A productive, academic client says that the most important thing she learned while she was writing her dissertation was to use small chunks of time during the day for her writing. Working on her dissertation in just 30 minutes here and there allowed her to finish the project.
What have you tried that will help you work in small chunks of time? You’ve probably heard of using a timer, but have you heard of the Pomodoro Technique?
The Pomodoro technique has a very interesting approach to making the most of your time. Check out this video–The Pomodoro Technique Trains Your Brain Away From Distractions.
The approach is familiar, but as the title of the video suggests, you must train your brain to focus and to produce during a small, discrete amount of time. In this video, you’re asked to choose one task and write it down, set your timer for 25 minutes, work for those 25 minutes without stopping, and then when the time is up, reward yourself with a 5-minute break. This approach allows you to put a boundary around a small amount of time, discourages multi-tasking, and teaches you to value the small chunks of time that too often are ignored as prime writing time.
Perhaps you’ve tried many different techniques, but you continue to put off your writing. You need to add some accountability. Drop me an email. I’d love to help you keep on course with your writing goals this year. That’s what I do!
All good wishes,
Nancy
Nancy Whichard, Ph.D., PCC
Your International Dissertation and Academic Career Coach
Nancy @ nancywhichard.com
http://www.dissertationbootcamp.net/
http://www.usingyourstrengths.com/
http://www.smarttipsforwriters.com/
Thanks for the pomodoro video- made me realize the connections among procrastination, distraction availability, attention deficit problems, use of time. The noise of the timer ticking was apparently helpful to the speaker.
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