内容来源：https://lifehacker.com/work/flowtime-time-management-technique?utm_medium=RSS

内容总结：

【新闻总结】高效工作法再升级："番茄工作法"遇挑战，"心流时间法"更灵活

在众多效率管理方法中，以"工作25分钟+休息5分钟"闻名的番茄工作法一直备受推崇。但最新实践表明，这种固定时长模式并非适用于所有人，一种名为"心流时间法"的改良方案正在受到关注。

与番茄工作法同源，心流时间法同样遵循"专注工作+定时休息"的核心原则，但关键突破在于允许使用者自主决定工作和休息的时长。这种方法通过"以休息为目标"的激励机制，帮助使用者进入深度工作状态，同时确保必要的休息间隔。实践表明，连续工作不休息反而会导致效率断崖式下跌。

两种方法都强调专注期间必须杜绝多任务处理，避免频繁查看手机或邮件。区别在于，心流时间法需要使用者配备计时器记录实际工作时长，建议初期使用具有秒表功能的应用（如FocusPomo）来收集个人工作习惯数据。

实施心流时间法需要约一周的适应期。使用者需建立工作记录表，详细标注任务开始时间、出现倦怠的时刻、休息后恢复工作的时间节点。通过系统记录，可以精准掌握个人在不同任务中的专注耐力值与最佳休息时长。

专家提示，该方法需要针对不同类型的任务分别校准。例如创作类任务可能持续60分钟仍保持高效，而清洁整理可能20分钟就需要调节。建议从现有专注能力起步，逐步延长单次工作时间，每次增加1分钟循序渐进。

值得注意的是，这种方法并非逃避严格工作制度的捷径，而是通过科学自我认知建立个性化效率体系。初期可能感觉单次工作时长不足，但适时的休息调节恰恰是维持长期高效的关键。实践者建议重点关注任务完成后的满足感，以此形成良性工作循环。

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中文翻译：

番茄工作法在效率提升领域中堪称明星方法，其核心逻辑——专注工作25分钟后奖励自己短暂休息——既高效又令人心动。但这种方法并非放诸四海皆准。

与其他效率工具一样，掌握基本要领后，你需要根据自身需求进行调整。若觉得"工作25分钟+休息5分钟"的固定节奏不合胃口，不妨试试更具弹性的替代方案：流时法。

何为流时法？
作为番茄工作法的变体，流时法遵循相同原则：工作与休息交替进行。不同之处在于，你可以自主决定工作和休息的时长。这种方法也被称为"流动番茄钟"，旨在让你沉浸于任务状态，通过设定休息目标引导进入深度工作。休息环节至关重要——无论工作时长多少都必须安排休息。这不仅是保持专注的驱动力，更能避免因过度工作导致效率滑坡。若最终产出质量低下，流时法（或任何深度工作法）都将失去意义。

关键在于为获得休息而进行无干扰工作。与番茄工作法相同，你需要在工作时段全心投入单项任务，避免边工作边刷手机、查邮件等分心行为。同时拒绝多任务处理，这反而会降低效率。

流时法与番茄工作法的本质区别在于：前者由你自主设定工作时长，而非固守"25+5"模式。番茄工作法要求严格计时，通常需要定时器辅助避免分心；流时法虽不强制使用定时器，但建议配备秒表功能记录实际工作时长，并在需要时间约束时启用定时器。经过数日实践掌握自身工作规律后，你反而会需要定时器来设置个性化工作区间。

这里推荐使用辅助应用，我个人首选FocusPomo。该应用能在专注时段自动屏蔽干扰软件，且支持自定义时长（不限于25分钟），长期使用还能生成工作数据报告，帮你分析专注时长与分心节点。

如何制定个人流时方案？
流时法的优缺点同源：自主掌控工作时长。番茄工作法提供明确的工作休息时间表，而流时方案需要更多思考设计。建议先用一周时间探索再全面实施。

探索阶段可遵循以下步骤：

1. 记录无干扰任务的开始时间（推荐使用电子表格而非时间追踪软件，因为还需...）
2. 标注出现倦怠、分心或兴趣减退的时刻，查看秒表确认工作时长后开始休息
3. 记录精力恢复可继续工作的时间点，重启秒表
4. 循环直至任务完成，最终记录完成时间及整体感受

建议为每项任务创建独立表格。列标题可自定义，但应包含日期、开始/休息时间、完成时间等关键信息。持续记录后，你将掌握自己的专注耐力阈值与最佳休息时长。

摸清自身工作特性后即可付诸实践。例如清洁工作通常能专注15分钟，就设定15分钟计时器，然后给予5-10分钟个性化休息，但务必承诺回归工作。根据个人经验，这项承诺极其重要——每当懈怠拖延时，工作动力就会明显衰减。请聚焦任务完成后的满足感，以此作为回归工作的动力。

你可以尝试逐步延长工作时间，但这非强制要求。若现有模式运转良好尽可保持。若想提升持久专注力，可尝试每次增加1分钟（如从15分钟逐步增至17分钟）。此时表格数据能帮你判断是否过早放弃，以便及时调整方案。

需注意：每类任务都需要独立实验周期。撰写研究生申请文书时可能文思泉涌，连续工作1小时仍游刃有余；面对杂乱房间时却可能难以持续清洁超过20分钟。切忌因某些任务能持续1小时就机械套用——这只会导致计划失败。虽然流时法的准备阶段较为漫长，但这份投入物有所值。

选择流时法并非逃避困难的捷径，而是寻找适合自身时间组合的挑战。任何方案总比毫无计划更好，请找到契合需求的流时节奏，借助休息承诺释放无干扰工作的能量——即便它看起来与众不同。初期若感觉单次工作时间不够长也无需气馁，过度压缩休息时间反而会摧毁效率。不妨将此法视为维持高效状态的保障机制。

英文来源：

The Pomodoro technique is a superstar in the world of productivity methods because its premise—that you should work hard for 25 minutes, then reward yourself with a few minutes off—is effective and appealing. But that doesn’t mean it works perfectly for everyone.
Like any other method, it’s adaptable and, once you get the hang of it, should be customized to meet your unique needs. And if you find that Pomodoro's 25-minute work sessions with five-minute cooldowns aren’t cutting it for you, there's a similar but more flexible alternative: flowtime.
What is the flowtime technique?
The flowtime technique is a spin on Pomodoro, and as such, relies on the same principles: You work for a while, then get a break. The difference is that you determine how long the work and rest time last. Sometimes referred to as “flowmodoro,” this method is also all about keeping you in the zone on a task, luring you into deep work by using the goal of taking a break to keep you going. The break is crucial, so no matter how long you work, you do have to take one. Not only is that the motivator to keep you focused, but your productivity will take a massive hit if you work too long. Flowtime—or any technique designed to help you accomplish deep work—is useless if you end up producing dreck.
The key here is the uninterrupted work you do while you’re gunning for that break. Like Pomodoro, you’re supposed to stay focused intently on a single task for the duration of your grind time, rather than do a little work, check your phone, type a little more, check your email, etc. Don't multitask, either, since it will actually make you less efficient.
The only way flowtime is truly different from Pomodoro that you decide how long you work for, instead of relying on the "25 on, five off" framework. With Pomodoro, you are stricter, typically using a timer to keep you working and from checking your phone. You may not think you need the timer with the flowtime technique, but you should use one that has a stopwatch function to track how long you actually end up working and keep it on hand for days when you need the extra structure of the timer itself. In fact, once you finish a few days of flowtime and figure out your own working habits with the stopwatch, you'll need the timer so you can set it in personalized increments.
This where I recommend using an app to help you manage things. My favorite is FocusPomo, which blocks your distracting apps for you whenever you're in a focus session. These sessions are customizable, so they don't have to be 25 minutes, and once you use it for a while, you get useful data on how long you work and when you may have gotten distracted.
How to set up your personal flowtime
The downside to using flowtime over Pomodoro is the same as the upside: You’re in charge of how long you work. While the Pomodoro technique is straightforward and outlines exactly how long you get to work and play, setting up your personal flowtime requires a little bit more effort and thought. You’ll need about a week to figure it out before you fully put it into action.
During this exploratory setup period, here’s what you do:
Track when you start working on a specific task with no distractions. You can use time-tracking software, but in this case a spreadsheet might be better because you also…
Write down when you start feeling restless, distracted, or disinterested. Check your stopwatch to see exactly how long you were working, then take a break.
Jot down when you feel energized enough to get back to the task and restart your stopwatch.
Repeat until the task is done, then mark down when you finished, and how you feel overall.
In a spreadsheet, dedicate one sheet to each task that needs to get done. Your columns can be labeled however makes sense to you, but something like the below—including a date, start and break times, and an ultimate conclusion time—is helpful. After using the spreadsheet for a while, you’ll get a sense of how long you can usually stand working on something before you need a break and how long those breaks typically need to be for you to feel rejuvenated enough to get back at it.
Once you have a sense of your own work abilities and preferences, you can put them into action. If you can usually focus on cleaning for 15 minutes, start setting your timer for 15 minutes every time you clean, then give yourself a break that works for you, whether it’s five or 10 minutes. Commit to getting back to the task. From personal experience, this part matters a lot. I can think of plenty of times when I did not commit to getting back to it, but I notice I feel significantly less motivated when that happens. Focus on those feelings of self-satisfaction, and use them to motivate you to get back at it.
You can challenge yourself to add more time to your work sessions gradually, but that’s optional. If your specific method is working for you, great. If you want to get better at focusing for long periods of time, start by adding one minute every time you do a task, inching it from, say, 15 to 16 to 17 minutes every time. It’s helpful to go back to the spreadsheet if you plan to do this, so you can see if you’re starting to tap out too early and readjust your flowtime.
Bear in mind that you need to run through that experimental period for every single kind of task. If you're working on an application for grad school and feel extremely motivated, the time might fly by, and you may discover you can work for an hour with no problem. If your house is a mess and you struggle to find cleaning motivation, you may not be able to do more than 15 or 20 minutes of that at a time. It wouldn't make sense to block out an hour for cleaning just because it's something else you can do for an hour—you're only setting yourself up to fail. Unfortunately, this means the preparation period for flowtime adoption is lengthy, but it is worth it.
This isn’t an easy way out if Pomodoro doesn’t work for you. Rather, it’s a challenge to find a time combination that does work for you. Something is always better than nothing, so find the flowtime that fits your needs and tap into the power of uninterrupted work with the promise of breaks, even if it looks a little different from the norm. Don't get discouraged if you don't feel like you're working in long enough chunks at first; productivity falls off when you don't give yourself enough breaks, so look at this as a way of making sure that doesn't happen.