Have you ever hit a roadblock when working on a project, and felt like you just couldn’t work on it for one second longer? For some of us, that’s due to procrastination: feeling like we need to race against the clock to finish assignments and meet deadlines. Others are overachievers: filling our schedules down to the last minute and viewing downtime as an enemy. Either of these mindsets can cause stress and anxiety, physical and emotional fatigue, and a feeling of being burnt out. The Pomodoro Technique is a series of 6 simple steps that teach you to work with time instead of against it.
The trick is to break your to-do list down into manageable, 25-minute blocks of time, or “pomodoros.”
What Is A “Pomodoro”?
According to the Pomodoro technique, the trick is to break your to-do list down into manageable, 25-minute blocks of time, or “pomodoros.” Creator Franceso Cirollos named these for the tomato-shaped timer he used throughout college. During each block you focus exclusively on one task until it’s complete, and reward yourself with short, relaxing breaks. All you need to get started with this time-management tool is a piece of paper, a pen, and a timer.
Step 1: Pick your task.
Decide what to prioritize first. It should be something worthy of your full, uninterrupted attention. The task can be big or small. It can be something that just came onto your radar today, or something that’s been on your to-do list for weeks.
Step 2: Set a timer for 25 minutes.
It’s time to commit. Francesco Cirillo, originator of the technique, says, “make a small oath to yourself: I will spend 25 minutes on this task and I will not interrupt myself. You can do it! After all, it’s just 25 minutes.”
For 25 minutes, work exclusively on the chosen task.
Step 3: Work until the timer rings.
For the next 25 minutes, work exclusively on the chosen task. If another task or idea comes into your peripherals, write it down on a piece of paper as something to revisit when the 25 minutes is up.
Step 4: Mark it down.
When the timer goes off, make a checkmark on the piece of paper. Congratulate yourself for spending an uninterrupted “pomodoro” on your task!
You can take a breath, meditate, go for a short walk, or anything else you find relaxing. Give yourself 5-10 minutes of free time to reset, then dive back into the same project. Set the timer, and get back to work!
Step 6: Reward yourself.
As you work, mark off every 25 minute block. After every 4 blocks of time, take a longer break of 20-30 minutes. Get up, stretch, move your body around. Your brain needs a minute to catch up to the work you’ve done and rest before the next round.
With this strategy to help focus your brain, narrow your attention span, and use time efficiently, you’ll be moving through your to-do list in no time!
Research has found that almost everyone will experience a panic attack (also known as an anxiety attack) at least once in their life. Anxiety disorders are one of the most common mental illnesses in the U.S., affecting over 40 million people. There are different variations of anxiety disorders, such as general anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), to name a few. While there is no way to cure anxiety completely there are ways to manage and treat anxiety/panic attacks effectively.
A panic attack can be terrifying and it will often happen when a person is under a lot of stress. When an attack happens, a person can experience a combination of symptoms. These can include shortness of breath, muscle spasms, nausea, and sometimes feeling as if you are in great danger and must escape, some people may even think they are having a heart attack.
Anxiety affects millions of people in the U.S. It is mentally and physically draining.
Anxiety attacks are not only physically, and mentally challenging, they are also emotionally exhausting. When having an attack your body begins to release stress hormones which rush into the body inducing a panic attack and making it seem worse. You have to focus on how to ease your mind to help reduce the likelihood of a panic attack taking place and live a healthy and happy life without the fear and worry.
The first step to managing an anxiety attack is to know why they happen. Finding out the source will help you learn what brings it up, make you aware of what fears you have, and help break the cycle. Sometimes this is something you know and can figure out on your own. More often than not it can be helpful to speak to a professional. They can help you pinpoint exactly why you are having these attacks and help you come up with solutions to keep your mind at ease.
This can be one of the best techniques to gain control over an anxiety disorder but there is no guarantee you will never have an attack again. So if you do some tips to remember are:
Breathe Slowly
When having a panic attack, you begin to breathe quickly which in turn increases your heart rate. Stop and take a slow deep breath while counting to five to help ease your body. Continue to take deep breaths until you feel your panic attack fading.
Thinking positive thoughts is one way to help conquer a panic attack.
Think Positive
It is easy to start to focus on the things that are going wrong and the negativity around us. Stop and think positive thoughts in order to help calm yourself. You can write positive thoughts or aspirations down so that your brain focuses on positivity.
Distract Yourself
Distracting yourself can help prevent anxious thinking and reduce symptoms of a panic attack. You can start counting, call a friend, play a game, organize something, work on a project, and so on to distract yourself. Sometimes sensory distractions work such as strong tastes, cold ice water, sense of touch and so on are more distracting from the active stress response.
Relax Your Muscles
Find a comfortable place and sit or lie down when a panic attack begins. This will offset the stress response because your body can not go into both stress mode and relax mode. The more relaxed, the faster your body gets rid of stress hormones.
Many people that have anxiety disorders do not seek treatment, which can only worsen symptoms. It is important to get a hold of a panic attack before it even begins. Practice these techniques and find what works for you in order to live a more stress free life. If things are too extreme, seek help from a therapist or your doctor for medication.
Three. That simple number changed my life forever.
I Was Lost
For years, I struggled with achieving what I thought to be perfection. I stressed myself out studying for tests on subjects that made no sense to me, staying up late surrounded by piles of my meticulously-written notes, likely with tears in my eyes because I was afraid of missing the mark. In the end, the work paid off, I was a straight A student.. I was rewarded with a Bachelor’s degree, with honors. Though I aced my exams (except you, organic chem), I failed to really understand the way my mind worked, failed to really understand myself and because of that, I failed to be kind to myself.
In college, I thought I was going to be a dentist. I wanted to make my parents proud, to give them bragging rights that their child was a six-figure earner. I wanted to show up my bullies, so that they would regret every unkind thing that they had ever said about the “ugly girl.” I wanted to feel powerful behind my smirk when I told everyone about my career during house parties at my beach oasis in the Hamptons. I wanted to have what I thought was the perfect career choice, even at the expense of my own happiness.
Nothing Changed
After graduating college, I still relied heavily on my instincts in my day-to-day life, in the workplace, in relationships. Can I attain perfection? What is the next big thing I can achieve? I stayed up late writing out lists of my goals, pasting new images on my vision board. After I moved out on my own, however, things shifted and I truly broke down.
I felt alone, isolated, and I lacked the support system that I needed to keep me going. I dragged my feet every morning, apathetic about life, until I stumbled upon the Enneagram Assessment. The short quiz claimed it would help me better understand myself and since I was so ready to give up on everything I thought I knew, I took a chance and answered the all questions that same day, eager for the results to give me direction on my then, undefined path. The assessment listed a series of short statements, asking that the user honestly grade each as applicable to their personality and ways of thinking. In noting whether users “agreed”, “disagreed”, or felt “neutral” about the statements, they were pinpointed as one of nine personality types.
The Results Changed My Life
Type Three: The Achiever. These individuals want to be affirmed and admired to feel valuable, and fear being worthless. As children, Threes learn that when they performed well in certain activities that were valued by their parents or peers, they were praised — thus continue to put their energies into excelling in those activities. The assessment results were spot on.
(A list of famous 3’s include: Condoleezza Rice, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Will Smith, Tony Robbins, Reese Witherspoon, Anne Hathaway, Ryan Seacrest, Elvis Presley, and Oprah Winfrey. Not a bad group to surround yourself with, huh?)
As the eldest child of first-generation immigrant parents, I was easily overlooked.
As the eldest child of first-generation immigrant parents, I was easily overlooked. With my siblings being significantly younger than me, my parents’ energies and efforts primarily resided in keeping them fed, clean, and happy. I learned that I got positive feedback from them when I earned high marks in school, when I achieved. I was never the “pretty, popular girl” in school, but I did get praise from my classmates when my project was the most artistic in the room. I thrived on how impressed teachers were with my posters and reports, beamed with pride when my peers commented on their jealousy of my academic and creative abilities. Boy, was I a true Three.
Where this threeness became dangerous was getting so wrapped up in everyone else’s expectations that I lost sight of my own hopes and dreams, my own interests and passions. Quickly, that left me defeated and incredibly depressed. There were low days that I fell back into the suicidal thoughts that taunted me at age 13, and it took every ounce of strength in my body to continue moving forward.
This ‘Threeness’ Really Made Me Think
The results of the Enneagram test provided me with the clarity I needed to step back for a moment and finally put myself first. It gave me the permission to give myself a bit of grace when I don’t hit the mark of perfection. I still often have to remind myself that I shouldn’t be so wrapped up in performance or be image-conscious, but I think that I’ve made great strides in setting up a daily routine that keeps me balanced and grounded in my surroundings. A gratitude journal reminds me of all that I have to be thankful for, and the checkmarks on my daily To Do lists assures me that I’ve successfully completed the important tasks that matter at work and at home. And my 2 dogs definitely give me all the positive attention I need to know that I’m doing something right in life. It’s not true perfection, I guess, but it’s my own little version of it.
I can’t say I was surprised by the personality type that the test pinpointed. Because the results from this simple, free assessment were accurate, I really took the time to diligently read through the detailed
The Enneagram Wheel represents the 9 different personality types, and shows how they interact with one another.
results via the Enneagram Institute page. The descriptions really outlined not just the strengths of each type, but provided a level-by-level analysis of the development needed for each Enneagram type. As I read through the descriptions of each of the 9 types, various people in my life — family, friends, coworkers, neighbors — flashed through my head, and it gave me a little bit more awareness of the different lenses that these different people may see the world. Greater patience, understanding and empathy was granted to every person I encountered, and I was able to gift myself more grace for my own shortcomings and limitations thanks to the self-awareness that the assessment provided.
Today, I am no dentist. I am not a PhD student either. I don’t even own a house (of any size). I am Jessica… plain ol’ Jessica. And you know what? I’m so incredibly happy about that.
So, what’s your number? What is it that makes you tick? I encourage everyone to take a moment and retrieve your Enneagram assessment results to gain some insight about why you think the way you do and maybe, just maybe, you’ll be able to find your own little slice of perfection in life too.
