Today, we’ll discuss a productivity tip – the pomodoro technique. This is a time-boxing strategy developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980’s to break up one’s workflow. It’s especially helpful for someone like me, who can have trouble staying on-task, given a big project and a long amount of time.
For me, tasks can sometimes become gaseous where the amount of time it’ll take me to do something fills up to the exact amount of time I have to do something. In other words, the length fills whatever size time-container I put it in. But that’s obviously not the way it should be! Task length should be determined by difficulty- not how long we have to do them!
Thus, the pomodoro technique. This method has you first choose one a specific, actionable task to be done. Then you tackle that task for 25 minutes. Anyone can focus for 25 minutes. Once that time is up, you take a 5-10 minute break. Repeat two more times. On the fourth block of focus- take a longer break. Something like 20-30 minutes. Then repeat throughout the workday.
Using this method, it’s much easier to swat away wondering thoughts or random distractions because you know there’s a break coming up in the near future in which you can reflect. It’s a method to ‘trick’ your brain into always thinking the finish line is right around the corner. Try it out for yourself!
