Implementing Pomodoro with my Blog

02/22/15

So, yesterday, at work... actually, wait, things started going into motion a bit earlier than that.

So, a little over a year ago, along with being recommended Getting Things Done and Code Complete I was also given a copy of a document detailing the Pomodoro Technique. I read it, I liked the ideas therein, I attempted it, I didn't like some things about it, I abandoned it on my quest to find my own way of doing things.

Two days ago, at work, I decided to write a work blog post on the private work network detailing what I was doing while I was doing it. It went really well, and made me really excited to do it again yesterday.

So, yesterday, at work I was off to a slow start. At some point, I pulled out my tickler items, and one of the items I had set aside for that Saturday was to reread the Pomodoro technique. In all honesty, this had been a weekend tickler item for a while, I would just keep sending it a week into the future and go about my day.

Yesterday, I decided, "Okay, let's do this." And so I read it. Again, I liked the ideas therein. Some stuff really spoke to me that I think before I didn't appreciate so much. A year of attempting to be better at time management really improves one's perspective.

Reading the document, and having that experience of a half-hour blog post of productivity the day before, something clicked in my brain: Why don't I track my pomodoros via blog posts?

It actually makes a lot of sense. I've been doing daily posts pretty regularly, with few slip ups, for a long while now. It is the way I document my life right now. I've gotten pretty decent at it, and fallen into a good rhythm. Also, doing this helps me push me further to developing good web design and development habits, and will help me build presentable, if informal, documentation habits of important work I do.

Mixing my habit of blogging with a productivity and time-management strategy also just makes sense. I can force my wandering, many-voice thoughts into clear, coherent instructions, follow those instructions, and also know when it's okay to stop, take a break, and resume my admittedly enjoyable wandering-mind state.

Yesterday felt like a great start. I quickly hashed up HTML pomodoro log documents, cleared through a lot of built-up notes, and managed to put a good half-hour towards proper work goals.

I'm really excited about this setup. Everything really feels powerful. Which is why I'm copying the setup the best I can at home bascially immediately. This is a significant and powerful strategy, and this is the first diary post towards executing it regularly.

(I also like this well enough that I'll make it a blog post, too. I may make some edits or something, though. Add a link to this diary area and stuff.)