Knowledge Base · Time
How do I protect time for focused work?
Put focused work on the calendar as a block and treat it with the same respect as a meeting with your most important client: notifications off, phone on silent, one task only. Inside the block, the Pomodoro Technique helps: work for 25 minutes, take a short break of about five minutes, and take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes after four rounds.
A to-do list does not protect anything. The book's method is time blocking: if a big rock matters, it gets a named slot on the calendar, such as a two-hour block labelled Deep Work: Marketing Strategy, rather than a line on a list that any interruption can push aside.
- Choose one task to be accomplished.
- Set a timer for 25 minutes and work on that task with single-minded focus until it rings.
- Mark a checkmark, then take a short break of about five minutes.
- After four Pomodoros, take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.
The book presents Pomodoro, developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s, as a way to break large tasks into manageable chunks and to prevent the mental fatigue that comes from pushing on without a break. It also helps with procrastination, because the commitment is only to start the timer.
Protect the edges as well. Leave buffers between meetings instead of running back to back, and look for repetitive low-value work you can automate or remove. Every hour recovered that way is an hour available for focused work.
Related questions
- How do I stop being reactive and make my calendar strategic?
- How do I prioritise when everything feels urgent?
- What is a DILO (Day in the Life Of) study, and how do I run one?
Source: Continuous Improvement in the Workplace, Ch. 11 (Time Management).