Are you having trouble developing a habit of writing?

The Pomodoro Technique can help. It’s a time management technique developed by Francesco Cirillo. Writers using this technique can break down their work into focused, uninterrupted blocks of approximately 25 minutes.

After one 25 minute block of writing, it’s OK to take a short two to
three-minute break; that’s just enough time to check email or a social
media feed. After four Pomodoros, writers should take a longer 10-20
minute break; that’s enough time for lunch.

Users of the Pomodoro
Technique record their progress in a log book and if they are
interrupted during a Pomodoro, they should consider that Pomodoro void.
The thinking behind this technique is the experience of flow and focus
while you write.

In other words, you can avoid distractions and
procrastination. Tracking each Pomodoro means users gain a better
understanding of how long your writing project is taking and what’s
interrupting their progress. This kind of tracking will also help you
develop a habit of writing everyday.

To get started all you need is:

• A timer
• A Pilot G4 pen (any pen will do)
• A notebook
• Something to write about
• Somewhere to do it

There
are a number of digital Pomodoro timers available for Windows and OS X.
My favourite timer is the discontinued My Little Pomodoro for OS X
and/or a cooking timer I bought in Tesco for a fiver.

There are a number of free alternatives like Simple Pomodoro Timer for iOS, PomoToDo for OS X, PomodoroApp for Windows and Pomodoro Productivity Timer for Android.

The
advantage of the digital apps is that they make it easier to record
your progress. That said, Cirillo’s book advocates using a simple
cooking timer. It’s possible to buy one of those in a supermarket for a
couple of euro and use a simple notebook (Moleskine anyone?) to record
your progress. Amazon even sell a dedicated Pomodoro timer for approximately $19.99.

How I use the Pomodoro Technique to Write

I
record my the progress of my writing projects in a Moleskine logbook,
and I work within blocks of 27 minutes. I increased the Pomodoros to 27
minutes because it takes me a minute or so to warm up. I’ve come across
other users of this method who work within 40 minutes blocks or longer
so it does come down a little to individual working styles.

I date
each entry, briefly describe the activity and write an X for each
Pomodoro spent on said activity. There’s no need to undertake this level
of recording or use the admittedly overpriced Moleskine notebooks. Some
of the aforementioned apps allow users to export and track their data
on a chart or spreadsheet.

I’m guilty of occasionally stopping and
resuming a timer rather than voiding a Pomodoro altogether. That’s only
because I’ve small children. I try to get around this by regularly
setting myself goals to see how many Pomodoros I can complete in a day
or a week or a month, depending on the project I am working on.

Writing at Home and in the Office

Cirillo describes – and I can vouch for this – how experienced users of the Pomodoro technique feel their
Pomodoro is nearing an end without even having to look at their
timer. The best thing I can say about the Pomodoro Technique is that
each Pomodoro feels like a self-contained block of uninterrupted
writing time within which Facebook, Twitter and almost all other
distractions fade away. It also helped me develop a habit of writing
everyday as a Pomodoro almost always feels achievable.

My major
criticism of the Pomodoro is that it is not very conducive to an
office environment where unplanned distractions, such as a colleague or
boss dropping by your desk or the phone ringing, are part of a normal
working day.

GTD Godfather David Allen has lots to say about this and that’s probably why I use the Pomodoro Technique when I am writing at home, rather than in an office environment.

Your mileage may vary.

Culled from Become a Writer Today