I am quite sure you know by know what Pomodoro is, so I won’t stress explaining it in detail. For those of you who might be unaware, it’s a “timeboxing” technique, which was developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to break down periods of work into 25-minute intervals called ‘Pomodoros’ separated by breaks.
I recently payed way more attention to this technique and added some Alpha Efficient tweaks to it. I don’t tend to do a lot of Pomodoro’s throughout the day, but those that I do, I devote myself to speed of delivery and absolute focus. Adding up a challenge of completing a task that is bigger than 25 minutes, while you watch the timer ticking is exciting and powerful. It will put you in speed mode.
Once you start with Pomodoros 25 minute time frame might not do the trick. As every implementation of a new habit or a technique, you should focus on starting small. To some people who suffer from ADHD, it’s common that 25 minutes period is too long. You could try shortening your Pomodoro to 15 minutes.
For those of you who are already used to working long hours and maintaining the concentration for longer period of times, you might want to consider increasing these “time boxes” to 30 or even 50 minutes. Either way, it’s crucial that you have a timer by your head. After those 25/50 minutes, you need to move yourself away from the computer.
In the time frame where you are away, let your mind clear itself. Think of something completely unrelated. Don’t think about the task for whole 5 minutes, it’s going to allow your subconcisou mind to resolve the tasks instead of you.
Power of forcing your focus on single task at hand is unleashing incredible amount of focused energy into one task. You might get addicted at the feeling of “power completing” the tasks that usually last way longer than 25 minutes.
Considering that not all tasks are equal, and some require more attention than others, Pomodoro might not be applied at all aspects of your life. It truly shines when we are talking about studying for exams. It might help you cram a lot of information and it will give you unfair advantage over other students.
Avoid traps of breaks once you start using Pomodoro technique. The fact that you have a break, doesn’t give you the right to start phone calling people. Instead your task is to maintain that positive work attitude for those 5 minutes. My personal favorite down time is actually going out on my beautiful terrace and watch the river flowing. While my mind merges with the surroundings.
While there are a lot of Pomodoro tools, apps and other helpful content, you should stick to something that works and doesn’t cost you a dime. If you are on Chrome, I highly recommend this extension.
And final piece of advice is to have an alarm. You don’t want to be constantly checking weather 25 minutes expired or not. Once the alarm rings, the round is over, and you remove yourself from the working environment.
Did you try out Pomodoro or any other time boxing technique? How did it affect your personal productivity? Let us know in the comments.
