Are you easily distracted or procrastinate a lot?

I have been struggling with this for a few years now, but I think that I have developed an acceptable solution. It is a mix of proactive and reactive techniques. So how do I solve this problem?

Plan your next day in the evening

I want to make sure that I am moving towards my goals. Tasks that seem important are not necessarily important. I want to make sure I am not just reacting to the environment around me. Doing this in the evening gives me time to think about effectiveness vs. efficiency. If your TODO’s are not aimed at the achievement of one of your goals you may be efficient but never effective.

3 point TODO list

I don’t like long TODO lists. At first when I started with productivity techniques I used to have long lists of things I wanted to accomplish, but I quickly noticed that many things were left either incomplete or became irrelevant the next day. Now I just stick to 3, it keeps things simple and manageable.

Personal flavor of Pomodoro

Productivity techniques are like weight loss diets. There are many diet’s that work, but only if you apply them. The simpler the diet the easier it is to follow it, thus it is more effective. The same applies for productivity techniques. Pick one and stick to it. The simpler the better. It’s not the technique that is important it is your awareness of what you do with your time.

I don’t follow a standard Pomodoro technique. I don’t have a timer nor I count how many iterations were successful. I simply focus on 30 to 45 minute iterations and have a 5 minute break in between. The most important thing during an iteration is to note all the distractions, both external and internal. Just like with meditation what I am trying to accomplish is to notice my mind wandering off the task or external disturbances interrupting my work. I simply want to be aware of interruptions.

Close the day

In the evening write down what meaningful work you have accomplished during the day.  This will be your daily feedback loop. If you have finished something meaningful during the day it was a productive day otherwise you should make a better plan for tomorrow. Also this is a good time to review the interruptions that you had during the day. Could they be somehow avoided?

In conclusion

• Pick one simple productivity technique like Pomodoro and try it for a few weeks
• Become more aware about how you spend your time
• Become more aware of your biggest distractions
• Review your accomplishments and improve

Am I still missing something or do you have some better solutions? Let me know!

Good luck!