I have a really tough time focusing for long spans of time, and I have a feeling I’m not the only one!
I’ve been practicing this tried and true productivity hack since I was in high school and it helps me get loads of stuff done.
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You may be asking, “What the heck is a pomodoro and why do I care?!”
Well first off, pomodoro is Italian for tomato. The Pomodoro Technique gets it’s name from the little tomato kitchen timer. (I don’t think it would have caught on if it was called the tomato technique!)
Yep, this little tomato timer!
Now that that’s out of the way, we have to talk about the important part – the technique! There’s a whole bunch of science behind why it works, the book has all the details but it works for me because of the rewards a.k.a. the breaks! The technique is based on six core steps:
1. What is the task that needs to be done?
2. How much time do I have/should I spend on it? Usually 25 minutes – I like 15 though, and set your timer for that amount of time
3. Work on the task until the timer rings.
4. Place a checkmark on a scrap piece of paper or Post-It note when the timer rings.
5. If you have less than four checkmarks on your paper – take a quick break (3-5 minutes), get up and stretch, grab a coffee, etc. Then return to step 1 and repeat.
6. Once you have four checkmarks on your paper – take a longer break (15-25 minutes), go for a walk, grab some food, etc. Then return to Step 1 and reset your checkmarks!
Need a timer? There’s a bunch of options out there besides the tomato timer, or you can always use the standard timer on your phone! Some others that I thought were pretty cute are the Owl kitchen timer, Cat kitchen timer, and the Time timer – for all you visual people out there!
Looking for another productivity hack like this one? Check out Jen’s post to get tons of stuff done!
Does anyone else have success with the Pomodoro technique?
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Thanks for the post, very interestiong to read!
I use the productivity challenge timer app for tracking how much work I spend on a project and when. Reading your post, I just realized, that it also works with the promodoro technique. In the settings you chose how much time a work session will go and how long the breaks inbetween should be and also the preferences for the long breaks can be set.
This works very good for me, especially in the morning to get started… 🙂
What i also like is that you gain ranks the more you work, which helps me a lot with the motivation.
So I can confirm, that this technique realy helps to increase ones prodoctivity! 😀
Woot woot! Glad to hear this technique (already 🙂 ) works for you Elli!