The Pomodoro Technique, Decluttering, and Progress on New Year’s Goals, Week #5

I’ve experimented with the Pomodoro technique, and think it, more or less. suits me. It’s a way of keeping focused and averting distraction by working in an absolutely focused way for 25 minutes, and then taking a 5 minute break (to tidy, do weights, stretch or do yoga etc.) After 4 pomodoros, you take a twenty minute break.

It works well for me, because I got to garden during my 20 minute breaks for the first time this year, and also because the rooms I work in became incrementally tidier because I tidy up during my 5 minute break. Also, I get perspective on what I am writing, and feel fitter and more oxygenated. And one’s metabolism improves.

I hope to build in weights and yoga during my 5 minute breaks.

A major negative is that it introduces a distraction every 5 minutes, but one hopes an oxygenated, stretched body will be able to concentrate for longer.

* * *

I do a weekly blog-post on how I am doing with my New Year’s Goals, largely to keep myself accountable.

The nature of the beast, is that there will be spectacular weeks and ho-hum, failure-ish weeks. This was the latter.

Accountability on a blog is a powerful thing, what blogger Tim Challies calls Accountability Through Visibility. And for accountability to inspire you, and, well, keep you accountable, you have to be honest about your failures—and successes.

Bad weeks are par for the course. Here’s an early Christian story

A monk looking for some guidance and encouragement goes to Abba Sisoius and asks:
“What am I to do since I have fallen?”
The Abba replies: “Get up.”
“I did get up, but I fell again.”
“Get up again.”
“I did, but I must admit that I fell once again. So what should I do?”
“Do not fall down without getting back up.”

Anyway, here goes.

1 First Things First

Roy and I had got out of the habit of date nights or focused talk, so we had a very focused talk last evening on contentious topics. So contentious that we often had to follow the rule each person gets 2 minutes on a timer with no interruptions!! But we worked out an excellent, viable schedule for Roy, and cleared the air!

And had a couple of gorgeous family dates—watching Murray Watts ‎“Mr. Darwin’s Tree,” acted by Andrew Harrison–a sort of memoir of Darwin, in the form of a monologue. Verbally rich, poetic, bursting with energy, brilliantly acted. Loved it!

And a day at Stratford-on-Avon watching The Winter’s Tale, that bitter-sweet story of jealousy, madness and restoration. Loved the walk by the river Avon afterwards, looking at the crimson skies.

And spent a few hours over lunch with Reverend Lesley and Alan at their spacious Vicarage.

So not stacks of writing done.

2 Writing

Finished a little book I am planning to self-publish after an additional four revisions. And blogged.

“I still don’t get why people are so surprised that the turtle beat the rabbit over the long run. Consistent effort, no matter how small, sparks magic, fills sails, butters bread, turns tides, instills faith, summons friends, improves health, burns calories, creates abundance, yields clarity, builds courage, spins planets, and rewrites destinies.”

 

	Time/week
	Dec. avg.	Goal: Jan 28	Achieved	Goal: Feb 4	Goal – year end
Writing	7h 10 min	10 hours	7 hrs 40 m	9 hrs	35h
Social media	11h 17 min	3 hrs30 min	5 hours 30	3 hours 30	3h 30min
News, Blogs, Magazines	5h 21 min	3 hours30 min	4 hrs 13	3 hours 30	3 hours

And here’s how I felt this week

Spiritual Gimmes: The Prayer of Bankruptcy

And

R.I.P. Buttercup Duck and Accepting Your Actual Life

And here’s what inspired me

Les Miserables: The Film Akin to a Spiritual Experience

3 Fitness and Weight

I have learned, that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.
Henry David Thoreau

Got back into walking after a slowdown caused by two weeks of ice and snow.

Week of	Goal	Actually done
	(km)	(km)
Jan-07		29.6
Jan-14	33.6	Ice 13.6
Jan-21	14.96	snow 16.4
Jan-28	19.69	23.36
Feb-4	25.69

Weight—A week in which I slipped up, dealing with stress with chocolate, cheesecake, icecream and crisps instead of prayer and exercise. Sorry, Jesus!

But now it’s a new week—and with God’s grace, I will rely on God’s power more, and lean more, and abide more.

A cumulative loss of 5 pounds this year.

 4 Domestic Order

Some before pictures of bookshelves to work on this week, and my closet

 

 

Well, thanks to walking was able to fit into some cords and jeans just when I was about to give them away. Tidied two dressers and one tallboy. Gave away some books, and gave or threw away 3 pairs of sweats and trousers!

Sorting out my clothes took a while, and I may or may not recover the time. However, it will be easier to find matching clothes when I go out, and so perhaps I will find it easier to be on time. And every area of your house you tidy sort of makes it easier to keep the rest tidy—less of the broken window effect.

I have decided to be minimalist and only wear my favourite colours–red, purple (and colours in between such as cranberry, crimson and burgundy) and peacock blue and stop buying and get rid of other colours. So with some wardrobe staples of black and white cords, turtlenecks and blue jeans matching will no longer be a problem, and I will also get by with fewer clothes.

 And here’s the result of a hard day’s work organizing my dressers and an empty bookshelf

 

 

 

Before pictures of my clothes drawers

AFTER reorganizing and giving away some: