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Use the Pomodoro Technique for Faster Writing · The Daily Writer

• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Daily Writer, where we share a lesson each day to help you build habits for writing success.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: If you're having trouble getting focused and using your time well, I highly recommend using something called the Pomodoro technique.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_00: This is a simple focus strategy used by people all over the world and it works really, really well for writing.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_00: In the 1980s, a university student named Francesco Cirrillo was having trouble staying focused, so he decided he would try focusing for just 10 minutes.
• 0:40
  SPEAKER_00: As part of his experiment, he used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer.
• 0:45
  SPEAKER_00: Now, Pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato.
• 0:48
  SPEAKER_00: And therefore, with the combination of his new focusing technique and a tomato-shaped kitchen timer, a simple yet effective new productivity technique was born that would influence millions of people all over the world for generations.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_00: And today this technique is commonly practiced in 25-minute segments.
• 1:06
  SPEAKER_00: And it works like this: you pick an activity to focus on, you set a timer for 25 minutes, you focus on the task till the timer goes off, then you take a break for five minutes.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: So basically it's 25 minutes on, five minutes off.
• 1:19
  SPEAKER_00: You repeat this several times, and then you take a 30-minute break after you do maybe a couple hours of this.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_00: Now the genius of the Pomodoro technique is that it only requires short 25-minute bursts of activity.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: And when you do this, you also know that in addition to that five-minute break every half hour, you're getting a 30-minute break every couple of hours.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: You know, almost anybody can focus for 25 minutes.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: So if you're having trouble getting focused, which by the way, is all of us sometimes, give this technique a shot.
• 1:49
  SPEAKER_00: And even if you only do this one round per day, even if you only write for 25 minutes per day, you'll get a lot more done than if you only write whenever you feel motivated.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: So here's today's daily question.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: How much could you get done if you practice the Pomodoro technique once a day for an entire month?
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening to today's episode.
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: If you've been listening to this show for any length of time, you know that one of the four practices of a great writer is creativity.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: And in order to stay creative, you've got to have great input.
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_00: And that's where writing prompts come in.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_00: A writing prompt is a sentence or two that helps you break through creative blocks, brainstorm new ideas, and get back into a state of flow.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_00: Writing prompts are an awesome creative tool for journaling, storytelling, creative writing, stress relief, social media posts, and so much more.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: But the great news is that you don't have to create these yourself.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: We've put together an amazing package of 365 daily writing prompts.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: So every day for the next year, you can have a shot of inspiration delivered straight to your inbox.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: You can check it out at dailywriterlife.comslash writing prompts.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks, and I'll see you tomorrow.