CHRISTINE LIU: Being productive is hard.
Even the best laid plans go out the window.
If I'm clicking on--
I don't know-- like something that happening in the news
or even YouTube, my cat, video games--
what else do I do?
You just want to feel good, to feel accomplished,
to get your work done.
I want to get better at this.
I don't know.
Is there something better out there?
I wanted to try a variety of popular productivity methods,
including one a friend recommended
and another that I've read about the news,
and then one that's just the classic.
I mean, what's the worst that can happen?
The first one you might have heard of.
It's called the pomodoro technique.
Pomodoro is, I believe, Italian for "tomato."
So what is this magic trick?
And it's a timer, and that's kind of it.
Rule number one-- choose a task you'd
like to get done-- something big, something small,
something that deserves your full attention.
Two-- set the pomodoro-- so it's a literal, real timer--
for 25 minutes.
Take a small oath, "I will not be interrupted.
I can do it.
It's just 25 minutes."
I love the pep talk.
It's like being able work on the task until the pomodoro rings.
[RINGS]
Breathe, meditate, grab a cup of coffee, go for a short walk.
Your brain will thank you later.
Your brain will use this time to assimilate new information
and rest before the next round of pomodoros.
[RINGS]
Once you've completed four pomodoros,
you can take a longer break.
20 minutes is good-- or 30.
This is what I think.
It's like breaking stuff up into manageable pieces,
but then if you really think about it, it goes on forever.
For me, it makes sense to think about pomodoro
as an approach to a real meaty task
that you really have hard time motivating yourself.
So it's just like, all right, worst case scenario--
I'm going to spend 25 minutes on this
and then see how far I get.
But for normal, everyday worky things,
I understand focusing on this task.
But it just seems a little impractical
to apply it to everything, at least for me.
[INTRO MUSIC]
ANNOUNCER: Welcome to Caveday, the world's most focused
community.
CHRISTINE: OK, so the next method
I found that I want to try wholesale is called Caveday.
Basically, Caveday is essentially a group Zoom call.
MALE VOICE: In Hell?
CHRISTINE: Kind of like the startup bee--
it's very branded.
It says, positive peer pressure to get your [BLEEP] done.
You have a facilitator or coach--
a trained cave guide.
CAVE GUIDE: Everyone is here with the same intention, which
is to mono-task one task at a time.
What you work on today and--
what's one thing you're committing
to leaving outside the cave?
CHRISTINE: Hi.
I'm Christine-- right outside of Boston.
And I'm going to focus on putting together
a couple slides for a meeting that's coming up.
And then I'm going to leave out flag notifications, email,
and my phone.
I want to believe it, but really, what's
under the surface?
Why is this a method?
CAVE GUIDE: Three.
Hot side of the camera, and we'll get going.
Here we go.
One, two, three-- good luck.
See you soon.
CHRISTINE: Caveday-- I wanted to make fun of it real bad.
I don't know why.
But it might be partially I miss people
and I miss meeting new people in the wild.
But I also liked that there was a coach and someone who was
professionally a facilitator.
It actually was really--
I found it pretty effective.
I used it, and I recommended it to people.
I also love group fitness classes--
like boot camp-- and feeling that group energy.
So I think that's part of it.
ANNOUNCER 2: You know that working at home can be hard.
Focusmate eliminates procrastination
by providing you with a live pure accountability
partner anytime for a 50 minute working session over video.
CHRISTINE: So I found this other system called Focusmate.
The whole idea is you sign up, and then essentially you
have a meeting with a stranger.
So you have basically a video call.
You say hi to each other.
Good luck.
And then you literally have your screen of them to the side,
and then you have your other window open to whatever
we're working on.
It's not supposed to be social as it is ambiently social.
After you're done you just say, bye.
And hopefully you got a lot done in that hour.
Well, thanks for your time, Dave.
I appreciate it.
All right, cheers.
Having the person on the screen is part
of the experience by design.
But I did find myself always looking to them.
It wasn't ideal for staying on task
and staying non-distracted.
After that entire experience-- which was super fun--
I had so many questions.
I'm like, how much are these the same thing--
just cores wrapped in different dressings?
Or are they actually different schools of thought?
Are there universal principles--
this whole productivity thing?
I wanted to talk to an expert to get down and dissect it.
CHRIS BAILEY: I think it begins and ends with intention, right?
At the end of the day, did you accomplish
what you set out to do?
If you do, I think you're perfectly productive.
CHRISTINE: This is Chris Bailey.
He's been studying productivity for most of his career,
and he's found a lot of tips that have
helped people along the way.
So I told Chris all about my experience taste testing
and test driving these productivity methods
to see what he thought.
Of all them, I really liked Caveday.
Does that say anything about me?
CHRIS BAILEY: I think people are the most underrated part
of productivity.
It adds that instant accountability-- first of all--
makes it less boring, far more structured.
It's still difficult, but you feel like you're with
somebody-- especially right now--
when so many of us are working from home.
It's great.
CHRISTINE: That really resonates with me,
because I love having that social aspect.
It really keeps me focused.
Seems like some of his best advice is also the most basic.
CHRIS BAILEY: Like at the start of the day, fast forward
to the end of the day and think, hey,
what three main things will I want
to have accomplished by the day's end?
And it forces you to think, wait, so I can't do all 20?
I have to pick just 3.
How can I do-- but it makes you.
When was I the most productive?
Did I work out in the morning?
Did I meditate?
Did I sleep?
By God, sleep!
Sometimes people look for all the productivity
hacks under the sun.
But all they need is 7 1/2 hours or eight hours of sleep.
CHRISTINE: Being intentional, setting realistic expectations,
and then setting out to do the things
that you said you wanted to do.
And if you did that, you're productive--
woohoo!
And if you need a timer or a cave
or a nice stranger on the internet to help you,
go for it.
CHRIS BAILEY: A fundamental truth
about productivity, which is that nobody is created
equal-- we're all different.
This is personal productivity.
And so we really do have to take what works for us
and leave the rest.
CHRISTINE: If you're still watching-- one, thank you.
But two, I'm really curious.
What do you want me to explore?
What problems do you have at work?
I'd love to solve them.
Please leave a comment.
I'd love to hear your thoughts.
And if you have any other ideas, throw them my way.
All right.
Peace out.