Frogs, Tomatoes, and Bees: Time Techniques to Get Things Done
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS FOR TACKLING YOUR TO-DOS
Getting things done takes a lot of moving parts.
- You need to know WHAT to do. (This is where a to-do list or a task app comes in.)
Our brains can hold about seven things in our short-term memory, plus-or-minus a few. I always think of it as plus-or-minus three, given that phone numbers in North America being seven digits plus a three-digit area code. However, a misinterpretation of a famous psychological paper from 1956 leads people to understand Miller’s Law as allowing us to remember 7 things, plus-or-minus two.
That said, we can certainly remember more things, as long as we don’t have to recite them in very quick sequence. After all, a neurosurgeon doesn’t consult a to-do list to remember all of the steps in a complicated surgery, and we can (usually) handle remembering to make dozens of turns to get from where we work to where we live without benefit of GPS, assuming we’ve driven the route several times.
The simplicity or sophistication of your list of tasks is immaterial. Whether it’s on a sticky note, a page of a legal pad, a digital note in Notes or Evernote or OneNote, or any of a variety of task apps, if it shows the things you need to accomplish, you’re golden.
- You need to know what to do first.
The delightfully weird comedian Stephen Wright used to say, “You can’t have everything, where would you put it?”
Prioritizing is a toughie. We often say, “Well, all things being equal…” but of course, things aren’t equal. Some things are naturally high-priority — if you’re dealing with smoke, fire, blood, a baby crying (or a grownup crying hysterically), you need to tend to that first.
Most tasks in life don’t come with such obvious signs of their priorities. Usually, things we want to do are high emotional priorities but may be low productivity priorities. If I gave you a choice between doing an expense report or going to brunch, and assured you my magic powers extended to bippity-boppity-boo-ing your expense report for you and taking all calories and carbs out of your meal, you’d pick the corner table on the patio, convivial conversation with friends, and bottomless mimosas over filling cells on a spreadsheet.
We must prioritize our tasks. As we discussed in Paper Doll Shares Presidential Wisdom on Productivity, the key is to identify two essential characteristics of tasks: importance and urgency.
The Eisenhower Matrix isn’t the only method for determining these two factors, but it illustrates that only once you’ve figured out what are the most important and urgent things to get done, can you can figure out what things you should do yourself now, what you can delay and schedule for later, what you can delegate or assign to someone else, and what you can delete (or schedule for that non-existent “someday”).
Some people like to eat the frog, per a quote originally ascribed to Mark Twain, “If the first thing you do in the morning is eat a live frog, you can go through the rest of the day knowing the worst is behind you.”
This method encourages attacking the biggest, hairiest task first. Proponents of Eat the Frog, like Brian Tracy, who authored Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time, believe will this prevent you from spending the day procrastinating.
Me? I’m not so sure. I mean, yes, if you do the thing that you’re most likely to avoid first, of course you’ll feel strong and mighty and start knocking everything out of the park.
But how will you get yourself to do that? Even armed with all of the advice in last week’s and today’s, some of us are just going to keep avoiding the BIG YUCKY, certainly at the start of the day. Personally, I’m more inclined to start with something easy, as I believe that small victories breed success.
So, prioritizing isn’t just about the relative measure of the tasks, but of your emotional relationship to doing them. In other words, you do you, boo!
- Sit down (or stand up) and do it!
Knowing what you have to do and in what order (or at least at what level of soon-itude) is great, but it won’t get your tushy in the chair. As Sir Isaac Newton reminded us in last week’s post, Paper Doll On Understanding and Conquering Procrastination, a body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion tends to stay in motion. If your particular body has been at rest for a bit too long, how are you going to get it to hunker down, in derriere-in-chair position, to get cracking?
Today’s post examines the methods, both popular and lesser-known, for proudly placing your posterior in position for productivity.
ONE HOT TOMATO: THE POMODORO TECHNIQUE
Pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato, and a popular form of kitchen timer in the 20th century was tomato-shaped.
In the 1980s, Francesco Cirillo developed the Pomodoro Technique as a method for circumventing procrastination. The steps are basic:
- Identify the task you’re going to work on.
- Set a (kitchen) timer for 25 minutes.
- Work on that task (without interruptions or distractions) for the entire 25 minutes.
- Stop after 25 minutes (and if you’re strictly following the technique, check the task off on your official “To Do Today” sheet).
- Take a short break of about five minutes.
After four completed pomodoros, take a longer break. Four pomodoros plus four short breaks would equal about two hours, so that’s an opportunity for quite a bit of focus each day.
Simple, eh? But there are a few caveats. If you get interrupted, you start over. If you get distracted, you start over. And no matter how well you enter the flow state when working, when the buzzer goes off after 25 minutes, you have to take the break.
You remember flow state, right? We talked about it extensively in Flow and Faux (Accountability): Productivity, Focus, and Alex Trebek. Psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, the “father of flow,” described flow as “being completely involved in an activity for its own sake” and when our sense of self and our surroundings cease such that we hyper-focus on a task.
For some people, that last part is a real sticking point of the Pomodoro Technique, because the break in the flow at 25 minutes may lead to a break in inspiration and concentration. For others, it’s like stopping a movie just when it’s getting to the good part — you can’t wait to get back to it.
Does it have to be a tomato-shaped timer? No, although it may help some people feel they are doing the technique in an “official” way, and for rule followers, that may help them get into the right head space.
Does it have to be a physical timer? Not necessarily. But the mind-body connection is a powerful thing, and physically manipulating a handheld kitchen timer (tomato-shaped or otherwise) might be be the key for some people to feel their activation energy getting triggered.
If the physical sensation of turning on a timer helps you set your attention on using your time intentionally, then use that to increase your motivation. But if you’re just not that touch-feely, just give a shout to Siri or Alexa to set a timer for 25 minutes, or use some of the zillions of digital pomodoro sites and apps out there.
Does it have to ring like a kitchen timer? Once again, no. Some people may find the harsh and unyielding ring or buzz of a timer to be too jarring, not only ending the flow state, but setting them on edge. If you are neurodivergent or categorize yourself as a highly sensitive person, you may be overwhelmed by an intense buzz; consider a tangible timer with a more melodious sound or pick a digital timer or phone alarm with your favorite “ta da, I did it!” song to gently break you out of your reverie.
Again, only you know what’s going to help you surface from your underwater focus bubble vs. what’s going to make you feel like you’ve narrowly avoided fender bender.
TOCKS
Tick-tock goes the clock, and that 25-minute tomato-based technique is practiced world-wide. But a similar method was developed independently by Daniel Reeves, co-founder of the productivity app Beeminder. (It’s been years since we covered Beeminder, but it’s a data-driven, habit-tracking productivity app where you put your money where your mouth is, pledging that if you don’t hit your goals, Beeminder will charge your credit card!)
Back in 2004, Reeves (independently) developed a variant of the Pomodoro Technique based on the idea of working for 45 minutes and taking 15-minute breaks. Each 45-minute block is called a tock. Like the Pomodoro Technique, Tocks rely on specifying what you’ll be working on during the tock.
Those who practice these hourly tock/break blocks are encourage do start on the hour, making it easier to track how much you accomplish (and see when it’s time to get your tushy back to work). Reeves also urges users to take note of mental distractions so they don’t end up like the guy in the Distracted Boyfriend meme.
This reminds me of something I heard Alan Brown of ADD Crusher once say, that when one is being distracted by other possible tasks, it’s important to remember that there are “only three types of things.” There’s:
- What I’m working on now
- Important things that are not what I’m working on now, and
- BS things that are not what I’m working on now.
I see two advantages of noting your distracting thoughts. First, it will give you confidence that you won’t forget the (possibly) brilliant ideas that you had, and letting go of that fear will allow you to focus on what you’re doing. Second, it will yield a tangible list of other tasks to consider when you take your break, or later on when you’re deciding what is important or urgent to schedule.
Beeminder is bee-themed, and the original Tocks blog post sourced a bee-shaped timer that was later unavailable. However, I’ve found it, as well as a slightly less adorable alternative. If something like this would inspire you to be a busy (and productive) bee, go forth and create some buzz!
Etsy has the original version for $19.98 (plus shipping) for a set of two Spring Bumble Bee Design 60 Minute Kitchen Timers:
Less adorable and lacking actual deelyboppers, but available with Amazon Prime for $17.55, is this Kitchen Bee Timer:
THE 90-MINUTE FOCUS BLOCK
At first glance, this just seems like a super-sized Pomodoro. Instead 25 minutes of focus plus a break, you work for 90 minutes. But there’s scientific backing.
The field of sleep research has found that our bodies experience ultradian rhythms, recurrent 90-minute cycles throughout each 24-hour day. These are similar to the cycles of rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, discovered by researcher Nathaniel Kleitman. (This is why sleep researchers advise sleeping in multiples of 90 minutes to ensure you don’t get awakened mid-cycle, and why 7 1/2 hours of sleep (five 90-minute cycles) may make you feel more refreshed than 8 hours (four 90-minute cycles but then being jarred awake partway through your fifth).
Kleitman found evidence that we have 90-minute periods of high-frequency brain activity alternating with 20-minute periods of low(er)-frequency brain activity. (There’s a whole science-y explanation of how the cycles are governed by how our brains use our potassium and sodium ions to conduct electrical signals, but this is a blog post about productivity, not neurobiology. Thank goodness.)
So, if our energy levels and cognitive functions are optimal during particular 90-minute periods when we’re awake, and we attack tasks during the 90-minute blocks when our high-frequency brain activity is running on all cylinders, we’re going to be more attentive, more creative, and more productive. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
Our brains use more energy than any other organs in our bodies, and when our brains are in that high-frequency mode, we’re using up that energy and freaking out the sodium/potassium levels. We NEED that 20-minute break, but we’re too distracted to take it. So the brain says, “hold my beer,” and slows us down into the low(er) brain wave frequencies, making us distracted, tired, foggy, and cranky.
If we take that 20-minute break, the sodium-potassium partnership ramps back up and we’re ready to tackle our tasks in a focused way. If we ignore that break, we’re going to experience a diminishing return on our time-and-focus investment.
TimeTimer Plus 120-Minute Timer
So, using a 90-minute focus block is similar to the Pomodoro Technique, except that you’ll trade your 25-minute work sessions for 90-minute blocks, and extend your 5- or 10-minute breaks to 20.
That said, humans can be weird. Have you ever gotten hungry but instead of eating (which you knew you should do), you pushed yourself to keep going to the point that you pushed right through hunger and into queasiness? Those of us who get migraines know that when we first experience symptoms, we should take meds, hydrate, go to a dark room, etc., but many migraineurs will tell you that at least sometimes, they ignore the symptoms until it gets much worse. Again, humans are weird.
Alarms may not be enough. You might want to set the sleep mode on your computer monitor — or borrow from the accountability and body doubling lessons I’ve recently shared. For example, ask a friend to call or swing by your desk to remind you to stop after 90 minutes, then go for a refreshing walk outside.
THE 52/17 METHOD
Perhaps you feel that somewhere between 25 minutes and 90 minutes is your sweet spot? There’s an option that looks random, but anecdotal research may persuade you otherwise. As Julia Gifford wrote in a piece for The Muse, she identified another work-to-break ratio workflow that might help you focus more productively.
Gifford’s team studied the top 10% most productive employees using the time-tracking and productivity app DeskTime — and learned these folks rocked at taking productive breaks. (If you read my Toxic Productivity Part 3: Get Off the To-Do List Hamster Wheel, the efficacy of these breaks won’t surprise you.) In particular they found that, on average, these super-productive employees were working for 52 minutes and then taking 17 minute breaks before getting back into the thick of it.
Giffords’ theory is that these highly-productive employees treated their 52-minute blocks as sprints, a popular concept in the corporate world, particularly in technology fields. In a sprint, you work with “intense purpose” and dedication to the task, whatever it is, and then (as with the 90-minute focus block) let the brain rest and recuperate (and NOT think about work, or at least that work) before the next big sprint.
We aren’t robots. We just can’t sit and stare at a screen or make the widgets on a factory floor, or whatever, for 8-hours straight. Even robots can’t always work like robots!
“Repeating tasks causes cognitive boredom,” says Gifford, and whether we break it up with cake in the staff room (mmmm, cake) or a brisk walk or a convivial chat around the water cooler, we need a pause that refreshes.
So, the big drivers of 52/17 are purpose (backed, I’m sure, with a hearty dose of motivation), distraction-free worktime, and flow.
FLOWTIME
The Flowtime Technique, as developed by educator Zoe Read-Bivens (writing as Urgent Pigeon for Medium) in 2016, was designed to take a major drawback of The Pomodoro Technique — that it interrupted the flow state — and use performance analysis to improve productivity.
All of the above options count on working for a set time (25 minutes, 45 minutes, 52 minutes, 90 minutes), and then stopping at a pre-ordained time as prompted by an alarm. As noted, for some people who are neurodivergent, have ADHD, or are otherwise sensitive to loud noises or task transitions, this can be counterproductive.
As with all of the other methods, Read-Bivens’ Flowtime approach insists on uninterrupted work sessions, but instead of stopping when an external force (like an alarm) prompts you, you work until you start to feel distracted, or mentally or physically fatigued. Then you log how long your focused work session lasted — how long you stayed “in flow.”
- Pick a specific task from your to-do list.
- Write down your start time for each task.
- Work with focus as long as you can.
- Write down the distractions taking you out of your flow state as they happen.
- When you’re tired or hungry or muddled, stop.
- Write down your stop time, and then note the total elapsed time you focused on the task. Basically, it works like a time sheet; you can use an app like Taskade or create a spreadsheet with cells formatted for time, and create a formula to calculate the elapsed start/stop time.
- Take a break for however long you want.
- Lather, rinse, repeat.
Without scheduled breaks, you’ll be less likely to anxiously await the “end” and be more likely to get into flow and stay there. Flowtime gives you flexibility to have productive sessions personalized to your work style, and it pushes you to be really clear on what’s interrupting your focus.
I can also imagine that if you get to know your cycles of productivity, it can help you block out your work time around meetings and other obligations so that you have adequate space in your schedule for your work without friction, and lead you to schedule your high-effort tasks when you’ve got the most mental energy.
On the other hand, there’s a lot of admin associated with this method, requiring planning beforehand and performance analysis afterward. It’s adding more work to your work. If you’re the kind of athlete who tracks your steps and reps and miles and measures performance to better know yourself, Flowtime might be ideal. However, if giving yourself no stopping time isn’t enough of a trade for all this admin, or if not having a limit on your break time might lead you to procrastinate on getting back to work, it may not be for you.
I suspect Flowtime might be best used when your work is creative in nature. I’d never encourage my clients who are artists to paint for 25 minutes and then take a break, and novelists probably shouldn’t be zapped out of flow by an alarm. If your entire job is creative, perhaps in the arts, or you’re needing to do brainstorming sessions for ad campaigns or client pitches, Flowtime might make sense. But if you’ve got lots of distinct (and perhaps not-entirely-creative) tasks to complete, one of the strict time-based methods seems like a better fit.
What methods to you use to get your activation energy, circumvent procrastination, and get your work done? Which methods might you try in the future?
Paper Doll Post:
All great ideas. I tried the pomodoro method for a while and even bought the most adorable Debbie Mumm teacup-shaped timer; I rarely remembered to use it. But I still set a timer on the Google Home Mini when I need to force myself to focus on one task for a specific time. I read once about a group of monks who changed tasks whenever the bells rang, the idea being that no task was so critical that one couldn’t stop and return later. (It apparently taught discipline in faith?) That made an impression on me.
Like you, I’ve found that the Pomodoro Technique (like any method) works when you remember to do it, but that’s a stumbling block for me, too. I think, because I only need the extra pushback against procrastination on a rare occasion, I’m less likely to use it, and I tend to use the 90-Minute Focus Block more typically in my life.
The monks’ practice would frustrate me, as I need smoother transitions; otherwise, the Zeigarnik Effect kicks in. I remember what needs to be done, but it also keeps me from focusing on any new task. Eek!
How clever to use all these summer “creatures” to bring this post together.
The Steven Wright video has me laughing out loud on this Monday morning. He was so great with those. I shared them out to a group who maybe could use some funnies. 🙂
I think one struggle I have is that I am able to identify what is most important/top priority, but then my emotions don’t want to carry through. It becomes an inner conflict. These tools offer a way to sort of push through those feelings, with either a promise of “It will only be for a short time.” Knowing that I don’t have to dive in until it is completely finished is a great technique for getting the “initiation” muscle activated.
It’s hard to conquer the “I don’t wanna” no matter how important we know something is. I originally had a section on the 2-minute rule, for at least moving yourself closer to feeling up for 25 minutes, but the post was just getting too long. But I think the key is starting, especially with those higher priorities, as follow-through is less of a problem than just forcing ourselves (or convincing ourselves) to jump in. If I’ve been procrastinating too, too long, nothing short of body doubling, one of these timed techniques, and someone strapping me to the chair will do!
And Steven Wright just cracks me up, so I had to share. My favorite might be the one where the restaurant said, “Breakfast. Any time.” And he told the waitress, “I’ll have French toast in the Renaissance.” So weird, so funny.
My husband and I were recently talking about why he feels more refreshed when he sleeps for a shorter time, so that section of your article really jumped out for me. I don’t know how to ensure we are sleeping in 90-minute blocks, but the concept is fascinating.
My understanding is that it really only works for people who have a sense of how long it takes to fall asleep, and then calculating some multiple of 90-minutes to figure out when to set the alarm. I’m bad at falling asleep (though excellent at falling BACK asleep after being awakened), so it’s tougher to calculate.
Thanks for reading!
As always, great tips! These timers are so cute!
I prefer not to do timers. They give me anxiety when I know a timer is set (I blame it on my school test days). So, instead, I do the tasks and allocate an hour. Since sounds distract me when doing tasks, I prefer to wear my noise-canceling headset to help me focus for a longer period of time.
As always, great tips! These timers are so cute!
I prefer not to do timers. They give me anxiety when I know a timer is set (I blame it on my school test days). So, instead, I do the tasks and allocate an hour. Since sounds distract me when doing tasks, I prefer to wear my noise-canceling headset to help me focus for a longer period of time.
See, you invented your own period, longer than the 52/17, shorter than the 90-Minute Focus Block. But how long are your breaks?
I’m curious how you know when the hour is up if you don’t use a timer. And instead of noise-cancelling, I need white noise. I work best when the A/C and the washing machine are both going!
Vive la différence!
I can tell how much you enjoyed researching this one, Julie! Such great stuff! Did you come up with the word “soon-itude?” I love that!
I’m a HUGE fan of timers. I use them all the time and recommend them frequently. I love to hyperfocus. But the problem with working that way is I can get so immersed in my work that I can ignore everything else around me. Sounds great, except when it’s not. So I use the timers to make sure I take a bio, nature, or stretching break. I use timers to alert me when it’s time to transition to the next appointment, activity, call, or project.
While it can vary, I generally work for 60 minutes and then take a short break. As a matter of fact, I have a timer set now because, in a few minutes, it will be time to get ready for a client session. While the bee and tomato timers are adorable, I tend to use the alarm on my iPhone. I like that it’s silent until it’s not. I also LOVE the TimeTimers and use those for meetings, workshops, and client sessions.
What cool research about the brain, sodium, and potassium influences, and the 90/20 minute work/break cycles! You find the best stuff!
Soon-itude, baby!
I’m another one that likes the idea of the cute timers more than the harsh noise they make, and when I use a Time Timer, I tend to use it without the little chime. Since you’re working about 60 minutes at a time, you’re pretty close to the 52/17, but I’m curious how long your breaks are. And yes, without an alarm, it would be hard to be ready to make the more important transitions, like leaving for a client session or getting on a Zoom.
Thanks for sharing!
Break times vary depending on the type of work I’m doing and the time of day. Morning breaks are shorter because that is my brain’s best time for working. But as the day goes on, I need longer and more physical breaks. Honestly, it depends upon the day and mix of what type of work I’m doing. But the breaks are essential.
I forgot to say that it’s more of an intuitive thing vs. a specific timing. I use the timer to reassess and take a break. But sometimes, when the timer goes off, I continue working. I work with the timer and my situation to do a ‘check-in’ and determine what I need/want to do next.
I guess as long as you don’t overtax yourself by not taking your breaks, you’re fine. As we said on that podcast I did with Mister Productivity, there’s no Pomodoro Police. We have to create our own rules to make it work for us!
I love the Pomodoro Technique and use it a lot especially for writing and also meditating. I am looking for that actual tomato timer. It’s so vintage and cute.
You should definitely check Etsy for vintage, and vintage-style Pomodoro timers. But the one in my post is, I’m pretty sure, the one on Amazon at https://amzn.to/3oYal4H — and there are several visually identical versions on Amazon.
Thanks for reading!
Another wonderfully thorough post! I’m a huge fan of the Eisenhower Matrix, but not as it’s usually presented online and in books. I have a version that I developed based upon the perspectives I see with my neurodiverse clients, that comes closer to your description of the emotions at play – but also, the awareness and measurement of impact of certain tasks and routines (Quad II is particularly challenging for folks I work with). Anyway, I love lots of the other tools you list as well – we were on the same wavelength with time this week!
Ooh, I hope you write a blog post about your take on the Eisenhower Matrix, Sara! I know it would be fascinating to read. And yes, we were definitely in sync!
Thanks for reading and sharing!
All great tips, Julie.
I have used and recommend the Pomodoro Technique to clients. One I will try is the Flowtime approach. I like the idea of setting a time to work on a specific task. It’s sort of what I do anyway – although, I do not write down start and stop times. Nor do I write down what has distracted me from the task at hand. I admit that I tend to hyperfocus and get it done.
I’m like you, Diane. Once I actually get started, hyperfocus keeps me there. It’s kind of like sleep, I guess. Some people have trouble getting to sleep, while others have trouble staying asleep. Getting the tush in the chair means that almost any of these methods, once I’m there, will work, because it’s the activation energy that I need. But I definitely see how others get bogged down with the interruptions and distractions that keep them from moving forward.
Thank you for sharing!
These are great options for people to try out and see which ones they like. You’ve explained them all so well that I think anyone could pick one to have a try at from this wonderful post.
Awww, Janet, thank you. With so many options, I figure anyone whose focus tends to be short or intense can take a stab at something new. Me? I am going to start aiming for a more official 52/17 to see if that helps or hinders.
Thanks for reading!
First, that’s my favorite Steven Wright quote! (“You can’t have everything, where would you put it?”) Second, I’m a huge fan of jotting down stray thoughts — tasks, especially — to refocus my mind on the task at hand with the comfort that I won’t lose the thoughts. Third, here’s how Hazeltime works: I work as long as I want, then I watch TV for 45 minutes (the approximate length of an ‘hour-long’ episode, although it really varies these days with all the streaming options.) LOL? I’m by no means obligated to finish an episode though, if I suddenly feel like getting back to work. Seriously, though, when my time is my own I do work until I start to feel distracted, or mentally or physically fatigued. The closest I’ve been to timing anything lately is when I’m in a Zoom co-writing session. We break, briefly, after an hour to compare notes and I’m almost always surprised that we’ve been working for a full hour. I was in flow. Then, after about 30 more minutes my attention starts to wane. Is it because my ideal working block is 90 min? Would it be longer or shorter had I not been interrupted? Hmmm… well I do make use of that next 30 minutes, but sometimes I switch tasks.
I’m wondering if I have to have you write a full guest post about Hazeltime! It fascinates me how we all have our different ways. I know that once I’m in, I’m good, but getting me to start can be like pulling teeth. Thanks for sharing your approach, but now I’m curious whether the type of TV you watch makes a difference in your readiness to get back to work. If I watch a TV show that’s good, I want to spend an hour seeing what everyone else on the internet had to say about it; if the show is bad, I might be more inclined to work. Hmmm.