The Pomodoro Technique: Why it works and how to use it

Do you find yourself procrastinating, putting off or even panicking about the task at hand? The Pomodoro Technique can help you focus on a project, a problem, or a piece of work – one tomato at a time.

A tomato, you say? The humble Pomodoro (as the fruit is known in Italy) inspired the time management tool whose originator, struggling to complete university assignments, set himself to commit to bite-sized chunks of focused study time, followed by a break.

Whether you have difficulty staying focused, feel overwhelmed by large or complex pieces of work, or don’t know where to start, the Pomodoro Technique is a powerful approach to productivity. It has even been shown to help people with anxiety and ADHD.

The Pomodoro Technique is so-called because student Francesco Corellio equipped himself with a kitchen timer shaped like a tomato. From that moment, the Pomodoro (Italian for tomato) Technique and its logo were born.

This is the Pomodoro Technique in a nutshell:

• Grab a timer – If you don’t have a kitchen one, you can download a Pomodoro timer app for your phone.
• Establish a to-do list – For complex projects, divide this plan into actionable steps. For simple tasks, combine them with other simple tasks.
• Focus on completing a single task from the list during each slice of work time (a Pomodoro).
• Set the timer for 25 minutes.
• Get to work and follow the rules.

Whether you have difficulty staying focused, feel overwhelmed by large or complex pieces of work, or don’t know where to start, the Pomodoro Technique is a powerful approach to productivity. It has even been shown to help people with anxiety and ADHD.

The Pomodoro Technique is so-called because student Francesco Corellio equipped himself with a kitchen timer shaped like a tomato. From that moment, the Pomodoro (Italian for tomato) Technique and its logo were born.

Follow each of these steps of the Pomodoro Technique and you’ll realise the benefits in no time!

1. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted during each Pomodoro by mundane interferences, such as checking text messages. Switch off anything that might distract you.
2. If you have an idea, a thought, or a request that you can come back to, make a note and disregard it for now.
3. If a disruption occurs that cannot be ignored, take your five-minute break, then start again.
4. When the session ends, mark off one Pomodoro and write down what you have completed.
5. Take a five-minute break.
6. After completing four Pomodoros (of the same length and break time), take a more extended, more restorative rest for 15 to 30 minutes.
7. Reset and repeat.

At its heart, the Pomodoro Technique encourages you to work with the time you have, not against it. It also means you will take a break without viewing downtime as wasted time. It is effective because:

• Use of the timer instils a sense of urgency, but you will not be overwhelmed as your goal in each Pomodoro chunk is to complete the actionable step you have set yourself.
• The preset breaks prevent that frazzled, brain-fogged feeling that inevitably overcomes all of us towards the end of the day/work session.
• You will positively approach the first step in each piece of work. Think of it this way: you’re not going to sit down to write a whole chapter of a novel. Instead, you will be writing a few paragraphs or editing a page.
• You combat distractions and prevent wasting time trying to regain your concentration.

You become more aware of how you spend your time, and you begin to retrain your brain to focus during planned periods of activity by establishing a step-by-step sense of achievement.

The Pomodoro Technique takes practice, so don’t abandon all hope after one or two Pomodoro sessions. Stick with the tomato, and it will help you focus on what matters and achieve results. Give it a go!

Author: Gemma Rolstone | Published 28th June 2021