Scott Cheatham’s Weblog

The Pomodoro As A Time Keeper!

Can a tomato shaped timer enhance and improve your productivity? For Italian software designer Francesco Cirillo, it made all the difference in the world. In designing his “Pomodoro Technique” time management system, Cirillo developed a way to stay focused, lessen the severity of interruptions, and get more done during his work day.

I heard of this system last week when a Twitter friend directed me to a time management piece written by the Wall Street Journal. Columnist Sue Shellenbarger tried out three time management systems and then reviewed the pros and cons of each one. Included in the three were the venerable favorites, GTD (Getting Things Done) by David Allen and Stephen Covey’s “Focus” method. Sandwiched in between was “The Pomodoro Technique”. The system is named after a tomato (Pomodoro in Italian) and has its roots in the fact that it was through the use of a tomato shaped kitchen timer that Cirillo developed and perfected his system.

In a nutshell, the system breaks down into managing your time in short bursts of productive time with a brief interval of recovery (A Pomodoro). This isn’t unlike the recovery methods discussed in the book “The Power of Full Engagement” that I reviewed last year. And it’s very much like the “Power of 48″ method I’ve discussed where you work for 48 minutes and take a 12 minute break.

The real beauty in a system like this is its simplicity and the way it can integrate with methods you might already feel comfortable with. The technique, like any time-management system, requires you to keep a log of your tasks (an inbox to process), a list of activities to accomplish each day (a results or to-do list) and a record of your achievements that you can keep either on paper or through a spreadsheet so you can manage projects more effectively and budget the right amount of time for them in the future.

I particularly liked Cirillo’s method of handling both internal and external interruptions to your work day. This has many applications depending on your employment situation but is adaptable to any method.

You can purchase a bound copy of the book describing the method or you can go to Cirillo’s site and download a free copy of the eBook for “The Pomodoro Technique”. It’s 45 pages long and took me less than two hours to read after I downloaded it. It also includes sample forms for you to use to get started measuring your projects and actions in “Pomodoros“.

One observation from my first read: This system would seem like a no-brainer for people working in offices and tied to their desks all the time be it home office or work office. For a pastor like myself, I can see the benefit in timing out the administrative and study time I need by budgeting my mornings and/or afternoons and thus, freeing up other time for visitation or meetings. Since the nature of my work has me out for several hours at a time some days, it makes sense to minimize distractions when I’m at my desk to get things done in a timely fashion so I can move on to activities that involve people, which is my main business!

All in all, I like the idea of the “Pomodoro” technique. Cirillo has found a way to simplify tracking your tasks and getting more done with less distraction and the fact that he has made the system free for downloading is quite nice indeed. Download a copy of the eBook and share your thoughts on this new way of looking at time management.

And I wrote this piece in one Pomodoro! So now, I’m taking a break!

I don’t know much about the development of this product but I know this..I want one! Microsoft’s “Courier” tablet is in the process of coming to market and I think it will change the way we work with computers.

Apple’s working on their iTablet to try to beat Microsoft but I think this might be the superior product. I will wait for a while and let the market bear out.

Check out the videos on the Gizmodo site that shows off some of what this new generation of tablet PC’s will be able to do!

A Fun Idea!

One of the most important skills anyone can learn is how to communicate effectively. One of the key components of this skill is learning how to craft your message to your listeners. Who are you speaking to? Do you know what type of person they are and what drives them? That’s what the book “Kingdomality” tries to solve. Author Sheldon Bowles with help from Richard and Susan Silvano has crafted a fun, entertaining way of looking at yourself and the people you communicate with.

The book features a fictional narrative of an out of sorts King whose kingdom is not operating so well. A wizard happens along to grant him a wish and the king asks for wisdom in leading his people. From there, the king is taken to another kingdom where he learns about the various guildhalls (base types) and the people who live in them (more precise types). The book groups twelve different personality types into the four guildhalls (three in each group) and the king learns about each by meeting the various types. Such titles as the “Black Knight”, “Dreamer-Minstrel”, “Doctor”, and “Scientist” make up the kingdom. A read of the book (or listen to the audio book) is necessary to understand more about the various types. Titles are deceptive. For instance, “Benevolent Rulers” are not necessarily the kings in this kingdom. Any of the twelve types can lead but the key is to learn who YOU are and then learn about those you work with or lead. When you do that, you can be much more successful in being productive and leading those around you. By the book’s end, the king is grasping the fundamentals and is already making a difference in his kingdom.

What I liked about “Kingdomality” is that the book was a brisk, fun read. As a pastor, I see great benefit in learning how to improve in communicating with my congregation. Aside from the funny titles and engaging narrative, the book provides real, applicable ideas that can be tailored to your work setting. As a bonus, you can go to the author’s website and take the Kingdomality Profile test to get a handle on your type and its strengths and weaknesses. You can take the test by clicking here. I tested as a “Dreamer-Minstrel” which suits me perfectly. My wife is most likely a “Doctor” and that gives me great insight on the way she thinks and how I can best communicate to her as her husband. When you get the basic ideas of the book incorporated into your life, it’s amazing how much benefit you can draw for such a little book.

I’ve studied many management forms and personality typing. This book was the first of it’s kind to bring a bit of lighthearted fun to the process while stressing that nobody can be pigeonholed into just one main type. Our tendencies will always be found in a type, but there are shades of grey in the typing that the author addresses.

The book was released in 2005 and is available both in print and audio versions. The audio version is quite entertaining as the book authors elected to produce the text as a dramatic performance with voice actors, music, and various sound effects. This was also a nice change from the standard reading of the text in many audio books.

I recommend this book to you. Of course, as a “Dreamer-Minstrel”, I’m expected to be quite upbeat and positive about all things so my review should logically focus on the positive aspects of this book and what benefits you can draw from it! You’ll figure that out after you read it! Have fun.

I recently purchased an audio resource by blogger, author, and pastor Bob Franquiz titled “The Productive Leader”.  The resource is directed at leaders in any business setting but has great benefit for pastors and Christian leaders since that is where Franquiz is serving.  The resource is a two CD set with roughly 90 minutes or so of information. In it, Franquiz shares 24 productivity tips to get you on a path to getting more done in less time.

As most of my readers know, I enjoy this type of material. I read a lot of books to help me be a better leader and lately, many new audio resources are making their way into my library. David Allen’s “Making It All Work” is a great audio book as is “Getting Things Done”.  Nelson Searcy has a similar audio resource available for leaders in churches and business that I own. I share these resources with leaders in my church to give them ways to grow. Not everyone has my love of reading so an audio resource like this one is a welcome addition.

In all, I liked what Franquiz did here. He gives you doable ideas, he’s to the point, and he doesn’t waste a lot of time. I listened to it twice in a week’s period and am now getting ready to share it with my other leaders. My only “negative” is this review is that the audio on the CD’s was each one long cut instead of “chapters”. This is a big deal for me since I rip these over to my MP3 players to use when I exercise or am in my car. I would have liked to have been able to bookmark the cuts rather than make a mental reference as to where I left off so I can fast forward there when I return. This is minimal though. I am in the process of taking the MP3 tracks I ripped and cutting them up myself into chapters for future use!

Franquiz did a nice job with this resource. If you are looking for something to jump start your productivity, then give “The Productive Leader” a try. And no, I’m not being compensated for this endorsement!

The final installment in my personal growth planning is the daily plan. After I’ve looked long range at my annual goals, broken them down into monthly goals, then put them in executable format in my weekly plan, the next step is to plan each day to make things happen.  The key phrase in that last sentence is to PLAN EACH DAY.  I think it’s a good idea to plan each day in advance if you’re going to have any success in getting things done.  You may be aware of my reasoning for this but if not, consider your present day plan (if you have one).  You may write a few things down from time to time but nobody plans for interruptions do they? Funny thing is, they happen all the time.  Phone calls, friends stopping us, that “must be done now” project the boss throws on your desk, you name it.  Before long, your list gets tossed and you just react to the input around you.  This is a sure road for disaster and NEVER accomplishing the things you want to.

Start your day the night before.  I give roughly 15 minutes at night before retiring to look over my weekly plan and include a few things on my daily plan.  I use a small Picadilly (Moleskine clone) notebook that I’ve tabbed for my use and use a fresh page for each day.  I look first at my time sensitive commitments.  Any appointments there that need to be figured in?  Once I have that settled, then I plan at least three items I want to accomplish on that day.  These are my “Big Three” and I make them a priority to complete.  In fact, my goal is to accomplish at least one of these three tasks before the bulk of my day begins.  I do this because it gives me a sense of accomplishment and “get up and go” for my day.  Now I’m down to only two and I still have the whole day!

Underneath the big three, I put some “batch” tasks on my page that I can accomplish in differing contexts.  Phone calls, errands, computer tasks (both those that require internet access and those that don’t), and other similar tasks go below my priorities.  I do this so if I’m found with a ten minute window with nothing to do, I can quickly review my list and see that I could make a quick phone call (or two) and take something else off my list for the week.  Perhaps something happens and I’m left with a half hour to kill.  If I’m lucky enough to be at a place where I have access to a computer I can type a quick letter, reply to my email, or communicate with my associates through any number of social networking sites.  The key here is to maximize your time in whatever way is most efficient for you and to build new habits to see hidden opportunities to get things done.  This way, when you are home, you can disconnect if you choose and know that you are not cheating yourself.  Too many times I came home with phone calls to make, letters to write, visits on my list, and so many other things that I felt overwhelmed.  Now, I can relax on most nights and have quality time with my family while still achieving!  So what goes on my day planner each morning?  It changes from day to day but here’s roughly what it looks like…

My first priority is my time with God.  I can’t be an effective pastor if I’m not spending time with God each day so I look over my time commitments and I schedule in my “appointment” with God.  This is like any other appointment and I’m very guarded about moving it in any way.  For me, this time is most available to me in the early morning and that’s my favorite time anyway so I pencil it in each day.  Prayer and meditation are a part of this time also.

Next is my daily commitments.  I’m trying to lose weight so I MUST plan some time for exercise in my day.  This is an easy commitment to break since it’s for yourself but I’ve had to learn that it’s only through consistent training that I will see any progress so in it goes on my planner.  My wife and children need my time too so I look for ways I can get time in with them.  My oldest daughter is going through dental school so her schedule is limited.  My wife works full time and we have to coordinate date times so we can grab some coffee or a late night bite to eat without the kids.  All of this is considered so if I’ve planned wisely on my weekly plan, these times should go in easily.  Do you see now why I said all part of the plan are vital?

I also take time each day to pray for those that don’t know Christ.  I have many names on my prayer list so I make time each day to ask God to make Himself very real to these folks.  To me, this is one of those “key” areas that need to be a priority for me.

All of that is wrapped into my daily planning along with my “big three” and “batch” tasks.  In all, this entire system has worked for me and has allowed me to achieve more in the past few years than I ever have.  My only regret is that I didn’t discover it sooner.  I hope what has been shared here will be of use to you as you plan for the coming fall season.  Get started!  Do it now! Don’t procrastinate any longer.  Re-read all the part of this system and customize your own plan for growth and change in your life! May God bless you on your new journey!

Today continues our series on personal growth.  So far we’ve discussed annual and monthly planning and now it’s time to narrow our focus further into a weekly mindset.

I want to stress that each part of the plan is vital.  The parts fit together in a well run system that guide you in your planning each year.  Do not try to skip any part of the planning process in order to speed things up.  What will happen is you will stunt your goals, get frustrated, and eventually give up.  So let’s talk about our weekly planning and what goes into it…

If you recall, in the monthly planning I mentioned putting certain things on your annual calendar so you could be more efficient in your growing process.  As the weekly planning begins, we now must look at our notes and goals, and begin putting real action steps on our plan that we can execute for success.  For me, this process is Sunday evenings.  I like to go to a coffee shop somewhere, sit down with my planner, my goals, and a weekly printout of my calendar commitments and put my week together.  In his best-selling book “Getting Things Done”, author David Allen asks for a “weekly review” as part of his organizational process and this step is very much like that for me.  I begin by reviewing my past week and seeing what commitments are still outstanding and need to be given priority in the coming week.  I also look at things like my wife’s ever changing work schedule and the school calendar for my children.  Certain days are early release days for us so I make it a point to mark these on my planner so I don’t forget.  Depending on my wife’s schedule, I might have to drop the kids off at an activity so I make sure to note this as well.

Another important step for me at this stage of planning is to schedule a day off!  Sometimes, I cannot do this because of commitments so I’ll look for a block of time where I can free myself from work to do something with my children.  If at all possible though, I will try to make it a point to take an entire day off each week.  This is healthy and needed if we are going to be effective.  I try to schedule my time off in concert with my wife so perhaps I can take her to breakfast, walk the mall with her, go to a park, or something else she might like.  I also want to schedule some quality time with my kids if possible.  All of these things need to be looked at in advance if you want to have success here.  It’s too easy to try to “shoot from the hip” and accomplish these things as time happens but the reality is most likely you will not do it because life gets in the way.  My oldest daughter is married now and time is short.  If I don’t plan something with her, we won’t get together at all.  She’s busy learning to be a wife, a full-time student, and a soon-to-be mom.

The point is, look ahead each week and try to block out time for important things.  My quiet time with God is scheduled.  Exercise is planned. my reading goals are reviewed and I try to block out time for books.  Your life may be different but there’s enough “stuff” for you to plan ahead for.  The idea is to maximize your time with a well thought out plan that will let you move further toward your goals.  The weekly planning is where the wheels start to hit the road for actually DOING the things you need to do to move forward.  Take a little time each week to look ahead seven days and plan your next week!

On Wednesday, we finish our series with a look at the final phase of personal growth…the DAILY plan.

Today, we begin the journey of personal growth with the first step in our planning.  The annual plan.  As I mentioned yesterday in my introduction, I use several ideas I’ve gleaned over the years to prepare my goals, projects, and tasks for the coming season.  When I sit down with a notepad and begin putting my personal growth plan together, I start with the next 12 months.  Here’s a breakdown of what that looks like for me.

As I stated previously, I have many long-term goals that may take years (A Master’s Degree for instance) that I plan for.  I keep a list of these in an online file I manage about three times a year.  I go over the goals I’ve set and add new ones.  I look at goals that will take several steps to achieve and I line out those steps or at least the first ones in view.  My goals may include physical, spiritual, financial, or relational targets.  These are the big four in most people’s lives.  This season, one of the goals I’ve moved from my long range plan to my annual plan is weight loss.  I use this only as an illustration because I have several pounds to lose and it’s not something I can plan to do in a month or two.  I set an annual goal and break it down into smaller pieces that I will include in later steps that I will share with you in future posts.

The annual plan should include a calendar.  Here’s a tip.  USE ONE CALENDAR.  Don’t try to manage your personal life on one calendar and your work life on another.  I use Google Calendar for ALL of my date specific events and reminders and I color code them with the helpful “tags” feature in Google.  When you look at the next twelve months, you want to include everything.  Put birthdays down.  If you are married, list your anniversary.  If you have kids (or grandkids), make sure you have a copy of the school calendar and include pertinent information that affects you like their spring break, holidays, early release days, etc.

Next for me is my vacation time.  Once I know when my kids are out of school, I can plan some time away.  How about long weekends?  I haven’t done this enough with my spouse but in 2010, we are planning a few long weekends to just travel out of town (not too far), stay in a hotel, and just enjoy some time away to ourselves to be with each other.  Maybe the kids have a special event they would like to go to.  Now is the time to see if that can fit into your annual plan.

Professionally, I next look to dates that will affect me in my work.  As a pastor, this includes my denomination’s annual convention which is a four day event in mid-July each year.  I write that down and make a note to myself to schedule a speaker for that week in my church. (see how this all works?)  I then include any conferences or special events I might like to attend.  There are good conferences on leadership, spiritual growth, student ministry, and other related items that I may choose to go to.  I can plan ahead by jotting these down and adding them to my Google calendar so it’s all in view.  I also consider that I may have to book an event or speaker ahead of time in my church so now is a good time to look at potential dates for that and make myself another note to run those by people who have to plan months or even a full year ahead!

By now, your calendar should have quite a few things on it.  You should a better global view of your year.  Now, begin to look at those goals you’ve set for yourself for this coming year and let’s break them down into smaller spaces of time.  You can do this.  It’s not difficult when you invest in yourself by planning.  As I said previously, I can guarantee if you do not do this, you will still be spinning your wheels in a year and wonder where the time went.  Don’t make that mistake.  Start today by setting up a calendar that works for you.  Use these steps to put everything on it.  Review your goals and get ready to plan those out.  If you don’t have goals set for yourself, set down for at least an hour or so and write those down before you do anything and be ready to challenge yourself to grow like never before in this coming year.

Next up…our Monthly planning schedule.

You Must Have a Plan!

Each year at this time, I sit down and begin to prepare for the year ahead.  I have long term goals that I plan for several years out but each year, as I look at those goals,  I begin the process of whittling them down to ones I want to achieve in the next 12 months.  This “Personal Growth” calendar/plan also includes some short-term goals that come along in my day-to-day life and then there’s the daily tasks we all must manage.

For certain, if we do not invest the time to plan ahead and make an “action” plan for our goals, we will NEVER achieve them.  Some goals are so big that we think they are unattainable but if we break them down into smaller pieces, we might be surprised what a year, three years, even five years might bring.  I’m living proof of that as I’ll share later.

The skills I want to share over the next few posts were ones I should have learned long ago.  I didn’t but tried to make up for lost time as best I can.  With my 43rd birthday looming on the horizon later this month, I know how precious time is.  I’ve learned a lot from several sources including books, audio resources, and other professionals to name just a few.  I’ve also put these skills to work in my own life as a pastor and they have been life changing.

I write a lot about time management skills but these are “life” management skills I will cover.  These skills work hand-in-hand with time management to help us bring about the life we want.  Now that doesn’t mean that everything will work out exactly as you plan it.  I’m living proof of that as well.  As a pastor, I know the “God” factor that plays a role in all of this.  God ultimately controls our destiny.  But he wants us to plan.  He wants us to be successful so we can be a blessing to others.

Starting tomorrow, I will share some practices and ideas I include in my own annual personal growth plan.  I might include that this plan is always a work in progress.  I’m constantly on the lookout for new ideas and strategies to make planning more effective.  What I share might be something you can really use or it might be something you need to adapt to your own special learning style.  Whatever it takes, YOU NEED A PLAN.  We need a target to shoot for if we are ever going to achieve our life goals.  It starts with you, a quiet place, a pencil/pen, and a notepad (at minimum).  Let’s begin the journey and share ideas tomorrow!

I’ve been asked by many friends about my use of the Moleskine (or Piccadilly knockoff) notebooks.  There are many uses for this versatile little pocket notebook but more and more popular is the PDA “hack” for pocket moleskines.  Rather than reinvent the wheel, I thought I’d share this post for a moleskine hack.  It comes from the “Art of Manliness” blog and author Stephen Young:

Of all the tools in your arsenal, without a doubt the most important is your pocket notebook. Notebooks are the obvious precursor to PDA’s and computers, and still have the upper hand on these gadgets in that they are quickly accessible, absolutely customizable and completely unique. No other technology will allow you to easily compile lists, sketches, calendars, notes, plans, links – exactly the way you want them.

You can read the rest of his post with instructions on how to set up your notebook by clicking here.

Again, you do not need a moleskine to make this work.  Any pocket notebook will do.  Piccadilly makes a nice copy of the moleskine for about half the price and it can be purchased at most Borders bookstores.  As fall approaches, now is the time to look at getting better organized.  This little hack may just be what you are looking for!

I’ve had some great feedback on my post regarding Twitter and its many applications.  Since becoming a Twitter user, I’ve found it to be a great way to connect, share great ideas, link to others, and much more.

John Richardson at the “Success Begins Today” blog has now put up a great post with even more helpful uses of this micro blogging service:

What sets Twitter apart from its competition is its timeliness. Thousands of people are sending tweets at any given time about everything imaginable. It’s this live data that can be incredibly useful.

Read the rest of his post here.

John’s blog always has helpful details on it.  I hadn’t considered some of the ideas he shared here.  That’s what makes the blogosphere go ’round!

Have a great day.