The Pomodoro Technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s. The technique uses a timer to divide your work into 25-minute sessions called "pomodori."【小题1】When you have completed four pomodori, it's time for a longer break of 20 to 30 minutes. It's simple and easy to use. Follow the steps below to start using it.

●Check your schedule. Your first step is to check your schedule. 【小题2】Estimate how long each task should take you, in terms of the number of pomodori you will need to complete it.

●Set your timer. Before you start, make sure that you have everything you need. Set your timer for the work period you've settled on.

●Take a short break. When your timer goes off, take a five-minute break.You should do this even if you're busy, because these breaks are your time to rest and "recharge your batteries."【小题3】The Pomodoro approach works by maintaining your energy, so that you don't need to work on tasks when your concentration levels are low.

●【小题4】When your break is over, reset your timer for the next session and continue your work. When you've completed four pomodori, take a 20- to 30-minute break. Use it to go for a walk, have lunch, read a book... anything, so long as it takes you away from your desk for a while and clears your mind.

Remember, it is important to listen to your body. If your mind starts to wander or you start to feel tired, don't push through to the end of the session.【小题5】It may be that three pomodori followed by a 20-minute break suits you best, or that five sessions followed by a 30-minute break is better.

Charity Cycling UK has recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of dooring after discovering that many people don’t know what it is and those that do seem to think it’s a joke. Dooring happens when a driver or passenger opens the door into another road user - typically a cyclist - without looking for other road users.

Cycling UK’s chief executive Paul Tuohy told Gloucestershire Live, “Some people seem to see car dooring as a bit of a joke, but it’s not and can have serious consequences. Cycling UK wants to see great awareness made about the dangers of opening your car door, and people to be encouraged to look before they open.”

The charity says 2,009 of the 3,000 injuries were sustained(遭受) by cyclists, resulting in five deaths but says this might not be the full extent of the dangers.

Cycling UK says not all car dooring incidents will be attended by police, so the charity has written to transport minister Jesse Norman calling for a public awareness campaign urging all drivers to look before opening vehicle doors. One of the ways that the charity suggests could prevent injuries through dooring is the “Dutch Reach”, where people leaving a vehicle reach over and use the non-door side hand to open the door.

Cycling UK also suggests serious laws and advice on safer road positioning for people who cycle.

Mr Tuohy said, “In the Netherlands they are known for practising a method, known sometimes as the ‘Dutch Reach’, which we think could be successfully encouraged in the UK.”

“Cycling UK has written to the Department for Transport asking them to look into this, and stress the dangers of ‘car dooring’ through a public awareness THINK style campaign.”

If you’re really concerned about opening a door into the path of a cyclist coming behind you, consider using what’s known as the “Dutch Reach” to open the door. That will naturally turn you in your seat and give you a much better view of what’s coming up alongside the car.

They say procrastination (拖延) is the thief of time—actually deadlines are. New research from the University of Otago has found that if you want someone to help you out with something, it is best not to set a deadline at all. But if you do set a deadline, make it short.

Professor Stephen Knowles and his co-authors tested the effect of deadline length on task completion for their research published in Economic Inquiry. Participants were invited to complete an online survey concerning a charity donation. They were given either one week, one month, or no deadline to respond. Professor Knowles says although the topic of the survey was about charity, the results apply to any situation where someone asks another person for help.

The study found responses to the survey were lowest for the one-month deadline and highest when no deadline was specified. No deadline and the one-week deadline led to many early responses, while a long deadline appeared to give people permission to procrastinate, and then forget. Professor Knowles wasn’t surprised to find that specifying a shorter deadline increased the chances of receiving a response compared to a longer deadline. However, he did find it interesting that they received the most responses when no deadline was specified.

“We interpret this as evidence that specifying a longer deadline, as opposed to a short deadline or no deadline at all, removes the urgency to act,” he says. “People therefore put off undertaking the task, and since they are inattentive, postponing it results in lower response rates.”

He says it is possible that not specifying a deadline might still have led participants to assume that there is an unspoken deadline. Professor Knowles hopes his research can help reduce the amount of procrastinating people do. “Many people procrastinate. They have the best intentions of helping someone out, but just do not get around to doing it.”