Here is how I fight FB and Twitter Distractions

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I finally found the silver bullet to fight FB Twitter Distractions - and is very simple - by following the [Pomodoro technique]. This link has a detailed instruction set - I follow the essence of it and don't kill myself ;)

I now work in 25 minute sprints, with 5 minute breaks after every sprint. During the time I "work" - I avoid all distractions - no FB, no Twitter, some Email checking - and after my sprint I waste the 5 minutes entirely on Twitter and Facebook. It is like a reward at the end of a nice sprint.

This is quite intense and I feel drained at the end of the day - in a good way - just like how I used to feel after some awesome pairing sessions in ThoughtWorks ( yep - haven't paired at all after I left ThoughtWorks 3.5 years back )

When I finish each Pomodoro I get this good feeling - "gumption" - if you remember Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert Pirsig dwells on this - a feeling of accomplishment and it fills you with joy.

I tried Focus Booster - but I keep my Desktop work area pretty light weight and did not like this app sitting on my taskbar/screen. There was one more Pomodoro app I tried but it would automatically start after every break - didn't like the "pushiness" of it.

I found this nice Android app now I run on my phone -  Pomodoroido [http://www.appbrain.com/app/pomodroido/net.artifix.pomodroido.free ]. It has some nice features other than the 25/5 minute monitoring.

Pomodoroido gives a 15 minute break after finishing 4 pomodoros. Also it has levels built in like a game - finish 4 you are a beginner. Finish 15 you are an Amateur etc. Also it will wait till I click on Start - well sometimes I do go beyond the 5 minutes - but whos the boss here?

This post I am writing during my 15 minute break. Times up and resuming my journey to Kickass Productivity in-spite of being active on Twitter and Facebook.

Comments

  1. keshavnarla3:47 PM

    Will try this.Sounds like a great idea. Thanks for pointing me to the wiki instead of the website.

    ReplyDelete
  2. arunpc.com1:32 PM

    Great to hear you talk about Pomodoro. I ve been using Pomodoro Chrome app for about a year now and i should say that this has really increased my productivity. One catch though. I ve noticed that if you dont have a goal or a specific task in mind before beginning a Pomodoro, you end up doing a lot of thing little things completing nothing.

    Thanks, Arun.

    ReplyDelete

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