There have been a lot of people who have been trying out the Pomodoro technique for themselves these days. The reason why the Pomodoro technique is so popular is that it is said to improve your focus along with productivity.
In this technique, you are supposed to decide on a task to complete, put a timer on for 25 minutes, complete the job before the timer rings, and then take a 5-minute break. This is great for time management.
We usually procrastinate because we stare down at a large project and picture doing it all in one go. However, the fact is, if we break down the work into little steps, this concept will no longer be relevant. And this is precisely what the Pomodoro technique revolves around.
But of course, one technique cannot possibly work for every person out there. With different tasks being done daily, the method depends on how much of the task is to be done. For example, you might not have to do a 25-minute task; maybe it's much smaller or bigger than that.. This is why, in this post, we will be covering the following time management strategy alternatives.
7 Pomodoro Technique Alternatives
Sometimes all you need are a few ways to try and manage your time correctly. The Pomodoro technique can be one of them, but let's talk about a few of the ones people apply even more.
#1 90 Minute Focus Block
In the 1990s, the 90-minute block plan became popular in high schools as a Pomodoro alternative to the regular schedule, with four 90-minute core blocks replacing the typical six to eight 45- to 50-minute sessions per day.
The concept is inspired by Peretz Lavie's book The Enchanted World of Sleep and the idea of "ultradian cycles". The idea is that you "lock on" to this timing, which frequently occurs throughout the day in 90-minute periods of high-frequency brain activity. The key is to schedule your productivity sessions in parallel with them.
The effectiveness of 90-minute blocking has been investigated many times. This technique lets you take advantage of your day's energy peaks by correlating your energy levels with your task list, significantly enhancing your productivity.
#2 The Eisenhower Method
One of the most often used time management strategy alternatives for job prioritization is the Eisenhower Method. Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States, created the method between 1953 and 1961.
This is a straightforward overview of everyday priorities. The Eisenhower box is a four-square table that specifies how tasks should be carried out. These boxes assist in determining the importance of tasks. One to four boxes are labeled with a particular action point: do it, schedule it, delegate it, delete it.
You write down the tasks from the most important to the least important. This helps you minimize your tasks to do the ones you cannot avoid.
Many people utilize it to make long-term strategic plans. Eisenhower and Pomodoro's approaches can also work nicely together. You could, for example, use the Eisenhower method to divide weekly goals into smaller goals. Use the other later to achieve these modest victories.
#3 Gamification
What role do games play in increasing productivity? Will they not instead serve to distract remote teams? We'll talk about games here, not in the literal sense, but in terms of gamifying the productive process.
Nick Pelling is a British computer programmer and inventor, and in 2003 he was reported to have created the word "Gamification." The Forest app is one such visually stunning productivity-boosting game.
Forest has a unique property: as the timer on the app begins, a digital tree begins to grow. When you use your phone, the tree dies. It's an excellent method to avoid distractions like emails, social media notifications, phone calls, and personal messages.
If you keep focused and avoid distractions, your digital trees will grow, and you will begin to accumulate gold coins. You can develop a real tree in the real world for free if you save enough gold coins.
#4 Parkinson's Law
Cyril Northcote Parkinson, a British historian, said that the amount of time you assign yourself to do a task regulates how long it will take you to finish it. Usually, people wait for the 'right time to do essential tasks as they casually browse through social media. The most well-known procrastination technique is when people have exams, and they purposely delay and start studying late because they believe they have ample time when they don't. They don't have it chalked out somewhere to determine how much time their task will take.
This is more than just a time management strategy alternative. It's a law that can be used as one of the most operative time management techniques available—but only if you put in the effort.
Here are some ideas for time management:
• Work without a computer charger for a while. This will help you finish a project before your computer runs out of battery.
• Complete it as soon as possible. Instead of finishing an essay by nightfall, try to finish it earlier.
• Create a deadline. Create a time limit for a task you plan to finish and then half that.
• Set a period for tasks. Twenty minutes will be more than enough to respond to emails every morning.
#5 Rapid Planning Method
RPM stands for "rapid planning technique" or "result, goal, and huge action plan". Motivational speaker Tony Robbins established it to teach your brain to focus on a concept you want to make a reality.
1. Recording: Make a checklist you need to complete this week.
2. Chunking: Sort your jobs into groups based on their similarities. What items are considered personal? School-related? Career-focused?
3. Make your RPM blocks by writing the task, the result you want from it, and your motive for doing it in 3 sections at the top of a fresh piece of paper. Make a list of the steps you can take to get there after that. For example, when you write down your desired result, don't be vague. It could be something like, "lose 15 pounds in the upcoming 4 months" instead of "lose weight."
4. Assign yourself a powerful position: You can nickname yourself the "Study Queen".
#6 Tocks
Tocks is a productivity system called a Pomodoro alternative and other time-chunking approaches. The concept was created by the founder of the productivity software Beeminder, and it involves putting money down as a motivator to keep your habit going.
A tock is a 45-minute work period that goes a step farther than the Pomodoro method by encouraging users to write down their distractions as they work on whatever objective they've set for themselves. They work for 45-minutes and take a break for 15-minutes.
According to Danny, the designer, you won't have to "juggle all the other stuff your brain likes to believe" in addition to having a convenient long list of things to work on over the vacation.
#7 Flowtime Technique
Francesco Cirillo, the Pomodoro Technique's developer, discovered that remaining concentrated was easier when he
1) Set a time limit for how long he planned to work on a single activity.
2) Rewarded himself for being focused by taking frequent breaks.
Flowtime is a spin on the Pomodoro technique. It is a time management method that involves scheduling your time in 25-minute increments with 5-minute breaks.
Flowtime works like this: You begin by writing down a specific job you intend to concentrate on for one Flowtime session. You don't have to race against the clock to complete your activity; all you have to do is concentrate on it. It's time to take a break when you feel sleepy, or your mind starts to wander.
The length of the break is entirely up to you. Most experts recommend taking a five-minute rest for all work that lasts less than 25 minutes.
KEY TAKEAWAY!
Each of us has endless reasons for putting off important work and delaying it until we have no time to finish it. This is mainly caused by not having a set method to divide the tasks.
To concentrate entirely on the tasks we are provided, whether at home or work, we can easily depend on these techniques to guide us and help us reach our goals!
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