While working virtually or from home offers several advantages, it also comes with many surprising potential drawbacks. Having some key time management skills under your belt can help as you learn how to best handle your new work schedule.
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. It uses a timer to break your daily work down into short, easy to manage intervals while allowing for small breaks in between each work period.
If you haven’t heard of this time management method, let us show you how you can apply it to your day-to-day work routine. Not only will it help you get more work accomplished each day, but it will also keep you free from distractions associated with working from home.
What is a Pomodoro?
One Pomodoro is equal to a 30-minute time period, which includes 25 minutes of focused work and a 5-minute break. During this time, you need to rid your work area of all distractions. This is different for each person and can include items such as:
- Turning off the TV.
- Closing all non-work-related tabs on your computer.
- Silencing your phone.
- Not checking social media.
- And many more.
Plan Your Work
Before you set the timer for your first Pomodoro, make a list of what you need to accomplish that same day. This will help you schedule the number of Pomodoros needed for that particular task. For example, if you are setting up a new social media account for a client and you estimate it will take about three hours, you can plan on at least six Pomodoros in order to accomplish this goal.
Prep Your Work Area
Once you set the timer for 25 minutes, you want to ensure there are no distractions that may arise during that focused work time. You’ll want to take care of any pressing responsibilities or tasks that could possibly interfere with your schedule. Again, this is different for each person and could include the following:
- Taking the dog outside for a bathroom break.
- Making coffee or getting a snack.
- Setting up an activity or movie for the kids.
- Making any personal phone calls.
- And many others.
Next blog post, we’ll explore what a typical Pomodoro schedule could look like for a virtual assistant working from home.
If you’re looking for more resources and tools, visit our Training and Downloads page for access to WordPress training videos and Done-for-You social media graphics specifically for virtual assistants and online business owners.