The weird satisfaction of mini-milestones

I’m a bit obsessed with great processes. Ever since I read Getting Things Done (and perhaps since working in a restaurant, where process is everything), I find myself always thinking of how to progress toward larger goals in many smaller bites.

One thing that never took for me was the Pomorodo technique (where you work for e.g. 30 mins then take a break. Then work. Then break. ad infinitum.)

But recently, I’ve been playing with a little Mac app called Look Up that has changed this.

I originally bought it beacuse I liked the idea of making sure I was focusing away from my screen on a regular basis. But every time it prompts you to look away, it also lets you type in what you’re going to try and crunch when you get back to work.

It doesn’t save it anywhere, it doesn’t give you any points — it doesn’t even play the game of giving you some kind of delightful feedback when you say you’ve achieved it.

It just provides a casual continuity through your breaks and a sense of what’s next.

It’s a nice surprise to find that something I adopted for my literal vision is also helping me look ahead more cleary with daily work.