Pomodoro Technique

I thought this might be a good technique for those writers who, like myself, have to break big writes down into manageable bits.

John

THE BIG TOMATO EFFECT











I am a professional procrastinator. Therefore, I rarely meet my goals, then I beat myself up over it. This is especially disappointing to me when it involves my writing. I feel I should be much more prolific than I am. I always just put it off until an idea is forgotten, or the spark has gone out of a piece I've workrd on, then abandoned.

I've recently learned of a promising time management technique that I think might help. I learned of it from a blog entitled The Corporatepreneur . Usually, anything involving the word corporate would not appeal to me, but the day I stumbled upon Dale's blog through my Google Reader, he had posted a bit called "Hitting 4 hours a day-with the help of a tomato." That was just weird enough to catch my eye. After spotting the heading "HELP! I'm an entrepreneur trapped in the job of an employee!", I was hooked.

As I began to read, I realized that the method he was trying could be very helpful to writers. Let's admit it, we all have the tendency to gravitate toward anything that will tear us from the blank computer screen or empty journal. This technique breaks tasks down into time increments and regular breaks using nothing more complicated than a kitchen timer.

Of course that's a simplification. There is some palnning and prioritization involved on our part to get the ball rolling. But the concept is so simple that if you're willing to invest a few minutes at the beginning of each day to list the tasks you want to acheive, then stick to the technique, I think you'll soon be spending more time doing and less time wishing or putting off.

I've decided to try it. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Anyhow, it's called The Pomodoro Technique. Click on the link above to read Dale's blog on it, and the link in this sentence to learn more and dowload the book for FREE.

Good luck and good writing.

MrW