In a recent post, I introduced you to the Pomodoro Technique, one of the simplest, yet most effective, time management techniques ever invented.
To refresh your memory, here are the basic steps:
- Pick a task from your to-do list.
- Set a timer for 25 minutes of work and focus on that single task for the duration.
- When the timer goes off, take a 5-minute break.
- After four pomodoros, take a longer 15-30 minute break.
In addition to those four steps, here are four additional rules for making the technique work for you:
- Break Down Complex Projects into Chunks if They Take Longer than Four Pomodoros. This helps you focus on each part and gives you a sense of progress.
- Small Tasks Go Together. Combine simple tasks that take less than 25 minutes together into a single pomodoro.
- Once a Pomodoro is Set, It Must Ring. Think of a pomodoro as an indivisible unit of time that can’t be broken—especially not to do “busy work” such as check e-mails or check your social media accounts on your phone. In the case of an unavoidable disruption, take a five-minute break and start again.
- If You Finish Your Task Before the Pomodoro Ends, You Must Switch Tasks to Finish the Pomodoro. For this, I like to have an “overflow task” at hand for such occasions. My favorite overflow activity is to keep whatever business book I’m currently reading within arm’s reach so I can pop into it where I left off and make a little progress on it before the timer goes off.
For some people, those four basic steps, fleshed out by those four rules is enough.
However, I’ve found in my own work and in talking to other consultants who’ve tried the technique, that most people need to do a certain amount of tweaking to the basic model in order to make it work best for them.
So, today I’d like to offer you some guidance for personalizing the technique.
Here we go…
Six Steps for Success with the Pomodoro Technique
Below you’ll find some guidelines that I’ve found helpful in my use of the technique.
This list is intended to give you ideas. The items listed here may be helpful to you (I hope they are), but don’t be afraid to put your own twist on the technique. The ultimate goal isn’t to stay rigidly true to someone else’s guidelines, but to find the version of the technique that helps you be your most productive.
With that caveat out of the way, here’s my list:
Tip #1: Be Realistic About the Number of Pomodoros You Plan to Complete Per Day.
If you strictly go by the math, an 8-hour workday could consist of 16 pomodoros (25 minutes of work plus a five minute break X 16 = 8 hours), but that’s not realistic. First of all, this leaves out the recommended 15-30 minute breaks every 4 pomodoros, not to mention lunch—and you need to eat lunch to keep your strength up!
A much more realistic number is around 10-12 pomodoros per day. But if you have a major project that you need to get done, you may shoot for 16 or even more. Just realize that your workday in such cases is going to probably be more like 10+ hours than 8.
Tip #2: Use a Percentage of Your Pomodoros for Long-term (Sharpen the Saw) Activities.
If you’re not familiar with the term “sharpen the saw,” it comes from Stephen Covey’s amazing book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
The gist of the concept is that, to be most effective in living a life designed to achieve your goals, you can’t spend all of your time working on what Covey calls “urgent but not important” or even “urgent and important” matters (like most of your work tasks). Rather, you need to spend some time every day on “not urgent but important” tasks that build your long-term capacity—tasks like reading to become more knowledgeable in your field, meditating, and exercising.
If you don’t build in at least a couple of pomodoros a day dedicated to your long-term growth, you’ll find that you get a lot of projects done in the short term, but your business never grows beyond a certain point because you haven’t expanded your own capabilities.
You workaholics out there are going to be tempted to skip this one, but don’t to it! This is crucial.
Tip #3: Build “Overflow Pomodoros” into Your Day for Tasks that Take Longer than Expected or for Unexpected Tasks that Come Up.
Most people who are new to the Pomodoro Technique aren’t great at estimating how many pomodoros it will take to complete a task. And when they’re off, they almost always err on the side of thinking they will get more done than they actually do—even with the technique helping them to be more focused during their work time.
So, let’s say you plan a 12-pomodoro day. Maybe assign tasks to 10 of those pomodoros and leave two of them designated as “overflow.” If you don’t get everything done that you planned for the 10 pomodoros, you continue the incomplete task on into pomodoro 11 and, if necessary, pomodoro 12.
If you DO get the planned work of each pomodoro done in its allotted time, you can then use your overflow pomodoros on an overflow task, get some “bonus” work done that you had planned for the next day, or (I know it sounds crazy) knock off a little early.
Tip #4: Experiment with the Length of Your Pomodoros.
As I described the technique at the beginning of this post, the “classic” pomodoro is 25 minutes with a 5-minute break. But the whole idea of the Pomodoro Technique is to increase your focus and productivity. If the 25/5 schedule isn’t ideal for you given your personal proclivities and the nature of your work, find what works for you. No “Pomodoro Police” will come knocking on your door if you don’t follow the “rules” to a “T.” Make your own rules.
One consideration is your personal ability to focus. Some people find even 25 minutes of focus on a single task to be too much. OK, cut it back to 20 minutes. Remember, the founder of the technique, Francesco Cirillo, started out with 10-minute blocks of work and adjusted from there.
For others, 25 minutes seems too short. For me, I find that longer pomodoros work better. In fact, I gradually lengthened my pomodoros to an hour when working on important projects that I was motivated to do.
It also depends on the nature of the work you’re doing. When I’m working on something and I’m really in flow, I will usually just skip my planned break and plow ahead. But if I’m struggling with the task, I might pause the pomodoro at 10-15 minutes, take a mini stretch break, and then sit back down to finish it. Don’t be a slave to the clock. It’s supposed to work for you, not the other way around.
Tip #5: “Gamify” Your Pomodoro Approach by Setting Mini Goals for Yourself.
You can do this in several ways. Maybe you are currently getting 10 pomodoros done each day on average and you feel like you should probably take that up a notch. Set a goal to average 11 pomodoros per day next week.
Another way to challenge yourself is to try to finish a big task in a set number of pomodoros.
Such game-like challenges can help you maintain focus when distractions are calling your name.
Tip #6: Figure Out What Kind of Breaks Work Best for You.
I highly recommend that at least all of your shorter “between pomodoros” breaks be screen-free. Your eyes need a break, for one thing. A good practice is to focus your eyes on something off in the distance for at least 30 seconds or so. Your back could probably use a break, too, to prevent you from getting that hunch-shouldered “too-much-time-at-the-computer” posture.
If you have to check e-mail regularly as part of your work, schedule pomodoros for that. But don’t do other screen activities like social media browsing except for on your longer breaks.
My advice is to get up and move around a bit. Go outside. If you have pets, play with them for a few minutes. Throw in a load of laundry. Get a snack. The important thing is to do something that is completely different from what you’re working on in your office to give yourself a mental break so you can come back refreshed.
Make the Pomodoro Technique Work for You
In this post, I’ve thrown out a number of fairly specific suggestions for ways to modify the Pomodoro Technique. And it’s easy to get caught up in all the do’s and don’ts.
The key thing is to remember the main reason the Pomodoro Technique was developed in the first place: creating a work schedule that includes short bursts of intense, focused work interspersed with short breaks to allow you to refresh and reset your “attentional clock.”
As long as you’re true to that overarching approach, the details matter less. So, give it a try. If you’ve never used the technique before, start with the “classic” 25/5 approach, then use all the suggestions I’ve offered in the previous post and this one to modify it to your liking.
Have questions or comments? Leave them in the comment box, below. I’d love to hear about your experience with the technique.
