I heard about Pomodoro a while ago. I have to he honest: I was skeptical. My first reaction?
“Com’on, I am able to manage my time, I don’t need any technique”.
I was wrong. While it is true that I am perfectly able to manage my time, it is also true that there can better ways to do it. A while ago I was really overwhelmed with projects and duties so I thought: “why I don’t give Pomodoro a try? Just one week. If it does not work, no worries.”
How pomodoro technique works?
Here I report just a few key aspects of the technique. To know more visit Pomodoro website (links below).
What do you do to wake up in the morning? Set up a clock. I do it, otherwise I sleep until midday. To be really concise, Pomodoro is all about this: setting up a clock. Pomodoro is a time management techique which recommends to shred your time in chunks, each lasting 25 minutes. Every chunk of 25 minutes is equivalent to 1 Pomodoro, that is a time span of uninterrupted work. After completing a Pomodoro you can take a 5 minute break. You might think: “I can do more than that!”. Sure thing. But … Let’s suppose you work 4 hours in a row. Then take a break (lunch). Answer the following questions:
- Can you see the progress? Always?
- What did you do in 4 hours?
- Do you remember everything you did?
- Can you tell how much you have been productive?
I have been in this situation many times. Why didn’t the design progress? too much facebook? too much time to find the perfect glow effect? I wasn’t able to remember why I did not feel the progress. When a Pomodoro ends I am prone to measure my productivity and, if not satisfied, improve it. It is much easier to remember and check the activity of 25 minutes than the one of 4 hours. This is just one advantage of time chunking.
Time chunking
It is a well known technique. Chunk your project in tasks, chunk tasks in subtasks, chunk your time in spans. The advantages are terrific.
First of all you are forced to stay focused on one thing at a time. Tempted to check the twitter? You can do it when the pomodoro ends. I am not saying tomorrow, I am saying in at most 25 minutes. It’s not that much.
The second advantage is about motivation. How many times you get bored about a task? Check the timer: pomodoro ends in 12 minutes, you can resist. The prize: five minutes of rest and (probably) another nicer task.
The most valuable advantage to me is about naming a Pomodoro. There are many applications that help you to adopt the Pomodoro technique. I downloaded Pomodoro which allows you to set a timer and to provide a title. How many times I started one task and ended up working on another one? By means of this technique you are “forced” to state:
“Ok, now for the next 25 minutes I will work on X”.
Get lost for some reason? Look at the timer and you’ll find it out! Moreover, providing a title means that you have already some plan about your duties of the day, and those duties are already pre-organized in chunks of 25 minutes. This is invaluable, because you know where you are and you know where you want to be at the end of the day. A task does not fit 25 minutes? Shred it or use more than one pomodoro. A task is too short? Group it with similar ones.
What if you get interrupted? No worries, there are ways to deal with this situation. In essence you can try to postpone the interruption (you colleague/wife will not die for less than 25 minutes) or interrupt the Pomodoro if the deal is really urgent. Just keep a log about it, because at the end of the day you can check what depends on you and what does not.
What I achieved by means of Pomodoro?
- Developed an iPad application in less than planned
- Speed up my micro tasks, update this, do that, etc
- Reduced the time spent reading too much
- Gained some spare time
- Reduced procrastination
- I am writing a book with no paranoia about the time spent
- Learned to assign priorities
Conclusion
I am not saying this technique will solve everybody’s problems. Just try Pomodoro out. One week. If it does not work, you have just ‘lost’ one week. If it does you have found a way to improve your personal and professional life.
Links
- Pomodoro Website
- A web app I built
- Photo by elgiulio
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Sounds like a good idea, think I will give it a try
I’ll try some timer on the Ubuntu bar. It will give some time to rest to my eyes, too :)
Sounds really interesting. Thanks for a good introduction!
There seems to be a Pomodoro Technique Illustrated book available:
http://www.pomodoro-book.com
Have you read it?
-Philip
My attemp with “The Pomodoro Technique” have been similar to yours. I felt identified with your article, I really liked. I use Pomodoro in my Work, in My House and I am going to teach to my childrens to use it in school ;)
A friend has used Pomodoro for Study and I think that is perfect for that purpose.
Cheers
On Windows you can try our MaToMaTo pomodor timer, it’s animated and fun (requires .Net 3.5).
http://letsfollowtheyellowbrickroad.blogspot.com/2010/04/matomato-windows-pomodoro-timer.html
Great article, I’ve been using the Pomodoro Technique for a while now in my freelance life too.
And what really helped me is how it becomes a great unit to measure my work. I can spend 10+ hours in front of my computer, it doesn’t relate to how much work I’ve really achieved.
So I use a number of pomodoros as my goal for the day.
If I’ve done 8 or 10 pomodoros it was probably a good day even if I only spend 5 hours “at work”.
I feel like I’m working less harder, and a lot smarter :)
@Philip I did not read the book, probably I was too happy celebrating my new “discovery” :) Thanks for signaling…
@Etienne We should propose to rephrase contracts in terms of Pomodoro, instead of hours :)
Great article! Since I work from my PC most of the day I’ve found Dinner Timer Lite as my version of a Pomodoro. I wish it was called Pomodoro versus Dinner Timer because it make me hungry but it work extremely well for me. It turns work into a video game.
Just found this app works for mac or pc
http://www.focusboosterapp.com/
Let us not forget that the pomodoro technique is not just setting a timer for 25 minutes on a whim.
You need an activity inventory sheet and a todo list. Plan what you are going to do for the day and check off things completed.
It also helps to have a real kitchen timer. The electronic ones are nice, if you have access to a computer constantly or work well without the ticking and winding.
A-lot of blogs like this put a bit too much emphasis on the timer part without planning. The timer will work but only for a while before you loose energy. You need to PLAN, and record your pomodoro sessions, otherwise you will sleek back into your old habits in no time.
You won’t believe me but I have a draft post exactly on this topic: strategies for pomodoro technique, where I argue the need of a strategy/plan to organize sessions. I plan to publish it soon. Thanks for your feedback, I really appreciate it.
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