Struggle - Stay Focused

As municipalities struggle with COVID-19, I’d imagine there is a select group, typically administrative and perhaps in finance that finds working from home massively productive as they tidy up: year-end, budget, municipal drains, etc. It is odd that a pandemic can teach (or re-teach) the importance of focus.

One strategy for improving focus, is to realize that you are going to lose focus from time to time and thus schedule in breaks. One from the 80’s is the Pomodoro Technique (info below per Wikipedia):

  1. Decide on the task to be done

  2. Set the pomodoro timer (traditionally to 25 minutes)

  3. Work on the task

  4. End work when the timer rings and put a check-mark on a piece of paper

  5. If you have fewer than four check-marks, take a short (3-5 minutes), then go back to step 2

  6. After four pomodoros, take a longer break (15-30 minutes), reset your check-mark counter to zero, then go to step 1.

Essentially:

  1. Plan

  2. 25 minutes on / 3-5 minutes off (x4)

  3. 15-30 minute break

  4. Repeat

Best of luck with your work and enjoy the focus.

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Influencing Change - COVID-19