By now, we all are familiar with the Pomodoro method. It has become one of the most popular 'productivity hacks' in recent memory. With this technique, a simple 25-minute timer is followed by a 5 minute break. I've been using it for over 5 years now and recommend it to everyone looking to tackle procrastination.

Lately however, I've been experiementing with a new method which I call "The Reverse Pomodoro" and surprisingly ive been able to sustain focus for even longer durations of time. Here's how you can apply it into your workflow.

The Story

This summer I was working on my thesis for my final year of medical school. Unfortunately, with the deadline approaching within a matter of days, I realized that the stop-start methodology behind the pomodoro technique was only diminishing my level of output.

So I decided it was time to try a new method, and this is when I starting using "The Reverse Pomodoro Method"

The Method

It's a very simple yet effective technique. Once you have all the tools for your task all you need to do is :

• Start a stopwatch.

• Keep working until your focus drops to >50%

• Once it does, stop the stopwatch.

• Take a short break.

The Result

After applying this method, I noticed that my true level of focus dropped by 50% only after two hours of work! (instead of the pre-determined 25 minutes)

With no extra effort, I was able to write out a 7000+ word paper in less than 4 days using this method.

When you achieve a state of flow, the best thing you can do is maximise your momentum to finish off as much as possible - once you notice you're starting to get distracted easily, THAT is the point you take a short break.

So if you're working on a big project, try out this method and I'd love to know if you found it helpful!