Pomodoro Technique – Explained

“Time and tide wait for none”. This is exactly what makes time one of the greatest enemies and has us racing against it almost all the time. We race to catch that bus, to meet that deadline, to get to that meeting, and most of all to begin work. For us, the Pomodoro technique is one of the easiest ways to focus on the process rather than the product.

What is Pomodoro?

Pomodoro is a duration of, traditionally, 25 minutes wherein one focuses all the attention on a particular task. Instead of aiming to complete it in that given time, s/he is simply focusing on the work process. The technique goes back to when Francesco Cirillo was a university student. ‘Pomodoro’ in Italian means ‘Tomato’ and that was the shape of the kitchen timer that Francesco used.
It is not as difficult as it sounds. It really is a simple yet effective technique that has helped me and several others. Be it something big, something small or even something you’ve been putting off for aeons, Pomodoro works for all.
(Yes, I used the technique while writing this blog too ;P)

Why do a Pomodoro?

“Dimly lit spaces make me depressed” “I just want to chill in the evenings” “I pick my phone to answer a text but end up surfing” These are some very common reasons (read excuses) for procrastination. Just like any other habit, procrastination is triggered by a cue which falls into the category of location, time, mood or reaction to both people or occurrences. Most people don’t even realise that they’ve begun procrastinating. The Pomodoro technique only emphasises on cutting down on distractions or changing your reaction to them. This helps you focus your undivided attention to your work in a process that keeps your brain “zombies” happy.

How to do a Pomodoro?

Doing the Pomodoro is pretty simple. Let’s say your day’s to-do list consists of finishing a report, completing a set of MOOC classes, attending a meeting, connecting with someone over a call, reading up on a certain topic and buying groceries.
Now it’s pretty rare for you to able to change the time of the meeting but, you can allocate time for the rest as per your convenience. Let’s assume that completing the MOOC classes, connecting over call and reading up are tasks that are likely to take up less than an hour each. I would select these tasks for the first three Pomodoros and would put the MOOC classes first.

Now, all you’ve got to do is set the timer to 25 minutes and begin learning. If another task suddenly strikes you, or you happen to think “While I’m at completing the report, I also need to add a chart and the text from the blog I read last week”, put it down on paper and leave it for later. Resume studying. As the timer goes off, stop working. Allow yourself to use the phone, cuddle with your pet, stretch a bit, listen to music or simply go out into the balcony to get a breath of fresh air. Once your 3-5 minutes are up, get back to work.

I would connect on the call after the MOOC classes, to change the state of mind a bit. I’d then move on to reading up and then finally going out to get groceries. This way of shuttling between tasks such that your mode of thinking and state of mind changes, is called interleaving. From active learning to chatting, then back to studying and finally running some not-so-mindful errands. I find interleaving excellent in preventing monotony, especially while studying for exams. Switching between subjects drains me out less than studying one subject in continuity.

Once you’re done with four Pomodoros, allow yourself a longer break of about 30 minutes. Go grab a cup of coffee, take a walk around the block, read your novel, watch an episode of your favourite series and then of course, back to work.

More often than not, writing a report is a tedious task and often needs to be accompanied by several cups of coffee. Well, Pomodoro can be used for such time-consuming tasks too. All you have to do is divide the work into smaller parts. Writing your report would consist of making that chart and adding that blog text as you had noted down along with adding the content you were already going to. These become three parts of your task and each of them can be performed in one Pomodoro. If you feel like you have the capacity, set a Pomodoro for 50-55 minutes followed by a 5-10 minutes break.

The correct approach.

The key to unlocking the potential of Pomodoro is to make an oath to your self of dismissing any distraction that may arise and immersing yourself in the task at hand. Willpower is really hard to come by and using that to perform an entire task you dislike is just asking too much of your brain. It is minimally used to turn down distractions. Developing rituals like turning off the internet on your phone or saying “It’s just 25 minutes and then I can do as I please” before beginning work is very helpful when it comes to turning down distractions. The more you turn down distractions, the more your neurons get rewired to develop new habits even before you know it. Place internal bets with yourself. “I bet I can finish the entire report in two Pomodoros” “I can compete reading 5 minutes before the timer goes off”. Praise yourself for even the tiniest of achievements. Set rewards beforehand for when you achieve targets. Finished a good report, have mac-and-cheese for dinner; met your sales target, buy yourself a new pair of jeans. This helps keep your neurological cravings in check.

Why is Pomodoro so effective?

Pomodoro is all about working with time instead of against it. Like I said before, it keeps your zombies happy thus preventing any sort of neural discomfort and harnesses these mindlessly-marching zombies instead. It helps you change reactions to cues and develop new habits that work. Your undivided attention and focus help you wrap up work faster than usual and what’s better than working with the thought of a reward, small as it may be, every time you finish a task. It also helps keep up with mini-deadlines and keeps you up to date with work.

I prefer keeping my tasks small so I can do several things in a day. All in all, this technique has helped me achieve a lot in less time. I’ve switched from pulling all-nighters to working smart and fast. I still have time to waste on social media (yes I could put it to better use). Monotony isn’t a part of my day anymore. My schedule doesn’t bore me. Working is ordinarily one of my favourite things to do. It’s my meditation, my zone, my forte. I hope the technique helps you too. Do try it out and leave your experiences in the comments section below.