Staffan Nöteberg
Staffan是一位敏捷思想的培训者，曾应邀在Devoxx、AgileXX、Jfokus、ScanDev、GeeCON，以及很多欧美主流技术大会上进行演讲。他拥有20余年的软件开发经验，曾参与过很多企业级的Java项目，另外他还精通C++、JavaScript、Ruby等技术。既是开发者和架构师，也是敏捷和精益教练。
Staffan目前和妻子安妮以及四个女儿（西娅、埃达、高娃和比娜）生活在斯德哥尔摩与伊斯坦布尔。几年前，他在弗朗西斯科 ·西里洛的书中读到番茄工作法， 开始练习应用，认真实践。《番茄工作法图解》是他对番茄工作法概念的视觉再现，充满了趣味和实践性，易于使用、充满启发且行之有效。该书在国内出版后，深受读者的喜爱。这样一本IT人士的小册子，意外获得新浪网、CSDN等网站年度商业图书多项提名。现在，他的书《番茄工作法图解》已经出版了中、英、德、瑞典、日、韩等多种语言版本。
管理时间，战胜拖延。
作者通过自身多年的经验，总结出一套极易上手、行之有效的方法，帮助人们加强自制力、集中精力，在日常生活中轻松完成各项任务。每个人都可以根据自己的需要调整单核工作法，迅速成为高效能人士。
Transcripts：
Is Monotasking superior to Pomodoro technique and other time management techniques? What are its advantages over other techniques?
Monotasking is different than other time management techniques. Here are three examples
Monotasking makes it easier for us to focus on what to do right now. Research shows that it’s stressful, energy consuming, and disturbing to have a great many open tasks. By cutting down of our potential tasks to do, it's easier to focus on the current task.
Since the Short List is not time bound---like a plan for today or this week---it better reflects the priorities we have right now. Our priorities are ever changing and our plan must visualize that.
Monotasking is easier to get started with than most other time management techniques and it doesn't require the same amount of process work. It's the same support, but less demanding.
According to your article, does it mean we need to have two lists? One long list including all tasks we need to finish, and a Short List with 5 top priority tasks to be finished today? Can you give some examples of Short Lists?
First, I want to say that the Short List isn't a plan for today. It's the maximum five most important tasks right now. We don't know if they'll be completed today or if they will require more time. Tasks may also be added and removed during the day, as long as we don't break the rule of maximum five.
The Monotasking book describes the practice of a Grass Catcher List. It's where you put new ideas---big and small---that you might want to do in the future. Ths list is not prioritized and it's not limited. Once a week you review the Grass Catcher List. This is called Weeding. You drop all tasks except maximum five. These five become your new Grass Catcher List.
Some ideas need time to be evaluated. They might seem terrific when we discover them, but after a week we're pretty sure they'll never reach our Short List anyway. Then it's good that we have the recurring Weeding event to get them off our backlog.
About the items on the list: They should be small and actionable. A rough estimate say 10 minutes to 2 hours. Bigger tasks than that need to be broken down in smaller tasks.
For example, write synopsis for new article, contact potential customer, write business letter. For a software developer, fix a bug.
I heard that your new book Monotasking has been inspired by your trip to China. What did you find in China has inspired you to create such a book? And can we say that Monotasking is especailly designed for Chinese people?
It was a great trip to China in October 2015. For one month, I toured big cities, explaining time management techniques. During this trip, I visited offices and met many clever persons. They told me about their everyday problems of focusing and prioritizing. It surely inspired me to take the time to write the Monotasking book. And I'm happy that this book will be published in Chinese before any other language.
However, in my experience, office workers and students around the world struggle with that same type of prioritizing and focusing problems. So, I hope Monotasking will help many people in different countries.
Do you have some suggestions on customizing Monotasking to different people's special circumstances? Are there any successful cases?
All people are unique and we also have our unique context. No process fits everybody like a hand in a glove. My advice, though, is to start with Monotasking as it is described in the book. After some weeks you know best if you want to tweak it. Don't be afraid to make small experiments and then evaluate after two weeks if you want to standardize the new way of working.
Monotasking seems to work in many ways. But what if you are required to multitask by your boss, clients, etc.? Does monotasking a little bit oversimplify the real-world challenges?
You might have many customer's or a manager that wants you to do many things. However, it's not possible for our brain to pay attention to more than one thing at a time. It's our duty then to prioritize what's most important right now and start with that one.
However, we shouldn't focus too long one a task. At least once an hour, we must ask ourselves: "What's the best use of my time right now?"
So, even if create more than one result. You can't create them simultaneously. Our brains is the limit.
So，you mean we should have a rest every one hour?
Not necessary. We can choose between to continue with the current task, change to another task or take a break (rest). The moment of choosing is called Panorama.
Do you have any suggestions on how to alert oneself about the one hour cycle, we often get lost when things keep us busy.
When I work at my computer, I have a notification every half hour (9.00, 9.30, 10.00, 10.30 etc.) It's a cron tab job showing an alert that says "Panorama Cue" when I look at my tasks and prioritizing. I agree that it's easy to forget to set an alarm and also to take a break. Without break, the velocity goes down.
Interruptions may appear now and then, and you have to pause and talk to others to decide their magnitude. Do you have suggestions about small and big interruptions?
Then I would do the same thing with my smartphone. Set tiny and short signals that you could notice.
大胖：Mr. Staffan uses Linux. And for me, I set a series of iPhone alerts: 8:30~9:00~9:30~10:00.... on workday morning i will switch on them all, then dive into my first task.
I see what you mean. There are two techniques described in The Monotasking book : Volunteer Hour and Casual Visitor. They are too long to write here. But I found that they are useful to managers and project leaders that often get interrupted, since they have much shared information.
I want to use my smartphone to set an alarm when Monotasking, but what if other infomation keeps coming in and I don't want to mute it in case of emergency?
While Monotasking, you should try to mute almost all computer and smartphone notifications (also visual). You can check them with pull, instead of others pushing them on you.
Then there are messages that are both infrequent and important. We must arrange our tools so that these messages notify us immediately.
Putting notifications in mute mode seems OK to developers, but some jobs might require quick responses. Many managers respond to emails, phones, and texts very quickly, and bosses like that.
大胖：Maybe you can negotiate your Volunteer Hours with your colleagues and clients. For me i am touchable at 10:00~12:00 every workday.
What should I do if I cannot focus on my task during the Monotasking session?
If it doesn't help, 70's author Alan Lakein suggests Swiss cheese method. Pick a small subtask of your current task and invest a small chunk of time in it. It doesn't have to be the most important subtask. These small tasks are like the holes in a Swiss cheese. With enough holes, the cheese will either disappear (the whole task is completed) or else you'll get the knowledge necessary to make the task interesting.
But taking walks removes blockers and it oxygenates our brains. We get new ideas of how to solve things.
Build-Measure-Learn is also a great technique. Do something small that you can show to others and get feedback. It can be as little as a mind map.
It is mentioned "Even though it is easy to start with, it relies on scientific research." What kind of scientific research?
There are more than 200 references in the Monotasking book. Many of these are to academic papers. Some are neuroscience, some psychology. The book is easy to read, even though it uses stories from scientific experiments. The story about Paris, Eyfel and landmarks for example comes from a scientific experiment.
Are there any ways to teach how to cut long-term goals to short ones?
Yes there are. One way is to focus on feedback. What can I do to get feedback early? Getting early feedback helps us to solve the right problem, to understand what the stakeholder really need.
So, instead of splitting in phase 1, phase 2, phase 3 etc. upfront, I do something that give me feedback, and then I pull a new subtask. Every new little piece of knowledge makes it easier to do the best split.
Well, I have tried to read more than 2 books at the same time just as do tasks. Cut them to short-term tasks, and everyday read for about 10-30 minutes per book. But after a month, I will feel that all the books are read but not understand clearer rather than read a book for even 2 months. But what the problem is that focus on a book for a long time is also a hard nut to crack.
I describe a method in the book called "Selective Reading". It's about reading top-down, instead of serial. Serial reading means to read pages in order 1,2,3,4,5 etc.
First, read the table of contents carefully. Continue by reading the summaries of the three most interesting chapters. etc.
There are techniques called speed reading. They helps us read faster. But, as you say, we don't understand faster.
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