Productivity in Paris

After getting back from the conference and vacation in Puerto Rico, I decided that I absolutely needed to force myself to be more productive. So, I've been using a technique taught to me by my new friend Jena, who is a PhD student at Johns Hopkins.

It's called the pomodoro technique (website: mytomatoes.com; app: pomotodo) and operates on a very simple principle: rather than setting aside a large block of time to work, divide your time into smaller blocks and assign yourself a clear goal during that time. And take short breaks.

Let me explain with an example. Tuesday, Jena and I camped out in the ENS library and worked for about 5 hours straight. In that time, I did this:

1) (25 minutes) Read ch. 58 and 59 of Perec biography
2) (25 minutes) Read ch. 60 and 61 of Perec biography
3) (25 minutes) Finished ch. 4 of Reggiani book
4) (25 minutes) Finished ch. 5 of Reggiani book
5) (25 minutes) Worked on introduction/outline of dissertation
6) (25 minutes) Worked on introduction/outline of dissertation
7) (25 minutes) Worked on introduction/outline of dissertation
8) (25 minutes) Read ch. 62 and 63 of Perec biography
9) (25 minutes) Page and a half of OuLiPo transcription
10) (25 minutes) Read ch. 64 of Perec biography

The smaller, 25 minute intervals, are totally manageable. And contrary to working for those 5 hours without such subdivisions, you only do stupid things—checking your phone, Facebook, chatting, getting a coffee, etc.—during the 5 minute breaks and are otherwise totally devoted to the work you're doing in the 25 minute blocks. I've found that I'm reading faster and better without constant interruptions, writing better when I devote a clear amount of time to a specific part of my dissertation, and I also like having a log of my work at the end of the day.

In addition to that, I've also been nominated a co-coordinator of a new team of transcriptions for the OuLiPo project! It turns out that I'm no longer a "jeune chercheur anglophone," but a "jeune chercheur francophone." And I'll be delegating. How exciting! In addition, I've also finished the Perec biography and the next book I'll be reviewing. I also rewrote my introduction/outline that I had discussed with my advisor in Princeton and sent him the new version. Tomorrow, I begin work on the algorithm section of my dissertation/my maybe article on algorithmic literature.

So, even if the libraries in Paris are annoying and the ENS is basically useless in terms of classes and conferences, I can still be productive on my own here. Next step: finding out how to continue learning German here, and actually learn Hebrew. Hopefully I can find some way to do that in Paris too!