Use A Tomato to Find Your Focus

Learn the Pomodoro Technique and while you are at it, wrangle that phone!

On Productivity…

Have you ever heard of the Pomodoro Technique?

It goes a little something like this. Use a timer to break work into intervals, typically 25 minutes long, separated by short breaks. Each work unit is known as a "pomodoro". After completing four pomodoros, you take a longer break, typically 15 to 30 minutes, to rest and recharge.

Italian entrepreneur and developer Francesco Cirillo developed the Pomodoro Technique in the 1980s as a university student to improve his study habits and productivity. He named it "pomodoro," the Italian word for tomato, inspired by the tomato-shaped timer he used during his sessions. Cirillo wrote:

“I discovered that you could learn how to improve your effectiveness and be better able to estimate how long a task will take to complete by recording how you utilize your time.”

Here is how it works:

1. Identify a task or tasks you need to complete.

2. Set a timer for 25 minutes.

3. Work on the task with no distractions.

4. When the alarm sounds, take a 5-minute break.

5. Repeat the process three more times.

6. Take a longer 30-minute break and start again.

Remember, there is no one-size-fits-all productivity method. What works great one day might not work the next. So, it's good to know the pros and cons of this method:

Pros

• Helps with Focus: Breaking work into manageable intervals maintains high focus and reduces burnout risk.

• Better Time Management: Encourages urgency and efficient time management.

• Cuts down on Procrastination: Short, set work periods make tasks seem more approachable, reducing procrastination.

• More Motivation: Completing pomodoros provides a sense of accomplishment. Gotta love that dopamine.

• Breaks are Good: Scheduled breaks maintain consistent productivity and reduce mental fatigue.

Cons

• It’s rigid: The set interval structure may not suit tasks needing longer deep concentration or creative flow.

• Over-Simplification: The technique might not account for the complexities and nuances of different tasks.

• It’s an Adjustment: Adapting to the strict timing can be difficult, especially if your work style is more fluid.

• The Stress: The pressure to complete a task within 25 minutes can be stressful. That ticking clock can weigh on you.

• The Disruption: Frequent breaks might interrupt your flow, especially in complex or deep-thinking tasks.

All that being said, the Pomodoro Technique is worth a try. There are projects or tasks well suited to its structure. So, grab a timer and try breaking work into time chunks. But remember, this method is to help, not hinder. Don’t be so rigid with it that it that you can’t be flexible. For example, if you're close to finishing a project and need a few extra minutes, take them. It’s a technique, not a religion.

On Focusing…

I love my phone. It’s my constant companion. Always with me, always there. I still marvel at the technology. How can one device do so much? I can get work done, play games, capture thoughts and musings, text, chat, and occasionally use it to talk to people. It is simply a remarkable little miracle.

But it is evil.

My phone is the little gremlin that steals my focus and eats my time. It lures me in, and before I know it, minutes or hours have gone by. It happens to us all. Research indicates that nearly half of individuals perceive a decline in their attention span. We are not all born with the ability to focus; it is something we learn and train.

But fear not, there are ways to master this little beast. You can take back control.

1. Do Not Disturb: From 8 pm to 7 am, my phone automatically goes into DND mode. Only a few key people can get through; otherwise, it’s all quiet. I highly recommend setting a time when your phone sleeps longer than you do.

2. Focus Modes: Focus on iOS 15 is a game-changer. Focus mode minimizes distractions by filtering notifications and apps through custom profiles like Work, Personal, Sleep, or Fitness. You can specify which contacts and apps can notify you during these times. You can also schedule focus modes based on time of day or location, or activate them manually. My phone is almost always in some kind of Focus mode.

3. Face Down: Whether in DND or Focus mode, leave your phone face down. With the screen up, it draws your attention. Bonus points for putting your phone in another room or (gasp!) turning it off when trying to focus.

4. The Purge: Remove unnecessary and distracting apps. Ask yourself: "Have I used this app in the last 2 weeks?" If the answer is no, delete it. For example, my phone was cluttered with apps I downloaded while traveling. They were handy at the moment, but now they're just noise.

5. Customize Your Home Screen: Curate your home screen to limit distracting apps. Move Mail, Messages, Slack, Instagram, etc., to the second screen. My first home screen features a weather widget, Notes, Notion, Maps, Safari, Photos—essentially anything handy or resource-based but nothing that immediately grabs my attention.

6. Limit Your Apps: Set limits on how long you can use certain apps or your phone in general. For instance, Instagram allows you to set a daily usage limit. On an iPhone, you can set usage limits by going to Settings > Screen Time > App Limits, then adding a limit. Select one or more app categories, or tap the category name to see all apps in that category, then choose the apps you want to limit.

7. Limit Your Phone Usage: You can make phone use more like a game. Research shows that people check their mobile devices roughly every 12 minutes, or about 80 times a day. There are apps designed to help you reduce phone checks. For instance, Flora integrates the Pomodoro Technique (see above ☝️) with virtual gardening. When you set a focus time, it blocks distracting apps (cough Facebook cough), and a tree grows in the app. If you leave the app to use social media or games, the tree dies. It may sound silly, but it’s a surprisingly powerful motivation to leave your phone alone.

As I write this, it hits me that this is a very meaty topic. A few quick searches on Google, LinkedIn, and Reddit show that many people struggle with it. Expect more posts on this subject soon. Meanwhile, try out these tips, and feel free to reply or comment with what works for you.

On Gratitude…

As I have said before, I am writing this newsletter because I enjoy it and I get value out of it. Even if my wife were the only reader, that would be a win for me. That being said, we crossed 100 subscribers this week. In just five and a half weeks, over 100 people have signed up for Chief Rabbit. Checking the open rates suggest that most of you actually open this bad boy. So thank you. Thanks for reading, replying, and for sharing.