3 ms·
I too often have difficulty focussing on a task, often getting bogged down in reading email or 'quickly' checking the news. To get around this I use the pomodo
by cjh_ 13y ago
I too often have difficulty focussing on a task, often getting bogged down in reading email or 'quickly' checking the news.
To get around this I use the pomodoro technique [1] and [2]
I have also found quite a bit of success using paper lists; If I write down everything productive I need to get done (mostly on a high-level like 'look into bug nnnn') and only allow myself to work on the items on the list.
I also actively work on keeping my mind on task; if I find myself wandering off and thinking about something important I will write myself a quick note so that I can remember it later, this helps get it off my mind so I can get back to working.
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique
[2] http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/ http://www.pomodorotechnique.com/
- simondlr 13y agoI like the inverse of to-do lists: a have-done list. Say you need to get a large task done for the day. That's what you need to do, but getting to the point of getting it done contains a lot of smaller actionable items (e-mailing people, setting up new servers, whatever, etc). I then write that down as 'done' lists. Or basically, a 'what I did today' list, even if it is small stuff. You end up feeling more productive, because you often don't realise what you actually DID do in a day.