The Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique is the simplest way to productively manage your time with only two lists and a timer, by breaking down your workload into small, manageable chunks to stay fresh and focused throughout your day.

This is of course the underlying idea of the whole concept.

Cirillo suggests a 25-5 structure.

25 minutes of focused work on a single task are followed by a 5 minute break.

Focused means no interruptions, email, notifications, Amazon browsing, chitchat or coffee refill.

Similarly, break means break: Never check email or think about your work during breaks. Use them to get up, move around, drink some water, stretch, and get some fresh air.

Cirillo says 25 minutes are long enough to make substantial progress, but at the same time not too long to sit through. You can easily push back your urges to check email, knowing you can do so 20 minutes later.

On the other hand, the technique forces you to define your tasks well in advance, because you can’t fit a mammoth project into 25 minutes.

This way it also takes away the frustration of chugging away for hours without seeming to get anywhere.

My friend Chris Winfield switched his entire workweek from 40 normal hours to 40 Pomodoros, simply because he gets more done with 40 focused 25-minute blocks than most people in their heavily distracted 40 hours at the office.

The most common objection is that people are afraid of not putting in enough time in total – but this focused time blocking works.

Sometimes, less is more.

So what’s the best way to implement the Pomodoro technique? After all, it’s so dead simple, every smart and even dumb phone could be used to do it.

While there are hundreds of digital Pomodoro timers (I like this one, it tracks your Pomodoros), Cirillo says using a physical timer still works best.

Winding it up will strengthen your sense of commitment to the time block, while the ticking noise is a signal that it’s time to be focused.

The ring upon hitting the 25 minute mark is then a signal to get out of your flow state and take a break.

Train your brain with these physical stimuli, and you’ll make the Pomodoro technique a habit faster.

With so many people successfully using the technique, it’s highly likely to work for you too. But it only does when you strictly adhere to the rules. Cirillo says there are only complete Pomodori (the original, Italian plural form of the word). No half Pomodori, no 80% ones, and no “let me check email I finished 60 seconds early” blocks (there’s always more you can do, the least being a review of what…