Inboxes bursting at the seams, piles of documents to read and sign, meetings to attend…
If you sit at the top, the neverending list of things-that-need-doing can interrupt your flow and impact your productivity.
Everything is urgent. And it’s all on you.
It’s a lonely place, and the stress that comes with it is disastrously distracting. Before you know it, you’ll find yourself in a cycle of doom. Focus wanes and productivity falls to the wayside, increasing the urgency of the tasks at hand, upping the stress, and round and round you go.
The Pomodoro technique is a time management concept trending at the moment and for good reason. It’s easy to learn, even easier to implement, and here’s how it can help.
Do I Need The Pomodoro Technique?
The Pomodoro technique helps anyone struggling to keep on top of the consistent demands seen in the modern workplace.
Any of this sound familiar?
- You never feel like you’re winning, and wonder when the work will ease.
- The smallest distraction or interruption throws your whole workday out of the window.
- You crash into survival mode frequently; you don’t know when to take a breather and consistently fly straight past that beautiful apex of optimal productivity without realising.
- The work on your desk is open-ended and doesn’t come with a short-term due date. (Think the more self-guided practices of research and writing over weekly data reporting).
Many of us struggle with everything listed above, which can be exhausting!
The Pomodoro technique can help us sustain concentration, waft away brain-ache and reinvigorate our workdays.
A Brief History Of Tomatoes
What? You mean you’re not fluent in Italian?
Don’t worry, neither are we.
‘Pomodoro’ is Italian for tomato! That’s right. The Tomato Approach. How did this fruit-based system come to be, you ask?
It was invented by someone who was struggling just like you.
The Tomato Approach was born in the late 1980s by a university student, Francesco Cirillo, who found studying nigh on impossible. He couldn’t focus, and he was completely overwhelmed.
To try and break through the stress cycle Francesco set himself mini-targets of a simple 10 minutes of serious study followed by a recovery break. (Think HIIT but for mental strength). And it worked! Small tasks and consistent victories inspired him to keep climbing his mountain work.
Francesco used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer to keep himself in check, and as such, the Pomodoro technique was born.
How To Pomodoro
There is no need to watch hours of videos, buy new-fangled tech or learn a new system to implement the Pomodoro technique.
Cirillo wrote a 130-page book about it, but the technique’s most significant selling point is its utter simplicity. All you need is your to-do list and a timer.
- Put 25 minutes on the clock and select a single task to work on during that time.
- Hit ‘Start’ and power through until the timer sounds.
- Record what you completed in your Pomodoro session (and count your Pomodoros as you go).
- Relax for five minutes.
- Repeat.
- After completing four Pomodoros, extend your break to 15-30 minutes.
And that’s it. Nothing special, right?
If you’ve got smaller tasks on your list, group them and work through them during a single Pomodoro. If a task won’t fit in one Pomodoro session, it’s too big and needs to be split into more manageable steps.
By breaking the mountain of work that sits on your desk down into bitesize chunks you make it 100% more easily digestible.
Does It Work?
In short, absolutely yes!
The Pomodoro method keeps you mentally fresh and laser-focused. Sticking to the simple rules of the technique means you get more done in less time.
The Pomodoro technique:
- Is unbelievably simple and easy to implement.
- Reduces procrastination and improves your internal accountability.
- Gets you believing in your ability to stay in control.
- Enables you to make clear progress and track it.
- Identifies common distractions, meaning you can tailor your space to avoid interruptions.
- Instils conscious time management. Ever asked yourself ‘where did the day go?’
- Gamifies productivity, keeping it moving, engaging, and motivating you to get better at Pomodoro-ing.
Top Tomato Tips
Simplicity lies at the heart of the Pomodoro technique’s 25/5 split, but here’s how to make the best of weaving it into your workday.
Plan Ahead
An 8-hour workday = max 16 Pomodoros.
To avoid overdoing it, take 10 minutes at the beginning of the day, (or at the end, ready for tomorrow) to Pomodoro your task list. (Yes, it’s now a verb). Big tasks need to be broken down into smaller actionable stages, and small tasks need to be paired together to be effectively Pomodorised.
Focus On Quality, Not Quantity
Don’t burn yourself out!
Just because you can fit 16 Pomodoro sessions into a working day doesn't mean you should. Especially at the beginning.
Take yourself in slow, see how it feels to introduce this way of working and build it up comfortably for maximum benefit.
Notice What You’re Struggling With
Even after successfully implementing the Pomodoro method, you might notice mental or emotional pushback against particular to-do list tasks. What are they? What do they have in common?
Particularly high-resistance tasks might benefit from a change-up in the work/rest ratio. How about trialling a few shorter Pomodoros for easy wins against your trickiest assignments?
Let Complacency Take A Back Seat
Been Pomodoroing for a while and reaping the rewards? Change it up to challenge yourself and achieve even more in less time. Can you work for longer? See if you can spot your optimum productivity level before it falls.
Don’t Check Your Phone
Firstly, use a physical timer. For many people, a physical timer will work better than one set on your mobile or laptop because it’s less likely to distract you.
And secondly. Take a proper break! Scrolling through your social platforms or watching random YouTube videos does not count. Move your body, listen to music, get a cup of tea… Whatever. No screens permitted.
Overwhelm Is A Productivity Killer
A massive part of the loneliness at the top of the tree comes from the sheer responsibility and complexity of running the show. It’s okay to be overwhelmed. You’d be surprised how many others are, too.
Want to calm the maelstrom of to-do lists littering your desk, calendar and head? Give the Pomodoro Technique a go.