Making the most of your time can be notoriously difficult when you’re blogging for your business – particularly when you work from home. Distractions are all around and before you know it the day is over, along with your chances of making a decent profit. So how can you boost your productivity simply and easily when you’re trying to make a business blog work?

There’s a time management technique that’s been around since the 1980s. The Pomodoro Technique is a process whereby you allocate 25-minute blocks of time to a piece of work (25 minutes is traditionally one pomodoro), and take a 5-minute break after each one.

You can spread out larger blog posts over several blocks of time, or pomodoros, and after completing four pomodoros you take a longer break of 15-20 minutes.

How to boost your productivity with the Pomodoro Technique 

It’s all about focus. Spend each block of 25 minutes focusing on just one task without doing or thinking about anything else and you significantly boost your productivity. Not only that, as you achieve more it becomes a great motivational tool.

It might sound simple but the Pomodoro Technique trains your mind to concentrate for short periods of time. In doing so it helps you gain a useful insight into your own working practices whilst improving blog output and ultimately increasing your revenues.

Francesco Cirillo, the inventor of the technique, used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer and named each successfully completed 25-minute work period a ‘pomodoro’ – the Italian word for tomato.

How to use the Pomodoro Technique to boost your productivity

• Choose a task that you need to complete – it should have your full attention for the whole pomodoro
• Set a timer for 25 minutes – you must stay focused on the task and work without interruption
• Work on the task for 25 minutes – if you think of something else that you need to do during this time, make a note so you stay focussed on the task at hand
• When the 25 minutes is complete and the timer rings, mark down that you’ve completed one pomodoro
• Take a 5-10 minute break
• Complete another three 25-minute pomodoros as above, and after the fourth one take a longer break of around 20-30 minutes

If you finish the task before 25 minutes is up, don’t take a break early – look over your work or plan your next pomodoro so your brain becomes used to this fixed routine. Conversely, if you don’t complete the task, make a note of your progress and continue during the next pomodoro.

Essentially, this is a psychological approach to achieving more over the course of a working day, with the fixed routine being an important element. You’re training your brain to focus for this limited period of time, so you’re less likely to become distracted and can boost your productivity.

Can you vary the length of a pomodoro?

You may want to work longer than 25 minutes in some cases. Ninety minutes is a common time period for people to maintain their focus, so you could try this rather than the traditional 25-minute pomodoro if you think it would help.

Also, there may be a time in the day when you’re naturally better able to concentrate and complete more work. If this is the case you may not need to use the Pomodoro Technique at those times.

You could find the system helpful at other times of the day, however, when your focus is waning but you still need to get some serious work done. Although not ‘traditional’ pomodoros, these variations on the technique maintain its spirit and goals, helping you focus when necessary.

The Pomodoro Technique is particularly useful if you’re busy and it’s difficult to find the time to write your business blog. In conjunction with a content calendar it supports your efforts and provides a reliable framework for writing.

The Pomodoro Technique – a low-tech solution to boost your productivity

Proponents of the Pomodoro Technique favour low-tech kitchen timers and pen and paper over computers or smartphone timers. Once you’ve successfully completed a few pomodoros, you start to associate the act of physically winding up a kitchen timer with starting work.

A vital element is that it’s a limited work session and not an open-ended one where you’re likely to become distracted, so if you’re not keen on writing you know you only have to work for a short time before you can take a break.

Similarly, using a pencil and paper to record your pomodoros becomes part of the process, signalling to your brain that work has ended for a few minutes.

It takes time to build up this association between your brain and the physical actions – it may be a week or more before you start to work with greater ease and focus using this method, but don’t give up.

Benefits of the Pomodoro Technique

Two important benefits of using the Pomodoro Technique are a better understanding of your workflow, and greater focus. When you’re developing a business blog it provides all-important structure to the day, and a foundation on which to build rapport with your customers.

It’s a simple but very effective productivity boosting system if you stick with it – it’ll help you achieve your goals with less effort, working in a ‘flow’ state where you’re not distracted.

Try the Pomodoro Technique and see how it boosts your productivity – you’ll never look back.

Do you already run a business blog or are wondering where to start? Why not drop me a line to find out how I can help. I write about money management, debt management, budgeting, freelancing, and working from home.

Let me help you reap the rewards of business blogging – building your brand, connecting with customers, and becoming the ‘go to’ resource in your market. Please get in touch via the Contact form, or drop me an email at: ann@cornerstonewebcontent.com

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