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  • [Project: Better self]

  • [improve yourself, stop being average]

  • So if you're the kind of person that wants to learn things faster, or finish a day's work in two to three hours, then this video might actually help you.

  • I know I was a slow learner and it took me three years to be below average at playing guitar, three whole years when I could've been there in one third of the time.

  • I really enjoy learning new stuff so I had to change my approach.

  • After few weeks of searching, I've encountered an idea that really helped me to go crazy fast through the learning curve.

  • I used it to learn programming, and literally I was amazed.

  • I was confident in Android and finished my first freelance project in just four months.

  • When I think back, I am so glad that I stumbled upon the concept, because I would've wasted 12 months for something I've learned in four.

  • So what helped me, is the Pomodoro Technique.

  • It was invented in the early 90s by Francesco Cirillo, it was named after the kitchen timer, shaped like a tomato, he used to track his work as a university student.

  • And it goes like this.

  • First, pick something you want to work on, set a timer for 25 minutes, and focus extremely hard on the task you are working on, if a distraction pops in your head, write it down on a piece of paper and get back on the task immediately.

  • After the timer rings, take a five-minute break.

  • That is one Pomodoro session.

  • After four Pomodoro sessions, take a longer break of 20 to 30 minutes, and repeat the process.

  • It sounds simple, but the key part is that you must be extremely focused during the session, no phone, no Facebook, nothing.

  • Our brain tends to be very effective at remembering and connecting information when we are extremely focused.

  • This dates back to our ancestors, they had to pay attention when a predator was nearby.

  • It was a life or death situation, and when they focused, the brain worked really hard to collect all the information and store it, so in the future the encounter would likely to [sic] be in their favor.

  • But in today's world, so many of us (have) just lost the ability to focus.

  • Yes, I did spend an hour a day on the guitar, but also I checked Facebook, watched three different covers of the same song on YouTube AND practiced in those 60 minutes , so my brain thought it was nothing important, and I got the mediocre results I had.

  • When I implemented the concept to learn coding, my daily schedule was 12 Pomodoro sessions each 25 minutes long and 5 minutes of rest in between.

  • After four Pomodoros, I would take longer break of 20 minutes.

  • I was skeptical at first if this would even work, but after four weeks I was amazed (at) how much stuff I (had) learned.

  • I've never been so productive in my entirely life, and It also helped me to overcome the (problem of) procrastination I was facing, because I didn't thought (think) about the number of hours I need to lock myself in and study.

  • Instead, I had to finish just one Pomodoro session at a time.

  • You can use the Pomodoro technique to (do) virtually anything, whether it be learning something new, practicing an instrument, studying for college, I literally use (am using) it at this moment while writing this script.

  • Instead of spending six or seven hours of (on) diffused work, and spend (spending) my entire day writing a script, I just do four Pomodoro sessions and I get the same amount of work done.

  • Don't be like the old me and spend three years for something that can be done in six months.

  • It's not about how much time you spend, but how effectively you spend your time that matters.

  • So now that you're familiar with the concept, it's up to you whether or not you will actually test it on yourself or just click away to the next video.

  • Anyway thanks for watching and I'll see you next time.

[Project: Better self]

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