I have been working on and improving a personal “get more done at home” system. This system started out fairly complex, so I’ve whittled it down more and more until it’s running extremely light weight and agile for me. AND I’d like you to be more agile in your personal productivity system too!
Step 1! I use a modified Pomodoro technique… let’s call it the Pen and Journal Technique!
I use a timer set to 25 minutes to do a super laser focused work sprint. All distractions are managed as fast as humanly possible and I write down what happened and when. This method is very time intensive and can cause a little stress, but the point is that you are triggering dopamine to trigger more motivation!
- First, make a check list of small tasks.
- Second fire off the timer and work like demon dogs to get the tasks done in 25 minutes. (if 25 minutes is too long then start with 10)
- Third, take a 5 minute celebration break! (walk outside, watch a motivational YouTube video, or scroll Instagram and check in on the pen and journal Facebook Group. 😎
Step 2! Time box 30 minute work sessions on your calendar.
Time boxing is important on in this system because of Parkinson’s Law. This is an adage that all tasks take all of the allowable time given for completion. Example: a 1 hour task will take 3 hours if you schedule 3 hours to do it. This concept has been proven over and over in my experience and has been around since the 1950’s or so. Long before me (although I’m old!!)
Step 3 – Retrospective!
If you’ve watched my other videos like the one about being overwhelmed. https://youtu.be/bbWRRl7M_IA You already know that I really value time spent on reflecting on the previous sprint of work.
Here are 4 new prompts to help you reflect:
- What you Liked about your system
- What you’ve Learned about your system
- What you’ve Lacked in your system
- What you’ve Longed for in your system.
It’s the 4L retrospective method!
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