Guys, today we are tackling probably the number one issue
that I get emailed about, tweeted about,
YouTube commented about, whatever,
and that is procrastination.
So here's the deal.
For me procrastination is one of my biggest
productivity struggles,
but it really only rears its ugly head
at one step in the process,
and that's at the beginning of a task.
Because when I'm looking at a task after I've planned it out
and I'm basically like starting at a blank screen
with a blinking cursor,
there's this initial mental resistance
to getting into the task.
And once I can get over it, I can get into that flow-state
and work really, really intensely for a long period of time.
The problem is getting over that mental resistance
is pretty tough and more often than not
I'll go do something easier, like check my email
or look at Facebook, or really anything else.
Now I'd say that it's pretty likely that you struggle
with this problem as well,
so today we are gonna go over my number one technique
for getting over this problem,
which is called the Pomodoro Technique.
Now it would not surprise me
if you've heard of this technique before
because a lot of people have talked about it
and I'm honestly surprised I haven't done
a video about it yet,
but in case you haven't, we're gonna talk exactly about
how you can use this technique,
but we're also gonna talk about how you can improve it.
And I'm gonna link you to some apps
and other tools that you can use to augment it as well.
So to start this out, here is exactly how
to put the Pomodoro Technique into action.
Step number one, you pick one particular task
that you need to work on.
Not a list of tasks, not multiple tasks, just one.
Once you've decided on it, set a timer for 25 minutes.
Once that timer starts, work as intensely as you can
on that one task for the entire 25 minute duration.
And crucially, if something happens to distract you
during that time, whether it's a call
or a text from a friend,
or whether you get really curious about how much
a great white shark weighs,
write that distraction down on a piece of paper
and save it for later.
Lastly, once that timer goes off,
you take a five minute mini-break
and then you repeat that process three more times.
After you've done four Pomodoro sessions,
then you take a longer break.
And then if you want you can start the process
all over again.
This technique is admittedly very simple
but it's also incredible powerful,
and I find it more powerful than almost anything else
for getting me over my procrastination tendencies.
And the reasons it works are three-fold in my mind.
Number one, it externalizes the discipline aspect
of how long you're supposed to work by using a timer.
As the author Robert Cialdini points out in his book
Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion,
humans have a strong drive to act consistently
with their decisions,
and that drive becomes even more powerful
if there is a public or a concrete commitment
to those decisions,
like writing them down or using a timer.
So if you take nothing else away from this video,
make sure that you actually do use a timer
when you're using this technique.
It'll allow you to take advantage
of those commitment benefits,
and from personal experience,
I know that when I get lazy and tell myself
I'll just mentally keep track of the time,
I always end up more distracted and less productive
than when I do use a timer.
Another benefit of the Pomodoro Technique
is it re-frames your task in terms of input
rather than output.
And this might seem like a subtle difference
but it really helps you get over
that mental resistance to starting,
which as we said was the main cause of procrastination.
And it does this because it narrows the scope of your task
and it sets a hard, fixed end-time.
So when you have an output-based task like write a paper
or write a script on the Pomodoro Technique,
there's some end in mind
but you know that you have to get there yourself
and you're not exactly sure when that's gonna happen.
But by reframing your task in terms of input,
simply, write for 25 minutes,
you know that no matter what you do
you can stop working after 25 minutes,
and that makes it much easier to get started.
And the last main benefit here is having that piece of paper
next to you to write down your distractions.
And this is really, really important not only
because it lets you write down your distractions
and get them out of your mind into a place that you trust,
but it also helps to sever that connection
between the craving for a distraction
and the action to take to go get that distraction.
And every time you do that,
every time you deny your brain's craving for a distraction,
you're building that focus muscle
and better enabling yourself
to resist distractions in the future,
making you naturally more productive.
Of course I'm not just satisfied to tell you about
the Pomodoro Technique and leave it at that,
because like anything else,
you can optimize this technique
and make it even more useful.
And in this video I've got three additional steps
that you can take to make it work even better for you.
First, see if you can combine the Pomodoro Technique
with other productivity tools and methods
to make it even more effective.
And the example I'll give you here is that I combined
this technique with Cold Turkey Writer
which is an app that basically turns my computer
into a typewriter that can do nothing else
until I hit a word-count goal.
Now one of the features of Cold Turkey Writer
is that in addition to setting a word-count goal
you can also set a time goal.
So in effect you could make it a Pomodoro app
and that is exactly what I do on a weekly basis.
Secondly, feel free to experiment
with the time intervals that you use
because 25 minutes isn't some universal
productivity constant burned into the human psyche forever.
It's just what the creator of the technique used himself.
For my part I do use 25 minutes on the clock
when I'm starting out,
but I don't actually take a break
after that 25 minutes is up,
and the reason is that I use the Pomodoro Technique
to get over that initial mental hurdle to get into my work,
but once I'm there I'm in the flow-state
and I don't wanna stop after 25 minutes is up.
It's just a starting technique for me.
Finally, before you start a Pomodoro session
it can be useful to adopt a concept from the culinary world
which is called, and my French is terrible
so I need some help on this--
- Mise en place.
- That's right, Muse en place,
and that basically means everything in its place.
Now in kitchens in the culinary world
that basically means that the chef needs to get out
everything that he needs to use before starting the meal.
So all the food, all the ingredients, all the condiments,
all the cooking utensils, everything.
And this is really useful for you as well
because if you get into a session and you're not prepared,
that can disrupt your work.
So make sure you have all of your tools out,
all of your apps, all of your books,
all of your resources, pens, pencils,
and that distraction sheet next to you.
But just as importantly,
make sure that everything you don't need is put away.
So close any distracting websites, any tabs you don't need,
any programs, put your phone away, all that good stuff.
All right, so to round this video out
I wanna point you to some timer apps that you can use,
because I'm sure that not all of you wanna use
an actual, physical, kitchen timer to time your sessions.
So if you're on a computer, my favorite app,
which is free and open-source is called Tomighty,
and it's on Mac and PC,
and you'll a link and description down below.
Now a lot of you are probably
gonna wanna use your phones instead, so,
and this is different than what
I've recommended in the past because it's new,
the absolute Pomodoro best app that I have ever found
is called Tide.
It is free, it is wonderfully designed,
it has immersive mode, which basically means
that if you exit the app during a session
it will fail that session.
So it's kind of like helping you
not use your phone as a distraction,
kinda like that Forest app,
and it also includes ambient noise.
Aside from those apps another option is to actually to use
my Study with Me video that I recorded
a couple of months ago,
and that's actually just 25 minutes of me studying.
So if you happen to want a study buddy
and you don't have somebody nearby,
and you want a timer on the screen that's 25 minutes long,
definitely check that out.
You might also like this video over here
which will tell you more about the optimal
work and break time cycles.
And if you like this video definitely give it a like
to support this channel,
and subscribe right there if you haven't done so already.
Lastly, if you wanna get a free copy of my book
on earning better grades,
check out that link right there
and thanks for watchin'.