Photo by Carl Heyerdahl on Unsplash
How I worked before
I am 38 years old designer who spend all his life working every day 8 to 10 hours daily. I wanted to earn more money but apparently the time I spend “working” was not enough to make a difference.
I tried different methods, tricks, read books, used apps, because I wanted to be more productive, but years passed and I never could increase my productivity, I always ended with lots of time in front of the computer but little to show.
Sitting in front of the computer is not the same as working
For a while I used an service called RescueTime, than can track the time you spend in any site or app and I was surprised that of the 10 hours in front of the computer, usually only 1 to 2 hours was invested in productivity applications.
Most of my time was wasted browsing without purpose on the Internet, buying stuff on amazon, getting “inspired” on instagram, etc.
Reading more about this I realized that most of us do this. We spend huge amounts of time in front of the computer but usually only 2 to 3 hours are useful.
The bad habit of sitting and get distracted constantly is something that we need to change if we want to have a life outside our job.
What changed the way I work
One day a friend told me how he incorporated the Pomodoro technique and how it changed his life. The Pomodoro technique is simple, you work in small chunks of time, usually 25, followed by a resting period.
This simple technique changed how he works, his levels of productivity and the time he has for other things besides work.
Have a clear goal when you work
We usually sit in front of the computer and click our browser and see what is new in our social media, email, news, etc. But this behavior can makes us victims of procrastination.
We need a clear goal before sitting, a to-do list can be useful. The important part is knowing in advance what you are going to do once you are in front of the computer.
Avoid distractions
Once you are working, is essential that you avoid distractions. This will take most of your time and will make you anxious because the there is work to be done and you are in your phone, doing non-important things, while the important ones are left to the side.
Is better to deal with what has to be done first and later do what ever you want with no guilty at all.
If you avoid distractions, you are more efficient, you are not multitasking, every minute is put to a good use.
Work in chunks of time
The human brain can only focus for a limited amount to a task. We are not naturally build to have all our attention in task that are not rewarding immediately.
This is why is important to only focus in reasonable small chunks of time. This are the minutes where you can be more efficient. The Pomodoro Technique suggest 25 minutes, but in my case I prefer 50 minutes. Any amount is good as long as you are committed to keep working on any given task for that chunk.
Our brain is used to being distracted all the time. A game, a movie, social media, you name it, our brain likes novelty and this behavior is addictive. With everyday you spend being distracted, your brain reinforces more the habit of avoiding focus.
Have a more balanced life
If we are more productive in less time, we can have a more balanced life if we use the rest of our time for other things not related to work.
We usually neglect those parts because of work and at the end are the most important. Health, friends and family, hobbies, excessive.
Having a more balanced live will lead to a more fulfilling life.