What day is it again?
As we continue to stay indoors and work from home, the hours – or indeed days – may feel like they are starting to blend into each other. In this new Groundhog Day-esque existence, Sunday and Tuesdays and Thursdays meld into one, punctuated by long, gaping weekends.
You may, as a result, be struggling to stay motivated or productive, or to manage your time as effectively as you might have done in a rigid office environment. Enter the Pomodoro timer.
Break up your day
A time-management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, the Pomodoro technique does not, as the name may suggest, encourage excessive pasta consumption.
What it does is break your working day into 25 minute intervals, separated by five-minute breaks. After four 25-minute “pomodori”, there is a 15-minute break. Used by millions of people around the world to improve productivity, the method is based on the idea that frequent breaks can improve mental agility. The timers can be downloaded for free from multiple sources online.
The technique encourages you to focus fully on a single task for an allocated amount of time, rather than allowing your attention to wander aimlessly. All you have to do is set your task and then vow to give it your undivided attention for 25 minutes. If you realise mid-task that there’s something else that needs to be done, simply make a note of it, and then continue on. When it’s time for your break, make sure to distract yourself for five minutes – make a cup of tea, walk around your living room or head to your balcony for some fresh air.
Once you get the hang of the Pomodoro technique, you’ll get better at estimating how long certain tasks take, and organising your pomodori accordingly. You’ll also learn that there are very few emails or calls that can’t wait to be answered.
If the 25-minute timeframe doesn’t work for you, there are plenty of tools online that will allow you to customise the technique – the important thing is to break your working day into manageable chunks, be mindful of how you are spending your time and to get those much-needed breaks in between.
Do the things you dread first
Maybe it’s an unpleasant phone call that you’ve been putting off. Or some much-hated admin that has lurked at the top of your to-do list for days. Or that project that you don’t want to start because it feels too overwhelming.
Whatever it is, tackle it first. Otherwise it’ll just become a distraction as you try to get through your working day. You might be tempted to ease into your day by getting the easy things out of the way, but there’s nothing more satisfying than setting out with a sense of achievement (as opposed to a sense of dread).
Set a schedule
When you’re working from home, it can be tempting to have a little lie-in, or turn breakfast into an extended affair, or work later into the evenings. But setting a rigid schedule and sticking to it will help you stay focused and productive. As we are all currently confined to our homes, it is more important than ever to create a clear differentiator between work time and non-work time.
Maintain a clutter-free space
A few weeks in and your “home office” may have started looking a little messy, which may be impacting your state of mind. Keep your work space clutter-free and simple – a laptop, phone and a note pad are all you really need to get things done.
Plan for tomorrow
Before you sign off for the day, spend a few minutes thinking about what you need to achieve the following day. Make a short list and then shut off completely. This means you’ll start your day with a sense of focus.
Consume less information
We live in an age when we are inundated with information, but if you want to maintain focus, you’ll have to start being a lot more selective about what information you consume and when you consume it. Start thinking about what value you are getting out of the information you are consuming – and then be a lot stricter with yourself.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
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Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
Brief scoreline:
Liverpool 2
Mane 51', Salah 53'
Chelsea 0
Man of the Match: Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
Tickets
Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.
SCORES
Yorkshire Vikings 144-1 in 12.5 overs
(Tom Kohler 72 not out, Harry Broook 42 not out)
bt Hobart Hurricanes 140-7 in 20 overs
(Caleb Jewell 38, Sean Willis 35, Karl Carver 2-29, Josh Shaw 2-39)
The UAE squad for the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games
The jiu-jitsu men’s team: Faisal Al Ketbi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Yahia Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Obaid Al Nuaimi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Mansoori, Saeed Al Mazroui, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Qubaisi, Salem Al Suwaidi, Khalfan Belhol, Saood Al Hammadi.
Women’s team: Mouza Al Shamsi, Wadeema Al Yafei, Reem Al Hashmi, Mahra Al Hanaei, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Hessa Thani, Salwa Al Ali.
Match info
Wolves 0
Arsenal 2 (Saka 43', Lacazette 85')
Man of the match: Shkodran Mustafi (Arsenal)
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh1,470,000 (est)
Engine 6.9-litre twin-turbo W12
Gearbox eight-speed automatic
Power 626bhp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 900Nm @ 1,350rpm
Fuel economy, combined 14.0L / 100km
Meydan Racecourse racecard:
6.30pm: The Madjani Stakes Listed (PA) | Dh175,000 | 1,900m
7.05pm: Maiden for 2-year-old fillies (TB) | Dh165,000 | 1,400m
7.40pm: The Dubai Creek Mile Listed (TB) | Dh265,000 | 1,600m
8.15pm: Maiden for 2-year-old colts (TB) | Dh165,000 | 1,600m
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) | Dh265,000 | 2,000m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh190,000 | 1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) | Dh190,000 | 1,600m.
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
You may remember …
Robbie Keane (Atletico de Kolkata) The Irish striker is, along with his former Spurs teammate Dimitar Berbatov, the headline figure in this season’s ISL, having joined defending champions ATK. His grand entrance after arrival from Major League Soccer in the US will be delayed by three games, though, due to a knee injury.
Dimitar Berbatov (Kerala Blasters) Word has it that Rene Meulensteen, the Kerala manager, plans to deploy his Bulgarian star in central midfield. The idea of Berbatov as an all-action, box-to-box midfielder, might jar with Spurs and Manchester United supporters, who more likely recall an always-languid, often-lazy striker.
Wes Brown (Kerala Blasters) Revived his playing career last season to help out at Blackburn Rovers, where he was also a coach. Since then, the 23-cap England centre back, who is now 38, has been reunited with the former Manchester United assistant coach Meulensteen, after signing for Kerala.
Andre Bikey (Jamshedpur) The Cameroonian defender is onto the 17th club of a career has taken him to Spain, Portugal, Russia, the UK, Greece, and now India. He is still only 32, so there is plenty of time to add to that tally, too. Scored goals against Liverpool and Chelsea during his time with Reading in England.
Emiliano Alfaro (Pune City) The Uruguayan striker has played for Liverpool – the Montevideo one, rather than the better-known side in England – and Lazio in Italy. He was prolific for a season at Al Wasl in the Arabian Gulf League in 2012/13. He returned for one season with Fujairah, whom he left to join Pune.
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Brief scores:
Newcastle United 1
Perez 23'
Wolverhampton Rovers 2
Jota 17', Doherty 90' 4
Red cards: Yedlin 57'
Man of the Match: Diogo Jota (Wolves)
Where to Find Me by Alba Arikha
Alma Books
