmail tells me I have two new messages. I reply quickly, it’s just two sentences.
I get back to work. In my Word file there is one lonely paragraph. I’m writing. I need to find an information in the Internet so just using the opportunity I refresh my Facebook again and I’ll click a couple of hearts on Instagram.
Two hours pass and I don’t even have a half of my text written. How is it possible if I’ve been working for so long?!
Magic.
How to avoid distractions and work significantly faster – Pomodoro Technique.
I admit that I am hopelessly addicted to my phone, Facebook, Messenger and all other goods of our digital world. I use them for private and blogging purposes. Internet is an amazing invention.
But in the same time it’s a terrible distractor and a time thief.
When I discovered Pomodoro Technique, my work efficiency soared by some 567889%. The idea is so simple but so genius.
Pomodoro Technique – how does it work?
Turn off the internet, sound and vibrations in your phone. Close all unnecessary browser tabs, outlook, Skype notifications. Everything that may appear or start blinking on your screen while you work.
What, cut off completely?!
Exactly, yes. And now take a kitchen timer and set it for 25 minutes. You can also visit tomato-timer.com website and turn on the online timer there (it’s my favorite method). From this moment focus on your work only. Writing a post, learning for the exam, learning a foreign language, creating some crazy, inexplicable Excel tables.
After 25 minutes take a 5 or 10 minutes break. At that time it’s best to do something completely diffetent. Get up, make a tea, do some burpees. You can also check if there are no urgent messages on your email, Facebook, Whatsapp or if anyone called you.
The most important thing is not to check it during your tomato time. Believe me that the world will not end if you disconnect for 25 minutes. Every time you involuntarily check your phone or glance at your mailbox, stop yourself. Get back to work and wait for the timer to buzz. And then you can do whatever you want. Go crazy. For 10 minutes 🙂
Sometimes using this method may be hard, especially if you work on an open space, everybody is talking and wants to engage you when you’re trying to focus. In my case, I put headphones (sometimes even without music!). It’s a well recognized sign of “don’t disturb, I am in my own world” 🙂
If your work bases on answering phone calls or emails, you can’t cut them off. But you can cut all other distracters and focus on one key task.
And suddenly, the post is finished three times faster. You have learnt for an exam in two hours even though it usually takes the whole day. Crazy tables in Excel work perfectly.
It was enough to cut off the constant buzzing.
You know now how to work faster. It’s time to read if making your dreams come true is an effect of luck or hard work. But remember, work is not everything. When I need to disconnect, I go hiking. Check how mountains help me get my priorities right (and can help you too!). Another lifechanging skill for me was to learn how to handle difficult conversations.
If you prefer, find out how to bore yourself to death and achieve nothing in life. 🙂
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