POMODORO TECHNIQUE AT WORK SERIES

Personally, I’ve found it can be easily applied to pretty much any type of work, but I especially like it for:Įach individual Pomodoro is a short, time-boxed period during which you’ll work to complete a set amount of work on a single task.

POMODORO TECHNIQUE AT WORK SERIES

(You guessed it, pomodoro is “tomato” in Italian).Ĭirillo fleshed out this simple idea even further, and built an entire methodology around breaking work into a series of focus sessions.

He decided to commit to just working in shorter bursts of time – just 10 minutes to start with – and used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer to hold himself accountable. The Pomodoro technique is a personal productivity method created by entrepreneur and developer Francesco Cirillo, where you divide your day into blocks of time (usually 25 minutes) and specifically assign set tasks to those blocks.Ĭirillo devised the method as an economics student when he found himself struggling to focus on his studies and falling behind on assignments. So, long enough to have built a pretty avid following, and its own share of detractors. Pomodoro is one of those ubiquitous productivity techniques that’s been around since the late 80s (much like myself). Whether you’re new to the Pomodoro technique or you’ve tried it out before to little avail and want to give it another shot, there are a few things you should know about it.

Remember, not every productivity technique is suited to every person.

Work better with regular breaks in between bouts of work, rather than one long break in the middle of the day.

Start lots of tasks but struggle to complete them.

Tend to jump quickly back and forth between tasks.

Have a hard time cutting out distractions.

Feel like you’re often overworking without progressing on tasks.

We’ll even throw in a real-life example to help you get started. This guide will walk you through what the Pomodoro technique for time management is, why it’s so effective, and how you can use it to better manage your time, boost your productivity, and stay focused on what matters to you at work. I’m talking about the Pomodoro technique, one of the simplest yet most effective productivity methods of them all. (No, I’m not talking about eating tons of tomatoes, although snacks are probably my favorite distraction of all.) When I’m having weeks like this, though, there’s one thing I can always fall back on to increase my productivity at work:

Not fun.Īnd I’m going to level with you here: when it comes to finding distractions and unproductive pursuits, especially since switching to working from home full-time, I’m often my own worst enemy. Apparently, I’m not the only one caught in this trap – most of us are now working longer days, while still managing to miss deadlines each week. One day, I worked late to get something out the door. I’ve rejigged my calendar probably a dozen times. In the past week alone, I’ve reprioritized a bunch of different work tasks. I’ve got a confession to make: it took me quite a while to get around to finishing this blog post – even though I had it on my to-do list for almost two (!) weeks.

Pomodoro technique at work