Banana technique
After years turning mechanical timers, following a strict mantra, it's time to put an end to this trouble:
No more 25 minutes![1]
After years turning mechanical timers, following a strict mantra, it's time to put an end to this trouble:
No more 25 minutes![1]
Assuming, that doing everyday activities (development, recreation, sleep, sex) in timeboxing is required to focus on the goal and it is essential to perceive the work done, there are numerous downsides if these intervals are always of the same size.
We call "Fixed Banana" [FB] the 27 min and 37 sec time box[2].
Consider the upper limit of 52FBs[3] for each sidereal rotation period of the earth: 52 x (27 mins and 37 secs) = 23 hours 56 min 4 sec (the sidereal rotation period of the earth!).
Consider that you can never stop a timeboxed activity, it follows that there are exactly 52 FBs for sidereal day.
In addition, suppose to use the FB as a unit of time. If I use a FB per day to brush my teeth, my dentist will not be very happy. And at the end of the year I will have eaten all my teeth. If I estimate a FB to have sex, how can I use the time I have left after the first 3 minutes? In these cases, the technique of the rubicund vegetable suggests to merge multiple tasks: what do I do, sex and email? Interesting combination! But we can do better.
Let's face it: there are activities that last 5 minutes (exactly 4 min and 36 sec) an cannot be merged with anything else. For these particular but recurrent cases, it was necessary to introduce the concepts of "Fixed Mini Banana" [FMB] and "Fixed Mini Banana+1" [FMB+1]
Take a blank sheet of paper and divide it into two (or do it on a blackboard). In the first half of the paper (or blackboard) write activities that you expect to realize in multiples of FBs. In the second half the activities that you expect to be able to finish in 276 seconds [FMB] or 277 seconds [FMB+1] (4 min 36 sec and 4 min 37 sec, respectively).
NOTE: It is important that the number of tasks of 276 seconds per day is a multiple of 5, and they are in a 5:1 ratio with those of 277 seconds.
Now you can randomly choose activities from either side of the sheet (or board) as long as we maintain the proportions above. This will ensure that the amount of time for FBs, FMBs and FMB+1s will be equals to the sidereal period of the earth.
The repetition is the death of creativity. The repetition is the death of creativity. With this motto I created "variable banana". Agreeing with the influential author of the tomato technique, the pause between a time box and the next must be fixed but variable. The banana technique force to take a break from a banana and the next but break's time is counted within the Banana itself. In this way I can work for 11 minutes and take a break for 16 min 37 seconds. Or I can work 27 minunets and take a break 37 seconds. This way the time of the Banana, including pause, remains unchanged in its 27 min and 37 sec but has variable percentage allocation for activities and pause.
At night, while sleeping, realoding the timer for every FB is always uncomfortable. So why not using, an Iperbanana[4]? Whereas 7[5] hours of sleep are enough for most people, refer to as "Iperbanana" an interval of time equal to 15 FBs. In addition to rest, you can use the Iperbanana for weddings, reading Facebook, etc.
Now you have a good number of Bananas at your disposal, make good use of them!