I only watched the Netflix series, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, once. It wasn’t bad. It just wasn’t great enough for me to commit my time to. There was a quote, however, that resonated with me. Kimmy said, “You can stand anything for 10 seconds.” After that? “Then you just start on a new 10 seconds.”
That’s what I’ve been saying about work that I don’t look forward to. Even in the best jobs–and I’ve been lucky enough to have great jobs for the past decade–there is still work that I find dull, overwhelming, or trite.
Thank goodness for the Pomodoro technique.
The Pomodoro technique segments a task into one or more 25-minute periods. I work on a task for a period of time, called a pomodoro (Italian for tomato). When that time is up, I take a break for five minutes. Then I repeat until the task is done.
It’s simple and painless. Somehow, that little act of setting the timer clarifies my thoughts and helps me take on overwhelming (and underwhelming) projects.
I’ve been using the Pomodoro technique for years. I’ve come to rely on it for things I don’t really want to start, or continue, or finish. Using a time segment of just 25 minutes, I have found that, like Kimmy Schmidt, I can stand anything for 25 minutes.
After that? Then I just start on a new 25 minutes.
For more information about using Pomodoros, see:
