A whopping 88% of people procrastinate daily, leading to pending tasks and missed deadlines. Furthermore, according to the American Psychological Association, 20% are chronic procrastinators. 

Not only procrastination but spending too much time on low-value tasks is another facet of unmanaged workload and staggered productivity. An average worker spends 51% of the time on less important tasks. This shows how valuable time can seamlessly go in vain if not channeled through time management. 

Other factors include lack of task prioritization, inadequate communication, inefficient processes, over-commitment, lack of resources, scope creep, burnout, and poor time management. Amongst these pitfalls, time management is crucial and occupies the center stage. 

Time management methods are important to improve productivity and manage tasks without burnout. Also, there are numerous time management methods —from ABCDE to Eat the Frog to track time and be productive. However, finding a time management strategy that complements your lifestyle and mental frame can be exhausting as time management does not come overnight.

But stress not! 

This blog will discuss a more personalized and effective version of the Pomodoro technique—the Flowtime technique a.k.a Flomodoro method. 

What Is the Flowtime Technique?

The Flowtime Technique is about attaining the Flow State, but what exactly the flow state is?

The ‘Flow state’ is a mentally productive phase where an individual experiences high engagement with the task, indicated by complete involvement, high levels of gratification, and a high tolerance for distractions. 

The Flowtime Technique works to achieve this flow state, triggering boundless productivity. It is a flexible time management technique that allows individuals to monitor their mental state, concentration span, and common distractions. 

The process involves a series of easy-to-follow steps and repeating them until the task is effectively finished. 

Simple? 

No matter how easy the technique seems, it still takes relentless practice to excel at it. But once learned, it can bring leaps of productivity and swifter time management. 

Why the Flowtime Technique Is More Efficient Than the Popular Pomodoro Technique?

Developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s, the Pomodoro technique uses a tomato-shaped kitchen timer (‘Pomodoro’ means ‘tomato’ in Italian). It starts with selecting a task and focusing on it for 25 minutes, followed by a short break, preferably 5 minutes. Once 4 Pomodoro cycles are completed, an individual can take a longer break (15-30 minutes based on their discretion). This Pomodoro cycle has to be repeated until the task is completed. 

However, the Pomodoro technique is popular worldwide, it comes with its own set of challenges. 

For instance:

• What if an individual attains the flow state within 25 minutes and wishes to continue after 25 minutes? Or, 
• If the individual gets distracted and doesn’t retain the concentration until the Pomodoro completes one round of rotation (25 minutes). Or, 
• What if an individual attains the flow state just by the end of 25 minutes? Interrupting the state with a break would not be a productive idea. Or,
• What if the task an individual just completed was exhaustive and their mind needs more than 5 minutes to revive?

These common conflicts usually emerge while practicing the Pomodoro technique, making the working style impossible and uninteresting. 

This is when the Flowtime technique comes into the picture and surpasses these time-bound constraints of the Pomodoro technique. Being a flexible approach, it allows a person to begin and stop a task whenever there is a mental disturbance or they encounter a distraction. 

Flowtime Technique: Decoding the Process

Implementing the Flowtime technique includes several steps to attain a point of heightened mental engagement—a flow state. This section will underscore the steps involved in the Flowtime technique. 

1: Select a task that must be completed

The Flowtime technique begins with starting a specific task and working on it until a distraction is encountered or mental concentration is no longer aligned with the task. 

2: Note down the time whenever you start a task

Noting when the task is started helps track and monitor attention span. When re-starting the task, it tells the time gap between two consecutive rounds of task handling or productivity bouts. 

3: Concentrate on the task at hand 

The Flowtime technique includes dedicating optimal attention to a task and avoiding multitasking. Since multitasking reduces productivity by 40%, the Flomodoro technique is an efficient strategy for prioritizing tasks and dealing with them in a streamlined order. 

4: Continue until a distraction is encountered

The inability to focus or getting distracted are clear signs of an obstruction in task completion. Unlike the Pomodoro technique, the Flowtime technique allows an individual to stop and take a break whenever necessary. 

5: Note down distractions and their time of occurrence 

According to Udemy’s 2018 Workplace Distraction Report, 80% of employees claim chatty coworkers, office noise, and unnecessary meetings are the major sources of distraction. An essential characteristic of the Flowtime technique is identifying distractions and noting them down. This supports eradicating them gradually. 

6: Remove distractions for the next time

Recognizing distractions is the key step to removing them. Once an individual identifies the pattern of distraction occurrence, removing them for the next time to accelerate the productivity rate becomes possible.  

Effective ways to limit distractions are listed below. 

• Put mobile phones on silent mode
• Maintain a clutter-free desk
• Find a peaceful corner 
• Manage pets and kids while working

7: Repeat the above steps until the task is completed

The mentioned steps must be repeated multiple times to complete a task. Once the Flowtime Technique is conquered, the time gaps and productivity drains are minimized, giving rise to high productivity and improved ability to meet shorter timelines. 

The Bottom Line

The flowtime technique is an effective time management strategy that helps identify apparent productivity drains and align their mood and mental state with the process. It becomes more of a means to introspect about oneself. Contrary to coercive and stringent time management strategies like Eat the Frog or Pomodoro Technique, the Flowtime Method aligns suitably with our mental state of high productivity or the flow state. 

FAQ:

Why is the flowtime technique more efficient?

The flowtime technique allows more flexibility to an individual and permits them to understand their productive pattern. 

What are some common distraction-removing practices to increase productivity? 

Common distractions at the workplace that decrease productivity are noisy surroundings, unnecessary mobile notifications, chatty coworkers, and unnecessary meetings.