As a freelance writer working from home, I face (at least) a couple of key challenges on a daily basis. First, I don’t get paid unless I actually work. Contrast this to a job where you are paid an hourly wage regardless of your relative level of productivity. Second, there is no one hovering over my shoulder, encouraging me to stay productive. I am my own supervisor and manager. Given these challenges, the onus falls completely on my shoulders to complete the task at hand in a timely fashion.
For the most part, I have been successful in this regard. I have always been able to deliver on time and on budget. However, the way that I go about doing my work has been mostly organic and spontaneous in nature. The freedom of both location and schedule has provided a great deal of flexibility at the expense of structure. Thus, more recently, I’ve started to think about standardizing my approach to work.
Applying the Factor of Time to Kanban
Last week, I wrote about the concept of using kanban boards as a means of improving productivity, organizing projects, and tracking tasks. The idea is that you move items from a “to do” column to one for tasks “in progress” and finally to one for “done.” The problem is that the steps taken along the way aren’t integrated with a particular schedule. They aren’t timed.
In alleviating that concern, I came across what is known as the Pomodoro Technique. It’s named after the Italian term for a tomato, since it is fundamentally based on the tomato-shaped kitchen timer (like the one above). At its core, the Pomodoro Technique encourages you to take breaks in between more focused work sessions. This is meant to bolster overall productivity and facilitate “mental agility.”
Employing the Pomodoro Cycle
While there are countless variations to the paradigm, the Pomodoro Technique typically utilizes focused work sessions of about 25 minutes. For that 25-minute period, you focus on just one task. When the time is up, you take a short break of about five minutes before diving back into the task. After about four pomodori (the plural of pomodoro), you can take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes. Eventually, the task is completed and you move on to the next one.
Part of the reason why the Pomodoro Technique works is that it provides a structure to your productivity. The other reason is that it forces a certain level of self-monitoring, which should help to discourage procrastination. If you get distracted with social media or a YouTube video, you must tell yourself to pause that Pomodoro timer… or, you know, don’t allow yourself to get sidetracked in the first place.
Tomato, Tomato… Does It Work?
Over the course of the next few weeks, I intend on combining the principles of Kanban boards with the principles of the Pomodoro Technique. I’ve said very early on in my freelance career that taking the time to monitor your exact work habits, tracking exactly how much you’re working (rather than how much time you’re spending “at work”), can be incredibly insightful and useful.
That being said, with the infinite distractions of a baby in the next room, I’m not sure how many full Pomodoro sessions I’ll be able to accomplish each day. And that is precisely why this experiment is worth exploring. Wish me luck!
This is an interesting idea Michael. I am going to try to implement it at school during my day as a Sysadmin. The one thing that prevents me from following it is that I can’t take a real break at 25 minutes because some of the sysadmin tasks take an hour and really can’t be interrupted. But I believe 5 minutes of relaxation or quick walk to get a drink would work well at some point during a task.
You also mentioned that as a freelancer at home you don’t have someone looking over your shoulder to make sure you are getting your work done as someone in a traditional hourly job. I would like to point out that as someone in a traditional job I am really never micromanaged like that because I get my work done correctly, in time and well. I do see others that are always having to answer to how their work is going everyday. I really believe that this is actually related to ones work ethic, not the job or where you work.
I am speaking in generalities, of course, as the individual circumstances of any job will vary considerably. Even when there isn’t a manager or supervisor right there in a traditional cubicle-style office environment, there is the implicit “pressure” of supervisors and coworkers in the vicinity who could see whether or not you are actually working at any time.
I’ve done the Pomodoro thing and I think it does help in some situations. Those that you can work with intense concentration and get more done in a short period and then stop and return after the short break. When I can work like this, I find the promise of the short break very effective and refreshing, allowing me to be very productive.
If you need to keep up the concentration over a longer period, and if it is hard to restart, I find the loss of momentum kills the productivity. When I am trying to write something of length, the longer I just sit there and slug it out, the more productive I get. If I stop, I lose the momentum and train of thought.
As far as the need to get work done (like a freelancer) vs supervision, it is different. There is a big difference between an off day where you still get the same check and an off day where you don’t make the money at all. Supervised or not. Work ethic or not.
I don’t really see the Pomodoro technique as something that makes a difference as far as work ethic (lazy people will still be lazy). It is a way to be more productive with time. It helps you keep working without burning out. You keep track of time better. You push a bit more since you are expecting a break in just a little bit.
A good timer that you can hear well (especially during the break so you get back to work on time) is important.
That’s a big part of it, James. You have to *want* to be more productive in the first place. And you have to *want* to do the things that will help you be more productive. A tool is only as useful as the person who wields it.