I sat down to write and my brain blanked. Oh yeah, I’m writing about fixing this exact thing. I looked over my shoulder to yell at my smart speaker, which I’ve told to call me “Lil Daddy”, to set a timer for 25 minutes, then cranked out a stream-of-consciousness rough draft on how to work with laser focus.

Tomato in Italian.

Use the Pomodoro Technique. Pomodoro means tomato in Italian and has exactly zero to do with tomatoes. It was created by an (spoiler alert) Italian guy named Francesco Cirillo, who used a timer shaped like a pomodoro to focus in 25-minute intervals.

Unclear why he chose 25 minutes, instead of 40 or another arbitrary number but I don’t really care because 25 minutes works.

A ticking timer is nice but the magic happens when you cut distractions. No phone, no twitter, no Daniel’s Blog 💡, just work for 25 minutes. Before you know it, the timer goes off and it’s time for a 5-minute break. Use this break to get off your ass and get fresh air or something else that's not scrolling. Then reset the timer and repeat.

Last part – after four 25-minute focus blocks, take a longer break for 30 minutes or so. Go grab lunch or a coffee.

Just Go.

The next tool is to begin without much regard for quality. Starting from zero on a new task is hard enough so don’t procrastinate. If writing, just write with a sense of direction about a topic without stopping to correct grammar or spelling mistakes. Get your thoughts from brain to paper and worry about refining later.

Tim Ferris’ creative process consists of “two crappy pages per day”. It’s the same idea of starting with quantity over quality.

Whether creating, coding, or studying the key is to start now and work quickly with little care about quality.

You’re Grounded.

Eliminate distractions!!1! You’re grounded from your phone for the next 25 minutes. My phone practically lives on do not disturb. In my opinion, do not disturb is the best invention since “Lil Daddy”.

I have the luxury of not having a job that requires me to be on the phone much, so my phone spends 90% of its time on do not disturb. I check it when I want instead of the faceless tech overlords pinging me to death for my attention in return for ad clicks.

Turn your laptop on Do Not Disturb, too.

I know this is wild but during the work week I delete twitter and Instagram from my iPhone since I fall victim too easily to the infinite scroll. Know thyself and do whatever it takes to mitigate the beep boop pings.

Monkey Brain List.

Monkey brain is your unsettled subconscious that easily distracts. This guy will remind you need to do your taxes at the most inconvenient time. Listen, we should pay our taxes, but they can wait, so put "Pay Taxes" on a Monkey Brain list. This way you capture thoughts stray thoughts and revisit when task is done.

Summary.

• Work in time blocks with small breaks in between.
• Take a long break after 4 time blocks.
• Get started and work quickly without much care for quality.
• Eliminate distractions.
• Keep a Monkey Brain list.

There you have it. Your most productive days lie ahead.