If you want to, you can make the most of your time. The Pomodoro technique is a simple yet extremely efficient productivity tool that anybody may adopt to increase attention and productivity. You only need a timer and a task to work on.
In this article, emphasis will be laid on the Pomodoro technique and how it affects productivity.
What is The Pomodoro Technique?
According to Wikipedia, the Pomodoro technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. This technique incorporates the use of a timer to break work down into intervals, usually 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. This popular time management method improves focused work sessions with frequent short breaks to promote sustained concentration and get rid of mental fatigue.
Francesco Cirillo who developed the Pomodoro technique while struggling to focus on his studies and complete his assignments decided to give in 10 minutes of focused time to his studies. Encouraged by the challenge, he found a tomato (Pomodoro in Italian) shaped kitchen timer, and the Pomodoro technique was born. Each interval is known as Pomodoro.
SEE ALSO: 10 Proven Ways to Motivate Yourself for Work even at all Odds
What Are The Benefits Of the Pomodoro Technique?
Adopting the Pomodoro technique enhances productivity as it allows you to break down activities into smaller chunks while allowing you to have breaks in between. Here are a few benefits of the Pomodoro technique:
1. Manage distractions and control your time
One of the greatest benefits of the Pomodoro techniques is that it helps you manage distractions. By sticking to this time management method, you can take control of your time. For instance, if a co-worker approaches you during the middle of a Pomodoro, use the “inform → negotiate → schedule → call back” approach to postpone the interruption until you are ready. Politely notify them that you are in the middle of something, but adjust and schedule a time when you will be available to help. Then, when you are ready, invite them to come back and talk to you.
When you get distractions from social media, calls, and messages, write them down on a piece of paper and push that activity to the end of your Pomodoro or during break time.
READ ALSO: The Difference Between Networking and Making Friends
2. It helps you know the value of your time
The Pomodoro technique allows you to calculate the value of your time, plan your Pomodoro sessions accordingly and then work to that plan to deliver a balanced outcome. Don’t over-deliver waste time, and don’t under-deliver because you didn’t give yourself enough time.
The Pomodoro technique is especially useful for people working on flat-rate projects, to ensure they maintain a profitable hourly rate and is equally useful as a method to fit everything into any busy life.
Planning the effort required for a job in Pomodoro sessions will help you meet your timeframe and value targets, improving the bottom line and/or work/life balance.
Read Also: Less Stressful /Easy Jobs that Pay Well in 2022 | Earn Above 100/hr
2. Increase accountability
At the end of each Pomodoro, take a minute to write down everything you have accomplished. Keeping a record of your work will allow you to give your managers an impressive and transparent productivity report.
READ ALSO: 7 Ways to Passionately Know How to Find What You are Good At
3. It improves daily, weekly and quarterly planning
Recording your successes will make it simpler to prepare successfully in the future, in addition to creating accountability. With practice, you’ll be able to predict how many Pomodori you’ll need to accomplish a specific sort of project.
For example, a writer may notice that, on average, it takes them three Pomodori to research a new article, one Pomodoro to outline their thoughts, and two Pomodori to write the article. When it’s time to set goals for the amount of content to be produced in a week or a sprint, they will have a better idea of how many articles they can write based on how much time they have left.
4. Decrease back pain and mental fatigue
The introduction of frequent breaks on intervals gives you the chance to walk around, grab a snack, stretch your legs, take a bottle of water, or do any other thing that keeps you relieved.
Getting up to stretch your legs helps to avoid the start of back and shoulder pain caused by sitting at a desk. Similarly, allowing your mind to wander for a few minutes throughout the workweek lowers weekday fatigue, and when you feel well physically and mentally, you get more done.
RELATED POST: Overworked And Underpaid? Here Are The Possible Options For You To Scale
5. Maintain motivation
As you get to the end of a Pomodoro, it gets more exciting to see how far you’ve come. This excitement multiplies the work motivation and keeps you on course to achieve greater tasks.
6. Makes it easy to get started
The use of the Pomodoro technique makes it easy to get started.
Research has shown that procrastination has little to do with laziness or lack of self-control. Rather, we put things off to avoid negative feelings. It’s difficult to stare down a big task or project – one you may not be sure how to even do or one that involves a lot of uncertainty. So we turn to Facebook or Netflix instead to boost our mood, if only temporarily.
Fortunately, an effective way to break out of the avoidance cycle is by breaking down tasks into small bits and timelines. This way, it gets easier to tackle the task.
How Does Pomodoro Technique Work?
Though Cirillo went on to write a 130-page book about the method, here is a simplified way of using the Pomodoro technique:
The 25-minute work sprints are the core of the method, but a Pomodoro practice also includes three rules for getting the most out of each interval:
Break down complex projects
If a task requires more than four Pomodori, you need to divide them into smaller, actionable steps. Sticking to this rule will help ensure you make clear progress on your projects.
Small tasks go together
Any tasks that will take fewer than one Pomodoro should be combined with other simple tasks. For example, “write a rent check,” “set vet appointment,” and “read Pomodoro article” could go together in one session.
Once a Pomodoro is set, it must ring
The Pomodoro is an indivisible unit of time and can not be broken, especially not to check incoming emails, team chats, or text messages. Any ideas, tasks, or requests that come up should be taken note of to come back to later.
In the event of an unavoidable disruption, take your five-minute break and start again. Cirillo suggests that you track interruptions (internal or external) as they occur and reflect on how to avoid them in your next session.
Even if you complete your assigned work before the timer runs out, the rule still applies. Use the rest of your time to overlearn, improve your abilities, or broaden your knowledge. You might, for example, use the additional time to study up on professional publications or look into networking possibilities.
Is The Pomodoro Technique Effective?
The first reason why the Pomodoro technique works so well is that, by removing distractions and being fully immersed in a task for 25-minutes, you can get a lot more done in a shorter amount of time.
Furthermore, dividing your x-hour workday into 25-minute intervals makes it far less scary. It might be intimidating to realize that you would have to work for 6–10 hours in a row. Breaking it into 25-minute halves, on the other hand, makes it much more approachable. This helps to avoid procrastination and makes the day more fun.
Finally, because the Pomodoro Technique promotes a sense of urgency, you are less inclined to delay. Nothing beats a deadline for motivating you to work more effectively. There is no time to waste, so make the most of it.
FAQs On Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro technique is a simple but highly effective productivity technique that anyone can use to improve their focus and become more productive
The Pomodoro technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s.
The first reason why the Pomodoro technique works so well is that, by removing distractions and being fully immersed in a task for 25-minutes, you can get a lot more done in a shorter amount of time.
Conclusion
A 25-minute Pomodoro session is long enough to get a little work done without hurting your back. Unlike trying to work without a break for hours, the Pomodoro technique breaks down tasks into bits to make them relatively easy to achieve. Four Pomodoro sessions can reproduce a productive morning. It’s surprising how much you can accomplish in short bursts of focused work.
We Also Recommend
References
