Fitting a 40-Hour Workweek into 16.7 Hours

In the latest issue of Fast Company Magazine.Chris Winfield has an article on effective work habits. By some of our poor habits, we stretch our work into more time than is actually needed.

The result is time wasted that could be used for other things, in our others pursuits of life.

Winfield set a goal for himself to reform his life from a workaholic 60-80 hours per week to something more reasonable.

As he describes it, “I had to make a big change. I had to figure out how to work smarter, not harder. I needed to optimize my work process to do more in less time.”

He found his solution in something called “the Pomodoro Technique.” It was developed by an Italian engineer, Francesco Cirillo, in the late 1980s. He maintains a website devoted to the technique, : http://PomodoroTechnique.com.

Humorously, the technique is named pomodoro, or, in English “tomato”, because of the popular kitchen timer shaped like a tomato.

The idea is to set a time and until it runs out, work intently. At the end of the time period, take a short break.

Winfield discovered that by following this approach, he could cut his work time dramatically and in one test, finish his work in 16.7 hours, rather than the traditional 40.

It helped him get more done, a lot more, but he eventually recognized that he wasn’t going to always live up to the standard.

The reality is that I’m a human being, living in a world full of other humans. I have emotions I don’t control, and I often get tired. Some tasks I simply don’t feel like doing, even though I know they’re important—possibly even urgent.

If your work week leaves you worn out and not accomplishing what you hoped, try out the pomodoro technique. It will help.

To read all of Winfield’s article, go here: The Simple Technique To Fit A 40-Hour Workweek Into 16.7 Hours.