Thursday 5 November 2009

A Quiet Pomodoro

I’ve written before about the simple but brilliant Pomodoro Technique. It is a more fun version of a technique that I have used for years which I prosaically named the Stopwatch Technique. It’s not difficult to see why one is now a world-wide phenomenon and the other is, well, a red stop watch in my drawer.

For those not familiar with either technique, the idea is basically that you concentrate on one task at a time, and work for a set period of time, stopping when time is up to take a short break. The Pomodoro Technique uses a wonderfully bright red tomato timer (beautifully red and wonderfully tomato-like). The Stopwatch Technique uses a, eerrrr, stopwatch.

Both are pretty low tech and both are effective. The difference is that the beautiful bright red tomato timer ticks rhythmically as you work and then shrills out with a loud ring when time is up. Without fail I jump out of my skin when this happens, as does everyone else in the office. I’ve tried putting it in a drawer or under a sweater to muffle the sound, but the deeper I concentrate, but more shocked I am when the timer rings out. Perhaps just an indication of how successful the technique is.

So quietly and without fuss I have been going back to the stop watch. It’s not as pretty (although it is a very groovy red) but it is SILENT. It doesn’t tick, but it does remind me that time is passing and encourages me to focus. It also makes me very aware of time and how I use it.

There are no web sites for the stop watch technique, no groups on Facebook or Tweets on Twitter, but it is a gentle, effective and most of all quiet way of reminding me to value my time and focus on the task in hand. Not bad for the £1.99 I paid for it about 12 years ago.

15 comments:

  1. Nyallpurposepaving.com offers Paving Contractor, Parking Lot Repairs, sealing, striping, Oil and Stone Driveways at Riverhead NY, Quogue NY, Hamptons NY, Southampton NY, Sag Harbor NY, Green point NY, Wading River NY, East Moriches NY, Center Moriches NY, Mannorville NY, Miller Place NY , Mt. Sinai NY,Greenport NY

    ReplyDelete
  2. Landscape , Outdoor, Landscape Lighting Installation, Lawn Sprinkler Design, Repairs, Installation, Lawn Irrigation Service, Sprinkler System Backflow Testing at Long Island, Nassau County, Suffolk County, Dix Hills NY, Huntington NY, Syosset NY, Smithtown NY and Happauge NY

    ReplyDelete
  3. Diskdatadestruction.net offers Mobile paper shredding, Mobile hard drive destruction at Hauppauge NY, Suffolk County NY, Long Island NY, Ronkonkoma NY, Melville NY, Huntington NY, Garden City NY, Farmingdale NY, Westbury NY, Bohemia NY, Stony Brook NY, Nassau County NY

    ReplyDelete
  4. Jettonsgrading.com offers Grading, Excavation and Paving Contractor, Land Clearing Services, Septic Systems, Retaining Walls and Driveways, Drainage Systems, Construction Site Clean-Up, Demolition Contractor at Walhalla SC, Seneca SC

    ReplyDelete
  5. Atopcommercialpaving.com offers Commercial Paving, Asphalt Contractor, and Parking Lot Resurfacing at Queens NY, Nassau County, Bayside NY, Jamaica NY, Middle Village NY, Ozone Park NY, Howard Beach NY, Little Neck NY

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bedbugprocpc.com offers Bed Bug Exterminator, Bed Bug Inspections, Bed Bug Elimination, Bed Bug Inspection for Hotels and Residential and Commercial Bed Bug at Palo Alto CA, San Mateo CA, San Jose CA, Belmont CA, San francisco CA, Redwood City CA, Sunnyvale CA

    ReplyDelete
  7. reliablecommercialpaving.com offers Parking lot paving, walk way construction, Commercial paving, asphalt, Parking Lot Repairs, Parking Lot Striping, Commercial Blacktop, Parking Lot Repairs, Commercial Paving Contractor, Commercial Asphalt Contractor at New Jersey at Hanover NJ, East Orange NJ, Newark NJ, Morristown NJ, Summit NJ , Union NJ, Hackensack NJ, Patterson NJ

    ReplyDelete
  8. Davispestmanagement.com offers Pest Control, Exterminator, Bed Bug Removal, Inspections, Rodent, Pest Elimination, Commercial, Residential, Professional, Licensed Exterminator , Scorpion, Bee Hive, Hornet, Fire Ant Removal by Service Area, Las Vegas NV

    ReplyDelete
  9. Complete-pest-control.com offers Pest Control, Exterminator, Rodent Control, Rodent Elimination, and Pest Elimination at Palo Alto CA, San Mateo CA, San Francisco CA, Redwood City CA, Sunnyvale CA, and Belmont CA

    ReplyDelete
  10. Divorce Attorney, Female Divorce Attorneys and Long Island Divorce Attorneys, Long Island Female Divorce Attorneys

    ReplyDelete
  11. Realestatebydavidschoelles.com offers David Schoelles Real Estate, Cash for Homes at Arizona, Scottsdale AZ, and Phoenix AZ"/>
    <meta name="keywords" content=" David Schoelles AZ, David Schoelles Real Estate AZ, David Schoelles Cash for Homes AZ, David Schoelles Arizona, David Schoelles Real Estate Arizona, David Schoelles Cash for Homes Arizona, David Schoelles Scottsdale AZ, David Schoelles Real Estate Scottsdale AZ, David Schoelles Cash for Homes Scottsdale AZ, David Schoelles Phoenix AZ, David Schoelles Real Estate Phoenix AZ, David Schoelles Cash for Homes Phoenix AZ

    ReplyDelete
  12. David Schoeless Plumbing, David Schoeless at AZ, Scottsdale AZ, Phoenix AZ

    ReplyDelete
  13. Carpet, upholstery cleaning, carpet stain, odor removal, carpet steam, ceramic tile, commercial carpet cleaning at mobile al

    ReplyDelete
  14. Kitchen cabinets and Kitchen cabinet supplier, remodeling, countertops, New Kitchen Cabinets, Wood Kitchen Cabinets

    ReplyDelete
  15. norwalkfloorsanding.com offers Wood Floor refinishing, Installation, Oak Floor Refinishing, Staining, Flooring Contractor, Wood Floor Sanding, Residential Wood Flooring in Norwalk CT

    ReplyDelete