I feel fortunate in life to have friends who know me deeply and accept me for who I am. Not only do they accept me but they treat me with grace for all my flaws.
One of my glaring obvious habits is that I get restless in social settings. Often, I feel comfortable to make an excuse and leave such situations. But there are times when it’s imperative to stay. For example a close friend’s birthday, anniversary celebration, family gatherings etc.
Very recently I found myself in a social situation where I was ready to exit, too soon, again!
I had no reason to leave except for my anxiety creeping on me. My friend, who knows this about me, looked at me, smiled and said “Give yourself 10 more minutes”.
I was astounded. It was such a simple task and I knew I could handle that. 10 minutes…no problem. However, what resulted was that giving myself that exit plan for 10 minutes, calmed me down so much that I didn’t feel the need to leave after that. I could always leave after 10 more minutes.
I held onto this mantra. I tried it in different situations and it really seemed to work for me.
This led to a few life changes for me. I found it easier to try new things that I would never have dreamed about earlier. This in return increased my motivation to try new things and honestly even stick to tasks I’d given up on.- Trying to get fit..I just exercise for 10 more minutes, or finish a book , or finish some of my never ending to-do list.
As I went down this rabbit hole of what I can accomplish in 10 more minutes, I stumbled across an idea called the Pomodoro Technique.
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management and productivity method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique is named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that Cirillo used during his university days, “pomodoro” being the Italian word for tomato.
The basic idea of the Pomodoro Technique is to break work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. Here’s how it typically works:
-Choose a task: Select the task you want to work on.
-Set a timer: Set a timer for 25 minutes, which is called a “pomodoro.” During this time, you focus solely on the task at hand, working without any distractions.
-Work on the task: Concentrate on the task until the timer goes off, striving to accomplish as much as possible during that time.
-Take a short break: When the timer rings, take a short break of around 5 minutes. This break is intended to help you relax and recharge before the next pomodoro.
-Repeat: After a short break, start another pomodoro and continue the cycle.
The Pomodoro Technique aims to improve productivity by breaking work into manageable chunks. It also helps to prevent burnout by incorporating regular breaks.
This method is working out for me.However, some people work better with longer periods of uninterrupted focus, while others might prefer shorter or more flexible intervals. The effectiveness of any productivity method depends on how well it aligns with your work habits
Pomodoro Technique is just one productivity method among many. So it’s essential to experiment with different productivity approaches and find what works best for you.
Here’s to 10 more minutes of research into various productivity techniques 🙂