The 15-minute rule for getting things done

[Daniel E.]

This book chapter from 1977 (with a recent reflection by the author, a professor of psychology and linguistics) discusses the 15-minute rule for getting things done:

Learning to Work (from the out-of-print book Working it Out)

An excerpt:

Of course, people laugh when I say fifteen minutes. What can you accomplish in fifteen minutes? Well, more than you would think. Fifteen minutes with no interruptions, no pencil sharpening, no trips to the bathroom, no trips to the kitchen, no telephone calls; fifteen minutes of solid work can be very profitable. I don't plan to stay at fifteen minutes for the rest of my life, but it seemed like a good place to start.

A related technique:

The basic unit of work in the Pomodoro Technique™ can be split in five simple steps:

1. Choose a task to be accomplished
2. Set the Pomodoro to 25 minutes (the Pomodoro is the timer)
3. Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper
4. Take a short break (5 minutes is OK)
5. Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break

The Pomodoro Technique™

Another point:

Pseudo-work does not equal work

Here are two facts: (1) I made straight A’s in college. (2) I studied less than most people I know. The same holds true for many of the straight-A students I researched for my book. If this sounds unbelievable, it is probably because you subscribe to the following formula: work accomplished = time spent studying.

The more time you study the more work you accomplish. The more work you accomplish, the better your grades. Ergo, straight A’s imply more work. Right? Then how do you explain me and my interview subjects…

To understand our accomplishment, you must understand the following, more accurate formula:

work accomplished = time spent x intensity of focus

That last factor — intensity of focus — is the key to explaining why straight-A students never seem to embark on the same fatigue-saturated all-night study adventures that most undergrads rely on. Let’s take a specific example. Assume that you have a paper to write. The standard approach is to camp out in the library the day before and work until you finish.

Here’s the problem: even with little breaks, there are only so many consecutive hours of work you can manage before your intensity of focus crashes (in practice, this value is probably close to 2-3 hours for most students). Therefore, most of your time spent working features low focus, increasing the time required to accomplish the task at hand.

The Straight-A Gospels: Pseudo-Work Does Not Equal Work

 

[Daniel E.]

Potential benefits of the above techniques:

Problems solved:

• Regulating complexity – Activities are broken down. They are not allowed to last more than seven Pomodoro iterations. And working hard for 25 minutes is the result. I don’t need to think about the complete solution upfront.
• Inverting the dependency on time – Anxiety about not being done before some point of time is eliminated with Pomodoro Technique. One completed Pomodoro is the result. One more X marked next to the activity proves that I’m climbing higher. And the systematic reducing of interruptions gives me the opportunity to plan what used to be event driven actions.
• Detaching – Recurrent mental breaks make me focused when I’m working. After a break I come back with new eyes, ready to see the whole picture.
• Feedback and improving process – The easy metrics are tracked every 30 minutes and recorded at the end of the day. This is the decision point for improving my process. I want to identify what Lean Software Development calls waste.
• Sustainable Pace – Short iterations maintains my motivation. Small breaks let me re-interpret the activity. Interruption elimination keeps me focused. Process improvement takes away demoralizing waste.
• Decision awareness – The human brain is not optimized for multi tasking. During a Pomodoro I focus on the activity. Before a Pomodoro I select the most important activity on the To Do Today Sheet. In the morning I choose the most important activities from the Activity Inventory. At the end of the day I look for process improvements. These are important things that will be done frequently, but not in a mixed mess.

Pomodoro Technique in 5 minutes ? Brainmoda

What is meant by "inverting the dependency on time":

The passage of time is no longer perceived as negative, but positive. Every Pomodoro represents the opportunity to improve, or in crisis situations, to rapidly reorganize. The more time passes, the better chance you have to improve your process. The more time passes, the more easily activities can be estimated and scheduled. The more time passes, the more the feeling of anxiety is assuaged, and in its place come enhanced consciousness, sharper focus on the here and now, and a clearer mind in deciding your next move. The result is higher productivity.

The Pomodoro Technique

 

[Daniel E.]

The Pomodoro and ADD/ADHD - The Pomodoro Technique?

Everyone has experienced, to some extent, difficulties in concentrating and getting easily distracted from time to time. This can often lead to procrastination and reduced productivity.

Time Management and Planning for ADD/ADHD
Abilities in staying focused and on task, managing time and planning ahead, vary from person to person, but there are some who find these activities particularly challenging and troublesome: if you have Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) the daily responsibilities become a lot more difficult to manage!

What Could Help?
While it is true that ADD and ADHD create multiple challenges, it is possible to get focused and turn chaos into calm. By educating yourself and taking advantage of specific techniques, it is possible to learn to manage even the most acute symptoms and become more organized, productive, and in control of specific areas of your life.
Some of the challenges imposed by ADD/ADHD:

• Planning ahead
• Managing time and marking the passing of time
• Staying focused, avoiding distractions
• Procrastinating
• Putting off activities that are not interesting and stimulating

How Can the Pomodoro Technique Help?
The Pomodoro Technique has helped many people around the world improve their productivity using a very simple principle: using a kitchen timer to break down work-devoted time into 25 minute-long periods and working during these short periods in bursts of concentration and productivity.

Each period is followed by a short break and the use of the technique can be evolved over time in order to achieve 6 progressive objectives including: finding out how much effort an activity requires, cutting down on interruptions, estimating the effort required for activities, making the Pomodoro more effective, setting up a timetable and using the technique to achieve your own personal improvement objectives.

The Pomodoro Technique Can Help with ADD/ADHD [and other conditions] by:

• Improving awareness of the passage of time by providing an external cue (the Pomodoro timer) to indicate elapsed time, thus addressing a time management problem associated with ADD/ADHD that leads to being late to appointments, late to work, missing deadlines, etc.
• Improving the ability to plan ahead on a daily basis. This is extremely difficult wtih ADD/ADHD, but by breaking down your time and planning activities according to specific time slots, it will be more likely that you will be able to fit everything in!
• Increasing the ability to stay focused because you work for short periods of time, with several breaks. This leads to a reduction in distractions and tiredness, which are common in ADD/ADHD.
• Providing a way to manage distractions and interruptions ? this is possible by writing down any thoughts that come into your mind and scheduling them in for a later time of the day or during the following break.
• Helping to separate work time from free time ? this is often hard to do in ADD/ADHD, but by setting up a timetable and by using the Pomodoro only for work activities, you will be able to separate work time from free time.
• Increasing motivation and productivity ? with ADD/ADHD, motivation to start tasks is low, especially ones that are demanding and not very interesting. By using the Pomodoro, tasks become rewarding because you keep a check of how much you have achieved and are motivated to do more!
• Improving work efficiency ? Efficiency is a problem with ADD/ADHD because of the distractions and lack of concentration and motivation. With the Pomodoro Technique, it is possible to cut down the distractions, increase concentration, stay on task and complete a task!
• Increasing organization by breaking down activities and periods of time in order to make one?s work and study goals more specific, manageable and achievable.

Related:
9 Free Pomodoro Software Timers

 

[suewatters1]

Frequently Asked Questions - The Pomodoro Technique?
In the frequently asked Question I noticed a link for the free download of the book it's a PDF file
http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/resources/ThePomodoroTechnique_v1-3.pdf

Sue

 

[Daniel E.]

There's also the Pomodoro Cheat Sheet as well as inventory sheets, etc.

 

[suewatters1]

They also have a copy of the TO Do Today Worksheet that is in the book to download separately
http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/resources/pomodoro_todo.pdf
and also a copy of the Activity Inventory Sheet that is also in the book so you can download separately also
http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/resources/pomodoro_inventory.pdf

Sue

 

[Daniel E.]

Yeah, I just use my iPhone/iPad for that stuff. I don't do paper

 

[suewatters1]

I should check if I can get version for my Android phone.

Sue

 

[Daniel E.]

And sure enough:

Amazon.com: Pomodoro Tracker: Appstore for Android

https://market.android.com/search?q=pomodoro&so=1&c=apps