If you have ever read an article about productivity you may have come across the Pomodoro technique, Parkinson’s law or the Pareto principle. Who are these people? How can they help you? And why are there so many P’s?
I can’t help you with the last question, but I can show you how these techniques can increase the amount you get done in a shorter time period and hopefully makes you less stressed while doing it. Sounds almost too good to be true, read on to find out how.
Parkinson’s Law
This is the idea that work expands to fill the time available to it. For example if you give yourself 1 week to do the essay the perceived difficulty and time it will take will expand to fill 1 week. But if you give yourself 1 day to do that same essay its perceived as less work.
Setting your own artificial deadlines is a great way to get things done.
Pareto Principle
Also know as the 80/20 rule, this essentially the idea that 80% of your results comes from 20% of what you do. What does this mean for you? Take a look at your practises and systems and anaylase if it values. Don’t just do something for the sake of being busy. When you’re doing something have a specific goal in mind.
Pomodoro technique
Your mind is like a muscle, it can concentrate very hard but it also needs to rest and process what you’ve just learnt. The pomodoro method is a timing system that helps with this involving:
- 25 minutes working
- 5 minutes break
- Repeat 2 or 3 times
- 20 minute long break
What does a 5 minute break actually mean? I think it may be better to consider it as a reward. For long term productivity you need to make the process fun. Working doesn’t have to feel like a slog, it can be enjoyable.
How the pomodoro technique stops procrastination:
Procrastination is pain at starting something. This often comes about because the task itself feels to big. This is where the Pomodoro technique comes in because it moves you away from product orientated goals and towards process orientated goals. For example, your goal isn’t to finish the essay, but rather spend 25 minutes on the essay. If you give this a try you will hopefully find that your essays will be done in less time and less effort because you are focusing on the process.
The 30 Second rule
Do you want to be successful and whatever you choose to do? If so then that will require you to learn and remember new things. This rule is after having learnt something you spend 30 seconds recalling the most important things. This strengthening the connections in your brain, making it easier for you to remember and recall in the future.
The 8 hour rule
You are a busy person so you can’t spend 8 hours a day doing whatever you want right. Wrong. There are 24 hours a day, you can split this into 3 lots of 8 hours. 8 hours for sleeping, 8 hours for working and 8 hours for doing whatever you want. What I like about this rule is it shows you how much time is yours, it’s just about prioritising your time. But what about if you want to spend more than 8 hours sleeping, you still can, but it is something your choosing to do.