2018 - Week 20 - 20 Minute Life

In the Fast and Furious series, Dom, the main character, talks about the quarter mile life.  How he lives his life a quarter mile at a time.  He is sharing that during that quarter mile race he is totally in the zone..focused, in his place of solitude, no distractions, no worries... almost perfection.  All of his being is operating as one...he is free.

Shondra Rimes talked about the hum in her book - The Year of Yes.  She said the hum sounds like an open road and I could drive it forever.  The hum is a drug, the hum is music, the hum is God’s whisper right in my ear. She realized she was out of balance; she worked too hard and did not make time to play…once she found balance again; the hum returned.

Recently, I found my life out of balance…I did not have the hum and the quarter mile as short as it is - seemed like 25 miles and I felt every step.  I made a few changes and I still did not have my hum.  Everything was cumbersome and a struggle. I would start one thing, remember another, turn my attention to that and then leave that to go to do another thing. At the end of the day, I would have started 10 things and finished 1 completed.  Generally, the completed task had blown up and I was doing damage control or it was about to blow up... I smelled the smoke and caught it before the explosion...I needed to get back to my hum. 

I learned about a time management technique called the Pomodoro Technique.  The purpose is to limit distractions and allows you to focus on a set amount of time.  The recommended time span is 25 minutes with a 5-minute break.  I have found that 20 minutes of uninterrupted time - allowed me to find my hum again.  I have time to meditate, time to exercise, time to read, time to play...time to drive that quarter mile and hum!

Ladies, if you are searching for your hum….take time allow your vision to come into focus and you can join me in living the 20-minute life.

POMODORO TECHNIQUE

1. 1. Choose a task to be accomplished.
2. 2. Set the Pomodoro to 25  minutes (the Pomodoro is the timer) - (Yolanda's method 20 minutes)
3. 3. Work on the task 
4. 4. Place an 'x' on your sheet for each distraction - mental wandering, text message, phone call, personal visit, social media notification, or other distraction.  Make a note and get back to work.
5. 5. Place a check on your sheet when the Pomodoro rings
6. 4. Take a short break (5 minutes is OK) (Yolanda's method - 10-minute break)
7. 5. After every 4 checks or Pomodoros take a longer break

DISTRACTION STRATEGY

A Pomodoro is an indivisible unit of work—that means if you're distracted by a coworker, meeting, or emergency, you have two choices:

• End the Pomodoro there (saving your work and starting a new one later), or 
• Postpone the distraction until the Pomodoro is complete. Founder Francesco Cirillo suggests the "inform, negotiate, schedule, and call back" strategy:

1. Inform the person that you're working on something right now.
2. Negotiate a time when you can get back to them in a timely manner.
3. Schedule and note the follow-up immediately.
4. Call back the other party when your Pomodoro is complete and you're ready to tackle their issue.

MEASURE and CELEBRATE!

• Set an initial goal of 5 completed Pomodoros per day
• Baseline the number of distractions per Pomodoro
• Analyze the timing of most distractions to assist with future planning
• Assess if a change of location is needed for intense focus time
• Celebrate during a break..you did it!
• Celebrate effective negotiating...you did it!
• Celebrate a day of hum!