What is Pomodoro?
If you are eager to achieve more in life, I reckon you are also a big fan of learning life hacks that help you do more with less. Today, we explore the famous time management technique known as the Pomodoro.
Created by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, Pomodoro Technique is still relevant up to today and used by millions of people around the world. Now, what exactly is Pomodoro and how does it help my productivity?
What is the Pomodoro Technique?
Pomodoro is a time management technique that aims to help its users power through distractions, become highly focused on tasks at hand, and get important tasks done in extremely productive time slots. You can imagine it as highly productive short bursts that provide frequent breaks in between for you to take a few sips of water and relax.
The method is simple – when you have a lot of tasks you need to complete in short notice, prioritize the important ones and break them down into short intervals (an interval is called a Pomodoro).
Each Pomodoro is typically 25 minutes and followed by a short break, usually 5 minutes right after it. This pattern is cyclical and provides you with 50 minutes of productive session and 10 minutes of break within 1 hour. You are rewarded a longer break after every 4 Pomodoro sessions. Ample time for productivity and rests in a limited period of time.
This trains your mind to become highly focused for short periods of time and gives you the ability to become distraction-free when you are working on the important tasks.
Adhering to Pomodoro techniques requires a bit of discipline – you should focus on your task (and your task alone) when you are in the Pomodoro. Facebook notifications? Wait till your 5 minutes break. Whatsapp and SMSes flooding in? Wait till your 5 minutes break.
Pomodoro is an indivisible unit of work – meaning you can’t just pause it. If you break a Pomodoro session, you end the session and save your work, and start a new Pomodoro later. This “inflexibility” is exactly what keeps you focused for the entire Pomodoro (25 minutes) instead of pausing to check your messages.
When Should I Use the Pomodoro Technique?
Granted, Pomodoro isn’t suited for every situation. If you are working in an environment that offers little flexibility in terms of your time management, Pomodoro isn’t a good idea.
However, not every distraction deserves your immediate attention – sometimes it’s perfectly fine to tell your coworkers that you are in the middle of an important task and get back to them in 15 minutes time.
The creator of the technique, Francesco Cirillo suggests the “inform, negotiate, and call back” strategy:
- Inform the distracting party that you are working on something right now, and will get back to them in a short while.
- Negotiate a time where you can get back to them and attend to their issues in a timely manner (usually during your 5 minutes break).
- Call back the other party if you have declined a call and when your Pomodoro is complete and ready for the next task.
The technique is especially useful when you have a lot of work to complete in a very limited amount of time – mastering the technique can mean a difference of having to work overtime constantly or complete your tasks before the day is over.
Getting Started with Pomodoro Technique
Since the technique is extremely simple, practically you need only a timer to do it. There are a lot of resources to help you get started with the technique, and some even offer “points” for completing a Pomodoro as a form of “reward”. You can see how productive you are compared to the other fellow Pomodoro users, and to keep track of your own productivity over a longer period of time.
My favorite Pomodoro timer is kanbanflow.com. It offers a clean layout that displays all your listed tasks at once. You are to select up to 3 tasks to complete for any point of time, which keeps you focused on the most important tasks at hand.
It doesn’t require you to install any application as it runs on the browser itself, and you can even use it to collaborate with your colleagues on the same project. You can create sub-tasks for every member and any to the tasks list changes will be made visible for other members of the team immediately.
If you prefer to use a smartphone to keep track of Pomodoro, feel free to search the app store for a Pomodoro timer. There are multiple applications out there and most of them will work fine to suit your needs.
The Bottom Line
The Pomodoro technique is highly personal. The important thing isn’t about what timer you use, it’s about how you utilize the technique. There’s no reason not to give it a try, since it’s free and you may find that it helps you focus. The worst case scenario? You don’t like the technique after a few Pomodoros and decide to stick to your usual way of doing things. No big deal.
For myself, I have other commitments during the day and only write articles at night and during weekends. Typically, I require about 4 Pomodoros to complete an article, meaning about 2 hours with optimal productivity. Without the Pomodoro, I find myself getting distracted frequently and end up using at least 3 hours to complete an article of similar length.
In my case, I definitely find the technique helpful and rewarding. I don’t get headache for staring too long into the computer screen and I get more done in a shorter period of time. If you are an entrepreneur or work on your own without supervision, you must give it a try and you will see that it helps you achieve so much more in the same period of time.
Do leave a comment below if you have tried it and tell us if you have become more productive after using the technique!
Molly
I have never heard of this Pomodoro technique until now, but the principle makes perfect sense to me. I have always found it easier to work by taking regular breaks in between shorter sessions, it helps keep my concentration levels high and my productivity is much better as a result. This is a good technique and I would recommend it for anyone.
Thurman
Pomodoro. Wow. Guess I have used Pomodoro not knowing what it was. When I was in the military we would get a ten minute break every hour. They had to stop that because after every break they had to retrain us. But seriously, Pomodoro is an effective learning tool that I have been practicing for years. I’m not as smart as I should be but a lot smarter than I would have been. thanks for reminding me.
Matt
I have never heard of this before, and its absolutely awesome! I personally struggle with focusing, and staying organized! Especially when I have a lot of my to do list I tend to just procrastinate which makes absolutely zero sense for my productivity. Thanks for teaching me “Pomodoro” (if I used it in the sentence right). I’m going to try it tomorrow!
Edward
Hi Matt, glad you find it helpful! Personally it has helped me focus on important tasks and get them done as soon as possible. The good thing is when you’re done with a Pomodoro you feel like you have accomplished something and it helps to propel you further!
Lynne
Thanks for this great post, I have never heard of Pomodoro before and think it would be great to try it.
I am always interested in time management and feel my day is way too short to achieve everything on my to do list.
For this reason I often find myself multitasking even though I have read it is more efficient to focus on one task at a time and not get distracted by anything else (especially Facebook and social networks!).
I’ll definitely give this method a go, thanks again for sharing it.
Edward
I also found Facebook and other social networks especially chat groups distracting when I’m trying to work. That’s the main reason I turned to Pomodoro to minimize distractions and focus on work at hand, and only view them when I have my break. I get my work done and reply to my friends relatively quickly. It’s a win-win!
Michael Hills
This is new to me, great info! I’ve never heard of Francesco Cirillo and his Pomodoro Technique. Well done. It makes total sense, and I’m getting the timer. I get distracted a lot, so this is welcomed as I have a lot to accomplish before I retire. I have read about chunking, which is a technique to chunk down any huge task into smaller tasks to accomplish anything. But now I know how to chunk properly using a timer and breaking the large tasks into 25 minutes ones! Would you agree?
Edward
Yes I believe chunking works well with Pomodoro. In fact that’s one of the method I use when I have a goal in mind. When I’m writing articles I usually use 1 Pomodoro for planning, 2 Pomodoros for writing the main bulk and a final one for touch up.