All the folks talking about using physical objects to track / motivate behaviors inspired me to try the approach on my deep work routine, which has been getting a bit too loose for comfort over time.
Here’s the contraption:
Each of the four colored blocks corresponds with a single phase of my routine:
| Color | Phase |
|---|---|
| Blue | Commit to work on a single task with a zero datapoint and the task in the description. |
| White | Close all tabs and windows not required to complete the selected task. |
| Navy | Set a timer for 25 minutes and work on the selected task until the timer rings. |
| Green | Update the datapoint’s value to 1 to indicate that I successfully fulfilled my commitment. |
Each round piece in the left tower represents one pomodoro. I plan to take one off the top and place it somewhere in front of the phase bricks while I work on the pomodoro, and then add it to a new tower on the right once its completed.
Hopefully this will help me to remember to follow all the steps for each of my pomodoros!