As a person getting older against my will, I am especially keen on making time count for something, and making progress on the projects that matter to me. I imagine a lot of you out there feel the same way.
In a previous post I mentioned how the little bites technique of the Slight Edge approach helps to defuse anxiety, create momentum, and, over time compound to make some real progress.
There is a related mechanism that all of us might use. I for one am finding it invaluable as I slug through writing a demanding scholarly tome. But you don't have to be a writer or a scholar to benefit from this mechanism: it will belp just about anyone make tracks, and develop Slight Edge traction.
It is called the Pomodoro Technique, and it is certainly a first cousin to the Slight Edge.
Now there is a lot that can be told about this technique but the point I want to make this evening concerns the core of the pomodoro. Now that's a pun, because pomodoro means "golden apple." Actually, it is used to mean "tomato" in Italian, and tomatos don't exactly have a core, but I digresss.
The core of the technique is to get a timer. I use one of those kitchen timers where you turn the hand on the timer to the number of minutes you have in mind. Set the timer for 25 minutes, and work on your project for that time. Then, when the bell rings, take a break, say three to five minutes. Then do another 25 nimutes, and take a similar break. Do that four times, and then take a longer break, perhaps twenty to thirty minutes.
Why is this helpful, and what makes it Slight Edge-ish? It is helpful because when one has a big project to do, the sense that "I have so much work to do" crushes you with anxiety and makes approaching the task harder, and avoiding it easier. (My old nemesis procrastination). By setting oneself a limited goal, in this case, 25 minutes, inwardly we are relieved: our innner freakout persona says "Twenty five minutes! I can do that!" And off you go. And by the way, what makes it even more productive is that one learns to keep oneself honest: to really work for that 25 minutes, knowing that a break is coming up, and that ANYONE can work for 25 minutes!
Now this is what makes it Slight Edge-ish. It is a little thing, easy to do, that when compounded makes a BIG difference.
So, if you are looking for a trick, a device, to get you moving, try this. And in all the time you save not procrastinating, why not reread The Slight Edge?
