Pomodoro: A Simple Time Management Technique to Be More Productive

For most people, time management is not easy. You are most likely bombarded with tasks, to-do lists, notifications, emails, and personal projects and all of that at the same time. If you want to improve your productivity and achieve more, you need to do something about it. 

The Pomodoro Technique can help you be more productive. It is quite simple – all you need to do to be more efficient and maximize your time is to block out a 25-minute interval during which you will work on a single task.

The Pomodoro Technique is one of the most popular time management methods. The method itself is very polarizing. For every fan of the method, another person is claiming that it does not work.

Is the Pomodoro Technique right for you? Stick around as we go deep into how the Pomodoro Technique works, how it has helped other people, and how it can probably help you do more in less time.

What Is the Pomodoro Technique?

The Pomodoro Technique is designed to help you maximize your focus and freshness, which allows you to finish your tasks faster and without exhausting yourself. For every project you are working on that day, budget your time into short increments and take breaks periodically. 

The short increments last 25 minutes, while the breaks are 5 minutes. Each 25-minute period in which you work is called a pomodoro, the Italian word for tomato. The name comes from the inventor of the technique Francesco Cirillo, which used a kitchen timer shaped like a tomato to measure his time. Each pomodoro should be dedicated to a single task, instead of the usual juggling between a few tasks most of us are doing. If certain tasks take longer than one pomodoro, you are free to use multiple ones. Just make sure you always focus on only one task at a time.

After four pomodoros (1 hour and 40 minutes of work time and 15 minutes of break time) have passed, you should take a longer break which lasts anywhere from 15 to 30 minutes. After completing four pomodoros, you go back to the start.

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Why Does the Pomodoro Technique Work?

The main reason why Pomodoro works is because of the frequent breaks, which are proven to keep the mind focused and fresh. Picking up the Pomodoro Technique is fairly easy and the official website of the Pomodoro Technique claims you will be able to see the results in just a day or two. According to them, mastering time with the help of the Pomodoro Technique will take seven to twenty days.

More Control of Your Time

If you have a large to-do list, Pomodoro can help you go through all of your tasks faster by forcing you to stick to a strict timeline. No matter how small or large your to-do list is, the Pomodoro Technique allows you to more easily control your time.

Fewer Distractions

If you have to deal with external distractions, like a colleague interrupting you, kindly inform them about what you are doing and try to schedule a time when you will be available. If your distractions are internal, let's say you get a text from someone or you have the sudden urge to browse Instagram, continue with your work until the end of the pomodoro, and then use your break time for these internal distractions. If you can’t keep your hands off your phone, leave it in your bag, or another room, and turn on the flight mode.

Better Planning

With time, you will be able to accurately estimate how long it will take you to finish certain tasks and projects. This can help you get a better idea of how many tasks you can complete based on the numbers you have available.

More Motivation

Over time, many people who are using the Pomodoro Technique have started racing against the clock to finish a task before the pomodoro ends. This excitement to finish on time can be an excellent source of inspiration, because it gives a short burst of motivation which, when accumulated, will increase the amount of work you get done.

How to Use the Pomodoro Technique

There are a few ways you can start with the Pomodoro Technique. You can use the timer on your phone, a dedicated Pomodoro app, or an online work tracking system.

If you want to use the timer app on your phone, all you need to do is set it for 25 minutes and do your work. Once the 25 minutes run out, you set the timer for 5 minutes, so that you can measure your break.

Most Pomodoro apps work similarly to the timer app in that they measure your work time and your break time. Most have dedicated buttons or a switch for both times of a pomodoro.

The best way to do the Pomodoro technique is to use an online work tracking system like Insightful. In addition to allowing you to track your work and your break time, it can also help you stay on top of all your tasks, projects, and the time spent doing them. If you are a business owner, manager, or team leader, our online work tracking system can give you insights into the attendance, productivity, and the activity levels of your employees. 

Insightful can be an additional source of productivity both for you and your employees. By combining Insightful with the Pomodoro Technique, you can turn your company or your team into a productivity powerhouse.

Final Thoughts

Managing your time is not easy, but it can be done. And the Pomodoro Technique, while not perfect for all people, can be a great way to start tackling the beast that is time management. 

With such an easy way to get started with the Pomodoro Technique, there is no excuse not to at least try it. If you are persistent with it, you should be able to quickly reap the benefits of it.