The Benefits of the Pomodoro Technique
Your Productivity may SOAR!
Your Productivity may SOAR!
Like every other group of people, creatives are not all alike. Some of us can work on a project or part of a project with intense focus for hours at a time and ignore all distractions until we finished. Others, like me, are easily distracted and really have a hard time focusing on just one thing, no matter how important it is. Today, with your devices pinging and ringing constantly, it is even easier to get distracted, and we all should know by now that multi-tasking just does not work.
Being “busy” is not the same as being “productive.” Have you ever had days when you were busy doing all kinds of “stuff” at your desk, but then at the end of the day, you haven’t really accomplished anything really important? I’ve had plenty of those days.
A very popular time management program that helps people to focus is the Pomodoro Technique, invented by Italian Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The word “pomodoro” is Italian for “tomato,” and Cirillo designed a simple kitchen timer in the shape of a tomato that is used for timing the task sessions, hence the name for an interval of work time.
Did you know that in the traditional 8-hour work day, actual “work” done usually only amounts to about FOUR hours? Knowing that fact will help you to understand the Pomodoro Technique.
How Pomodoro Works
Cirillo originally designed the Pomodoro Technique to have six distinct steps:
Decide what task you will complete. (Preplanning would involve knowing your goals and the associated tasks.)
Set your Pomodoro timer for 25 minutes. (There are several digital timers available, but the original analog kitchen-type timer is preferred.)
Work on the task without interruptions or distractions.
When the timer ends the work session, take a 5-minute break.
Complete three 30-minute (including the 5-minute break) pomodoros.
Complete a 4th pomodoro and then take a longer break of 20–30 minutes
Each pomodoro should be recorded and tracked in your digital or analog notebook. The goal is to have the opportunity to work in a dedicated time block of approximately 2.5 hours (including the 30-minute final break), reduce interruptions and distractions, and get into a “flow” of task completion.
Why and How Pomodoro Works for ME
As I said at the beginning, I am very easily distracted. It doesn’t help that I have my MacBook Pro (attached to a 27-inch monitor), my TWO iPads, and my iPhone on my desk. My children are now all grown, but now that we work from our separate home offices (since the beginning of COVID), both my husband and my little dog think nothing of interrupting me constantly. I love my husband, but if I hear: “I know you’re busy, but…” one more time…
Pre-planning your workday has always been recommended since the days of Stephen Covey’s “7 Habits” book. I try to get that done the night before. Then in my digital planner, I schedule my four “deep work” morning pomodoros and my four “everything else” afternoon pomodoros, and try VERY hard to stick with my schedule.
It’s amazing what you can get done in about four hours when you really focus.
My Hybrid Digital/Analog Work Processes
If you haven’t guessed by now, I’ll tell you that I am a total #GadgetGirl and I love my iDevices. But I also still love using analog and keep a 5X8-inch notebook open on my desk to record what’s going on during the day. I find it is much faster than switching to another app or another tab to record something.
I also have an actual official Pomodoro Timer on my desk that I wind to the 25-minute stopping point. I can quickly look at it when I’m tempted to wander from my task and seeing how much time I have left forces me to get right back on track. Of course, I set an alarm on my Apple Watch for the 5-minute and 30-minute breaks. That allows me to walk around during those times without having to watch a clock.
Not allowing myself to stop during a pomodoro session is hard and really takes a lot of practice. I have learned to return quick phone calls and check emails during the breaks.
Working in short bursts really helps me to focus and stop trying to multi-task, and breaking down projects into smaller pieces also really helps me to understand exactly what is involved in completely that project.
I have also learned to disable all of the digital distractions:
I close my MacBook and work only on my iPad.
I turn off my iPhone.
I close the blinds on the window by my desk.
I quickly write something down that I want to remember in my analog notebook and get back to my task.
Because I am a solopreneur, I am my own boss, so I can set my own schedule, but I also have to set my own boundaries. I’ve tried just about everything out there to help me focus.
I’ve found the Pomodoro Technique to be the most effective program for me. What gadgets, processes, or apps do you find helpful to manage your workday?