A Useful and Practical Time Management Technique - Pomodoro

In a dynamic work environment where a person has to confront with long term plans and every day transactional tasks, being efficient becomes challenge and Managing Time becomes critical.

The Everlasting Aspect.

Time management is from the Sunnah of the prophet (PBUH), he used to divide his time into three( Matters of Deen, Matters Regarding Family, Time alone this is where he used to do muhasaba), a daily time table of the prophet has also been recorded in traditions. Prophet PBUH adviced Abu Dhar RA something to the nearest meaning of-There is no greater wisdom than good management.

The Pomodoro Technique Value Proposition

1. Alleviate anxiety linked to becoming
2. Enhance focus and concentration by cutting down on interruptions
3. Increase awareness of your decisions
4. Boost motivation and keep it constant
5. Bolster the determination to achieve your goals
6. Refine the estimation process, both in qualitative and quantitative terms
7. Improve your work or study process
8. Strengthen your determination to keep on applying yourself in the face of complex situations

How to Pomodoro

A pomodoro is 25 minutes of uninterrupted work, after a pomodoro is mandatory break of 5 minutes ( do breathing exercise, say takbir,tahlil,tahmid 33 times which is better than having a servent, but don’t do anything that is work rleated). After 4 pomodoros, that is 100 minutes of pure work take a long break which is of half an hour duration( During this break same applies, is the ideal opportunity to tidy up your desk, Read a page from Qur-Aan, take a trip to the coffee machine, listen to voice mail, check incoming emails, or simply rest and do breathing exercises or take a quick walk).

The Technique

1. Planning at the Beginning of the Day, identify the set of tasks to be done based on a time table ( 8am to 4pm)
2. Record the tasks and prioritize them
3. Take up the first task in the list and start the first Pomodoro
4. After the first Pomodoro take 5 mins break
5. Start the second pomodoro for the same task
6. Repeat 3,4,5 take a long break after 4 pomodoros
7. If the task Finishes and the pomodoro is still running use that time to review and improve what you have done
8. start next task with New pomodoro.

Tools you would need

1. A timer
2. Paper And pencil to track tasks and Pomodoros

Some Apps of Use

Desktop Apps For Pomodoro

http://gigaom.com/collaboration/9-free-pomodoro-timers/

I would recommend this https://code.google.com/p/pomodairo/

It has a nice counter and easy to manage task list

IPad and IPhone Apps for Pomodoro

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pomodoro-app-for-ipad/id393490589?mt=8

Android Apps for Pomodoro

https://market.android.com/details?id=com.beltane.pomlifelite&hl=en

Read on For Details …..

Interruptions

Interruptions can be internal ( from self)

1. Make these interruptions clearly visible. Every time you feel a potential interruption coming on, put an apostrophe (‘) on the sheet where you record your Pomodoros. Then do one of the following:

a) Write down the new activity on the To Do Today Sheet under Unplanned & Urgent if you think it’s imminent and can’t be put off.

b) Write it down in the Activity Inventory, marking it with a “U” (unplanned); add a deadline if need be.

2. Intensify your determination to finish the current Pomodoro. Once you’ve marked down the apostrophe, continue working on the given task till the Pomodoro rings. (Rule: Once a Pomodoro Begins, It Has to Ring.)

It can be external

1. Make these interruptions clearly visible. Every time someone or something tries to interrupt a Pomodoro, put a dash (-) on the sheet where you record your Pomodoros, apply the Inform, Negotiate, and Call Strategy. Then do one of the following:

a) Write down the new activity on the To Do Today Sheet under Unplanned & Urgent if it has to be done today, adding the promised deadline in brackets in the left-hand margin.

b) Write it down in the Activity Inventory, marking it with a “U” (unplanned); add a deadline in brackets if need be

2. Intensify your determination to finish the current Pomodoro. Once you’ve marked down the dash, continue working on the given task till the Pomodoro rings.

This way, you’ll achieve the objective of remembering the commitment you made, as well as measuring daily external interruptions, without interrupting the Pomodoro.

On Time Table

The main risk with the timetable is in underestimating how important it is; it’s easy to fall in the trap of not respecting it. For example, let’s say it’s 3 PM. You’ve lost time during the day, and you know you haven’t produced as much as you could have or as much as you expected. So you tell yourself: “Today I’ll work late to make up for lost time.” A combination of heroism and guilt makes you breach the limit set by the timetable; as a result your performance is ineffective tonight, then tomorrow night, and then the night after. The more the timetable is systematically prolonged, the more overall results will diminish. Guilt intensifies.

Why? Isn’t playing the hero enough? Don’t the hours sacrificed in the name of work assuage the guilt? Actually what emerges is a dangerous vicious circle: the timetable protracts, fatigue increases, productivity drops, the timetable protracts. First and foremost, an effective imetable

has to be respected. Respecting a timetable means developing immunity to the Five More Minutes Syndrome. When your work time is up, just like when the Pomodoro rings, all activity stops. Secondly, an effective timetable has to allow for the free time that’s needed to recoup.

Inspiration Behind Pomodoro

The primary inspiration for Pomodoro Technique was drawn from the following ideas: time-boxing, the cognitive techniques described by Buzan, among others, relating to how the mind works, and the dynamics of play outlined by Gadamer. Notions relating to structuring objectives and activities incrementally are detailed in Gilb .

For details you can read visit the website www.pomodorotechnique.com/

Note

The Pomodoros required to make this document was 4 now time for a long break, how many minutes would you have taken to read this ?

Signing off with the hope that this would improve our productivity for both the worlds, at the same time ensuring work-life balance.