Trying out pomodoro technique

On the days of working from home, I was experimenting to find methods that help working more efficient and productive. Then I found pomodoro technique and decided to give it a try. How is it?

What is pomodoro technique?

Pomodoro is basically a time management system that encourages to work with time we have. How this method work is by break work-hours into 25 minute chunks separated by 5 minute breaks. After about four intervals, you take a longer break of about 20 to 30 minutes.

Why it called pomodoro? According to wikipedia, each interval are referred to as a pomodoro, from the Italian word for ‘tomato’, after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that Cirillo used as a university student. Actually he himself wrote books about his technique, check this.

wikipedia

The idea behind it

The idea behind is that the timer instills a sense of urgency. You only have 25 minutes to make as much progress on a task as possible, instead of feeling like you have endless time in the workday to get things done then end up with do nothing and keep scrolling instagram or watching youtube. The power of urgency.

It helps to more focus about that each 25 minute just to do the work, and keep in mind that will be a 5 minute we can use to take a little rest and do something else like replying messages.

How to try?

From the definition itself is quite simple technique, that’s why I decided to try it. The step is pretty simple and I believe everyone can try it, but maybe after try it not everyone found it suitable for their workflow. The steps are :

1. Get a to-do list and timer (or can use pomodoro app, will share later)

2. Start the 25 minute timer and focus on the first task on your to-do list until the timer rings

3. When the sessions end, take a brief look of what you completed while take a 5 minute break

4. After four pomodoro sessions, take a longer 20-30 minutes break

That’s it! It’s pretty straightforward yet so powerful that helps me focus and get more things done. If it’s big, complex project, break it down to smaller tasks.

The app I use

After searching and trying web-based app, I found the best app that suites me. It called flow. It’s beautifully simple, straightforward, easy to use, and it stick on the menu bar on mac so I can peek at the time once and start/stop without closing my current window while working. Unfortunately it’s not available on Windows and Android ecosystem.

Of course I did sometimes cheat with the timer haha and feel so lazy but the timer keep ticking, but it’s there to motivate you. Anytime you to discipline and eager to finish your task, you always can restart the timer. You control the time and use it, don’t let it be otherwise. So, do you wanna try? Or already use this technique?