The Pomodoro Technique: How It Works, And How To Use It For Working Effectively
This week, we give a closer look into a way of working more effectively by dividing your time into smaller, more manageable sessions. Read the full article to find out how you can work more better.
The majority of people’s journey to achieving a desired goal usually begins with sitting down at a desk and learning the information needed to achieve that desired goal. This can be daunting for a lot of people and may stress some out of even starting at all, and of course, if you do not even start, then you will probably not reach the goals you want. Therefore, we want to bring light to a technique that might help some people study more effectively. You have probably heard the name before, but for those of you that have not, it is called “The Pomodoro Technique”.
The Pomodoro Technique
The technique was invented by Francesco Cirillo as a time management strategy in the late 1980s. It takes its name from the Italian word for tomato, "pomodoro," which was motivated by the early kitchen timer in the shape of a tomato that Cirillo used to measure his work intervals. Now that you have read about the origin of the technique, let us dive a bit deeper into how it works.
Here is how the technique typically works:
Chose a task that you want to do.
Set a timer for 25 minutes. In this time slot, you focus intensely on that one task without any distractions. Each 25 minutes of work is called a “pomodoro”.
After the timer goes of, take a short break (usually around 5-10 minutes). Then, you repeat the second step.
After repeating this process for four pomodoros, you take a longer break (usually 20-30 minutes). Then, after the longer break is over, you go back to working by repeating the second step.
You do this over and over until you are finished with your work.
The Benefits Of The Technique
One of the possible benefits that some might experience is that the task seems more manageable at times. If you have a very long and difficult task to do, for example reading multiple chapters of a book or finishing a whole stack of exercise questions on a topic you are studying, then it might seem daunting to think about all the time this will take. This might lead to you occasionally drifting off, focusing on other distractions. What the 25 minutes of work can do for you, is that it might help with thinking of the task as just 25 minutes at a time of intense work. If you give 25 minutes of intense work without distractions, which is a lot less than for example 3 hours, you will get a small break as a reward where you do not have to think about the task at all. This little break might help make the task less daunting for some.
Additionally, trying to focus for 25 minutes is normally easier than trying to focus for several hours without a break. Have you ever sat down, trying to do some work, and noticed that it gets more and more difficult to work on it after a while? You become more and more tired the more you work at a time. By occasionally taking a small break without thinking about the work you need to do, you allow your brain to recharge a little in between, making it easier to stay alert and focused for a longer period.
Conclusion
All in all, the Pomodoro Technique is a good time management technique that might help some people work more effectivly by creating smaller time slots of intensely focused work. If you have not tried it yet, and you do not think that you work effectively, then why not try it the next you sit down to do some work?
The Quote Of The Week
“The future depends on what you do today.”
Mahatma Gandhi (Indian Independence Activist)
Sources
Cirillo, Francesco. "The Pomodoro Technique." Cirillo Consulting.
https://www.pomodorotechnique.com/what-is-the-pomodoro-technique.php
"Pomodoro Technique." Wikipedia.