Could the best productivity hack also be the best fitness hack?
I started working an office job again recently, after about a 5.5 year break.
If you’ve ever talked to me in person and tried to maintain eye contact while I wiggled around the room, you probably =now that I have ADHD.
A + B = trying to sit/stand behind a desk for 8 hours a day is damn near impossible for me.
A series of related events recently led me to quit trying.
I was wiggling behind said desk, on a “Scheduling and Prioritizing” virtual work training, when I heard about the Pomodoro timer for about the 47th time.
The Pomodoro timer technique is when you set a timer for 25 minutes, do deep focused work for that 25 minute period, and then take a 5 minute break. You do that four times, and then take a 30 minute break. It’s supposed to help you be more productive, but it only works if you actually remember to do it.
Thanks to the aforementioned ADHD, I promptly forgot about it, just like I’d done the other 47 times.
That weekend I got a massage from a really smart guy who knows a lot about the body. While he applied the cups to my back that I still have bruises from, we got to chatting and he mentioned a podcast he’d just listened to. On it, the author of The Body Electric: The Hidden Health Costs of the Digital Age and New Science to Reclaim Your Well-Being, Manous Zomorodi, talked about research that shows that if you move for just 5 minutes every 30 minutes, it’s way good for you.
I listened to the podcast and found out that not only is it good for your focus, it’s also good for your blood sugar, blood pressure, and mood. In fact, 5 minutes of gentle movement every 30 throughout the day is significantly better for you than having a long intense workout each morning.
I thought to myself: “woah. What a great way to feed two birds with one scone. I can be more productive at work AND improve my physical and mental health at the same time”. (Squirrel alert: did you know PETA has a whole list of veganized popular sayings?)
When Monday rolled around, I pulled up a Pomodoro timer on YouTube and gave it a try. I fell in love during my first 5 minute break. Literally. Monday’s my work from home day and I took myself on a stroll down the street during my break, where I met the most magnificent cat I have ever seen.
The cat didn’t want me to stop petting it, and that break was longer than 5 minutes. But when I did get back to my desk I busted out another highly focused work session. It’s much easier to tell yourself “no you don’t need a refill right now” when you know you just have to wait less than 25 minutes.
By Wednesday, I’d swapped from YouTube to the free “FocusPomo” app. It’s extra awesome because it gets my smart watch to buzz at the beginning and end of break time. And it rewards me after every break with another little tomato that rolls around my screen and shakes my phone when it bumps into the other tomatoes I’ve already collected. I celebrate internally when I get those tomatoes, which activates my Sage brain even further, which makes it easier for me to do another focus round.
I’ve been sticking with it ever since. And I’ve had more productive and enjoyable workdays as a result.
My challenge to you this week: Give FocusPomo a try. I will get nothing. You will get virtual tomatoes. And, hopefully, to check a bunch of stuff off your to-do list
PS: Here’s a link to that podcast episode if you’d like to check it out!
