One of the best-known time management strategies is the Pomodoro technique, which has become popular in recent years due to its effectiveness, simplicity of implementation, and speed in improving productivity.
Learn more about this method and its benefits in this article!
What is the Pomodoro Technique?
The Pomodoro Technique is a strategy for time management and organization . It was created by its creator Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, during his time as a university student, motivated by a lack of concentration in his studies, low productivity and mental confusion.
From there, Cirillo created the Pomodoro technique as a study method. He would take a tomato-shaped kitchen timer (" pomodoro" in Italian), and devote himself to studying with his maximum concentration for a period of 10 minutes. Through trial and error, he perfected his technique until we know it today as the Pomodoro method . In this way, the technique is summarized in dividing the effort and concentration that is given to a given task into periods of time, separated by small breaks. It suggests that working in short but concentrated periods of time leads to an increase in the probability of improvement in motivation and productivity not only personal, but also of a work team .
Benefits of the Pomodoro technique in time management
The Pomodoro technique aims to help participants improve their levels of concentration and productivity , mitigating mental fatigue, procrastination and excessive stress.
Below, we will explain in depth the great benefits of using this technique:
Gives you greater control over your time
Segmenting your work time into pomodoros leads to conscious management of your productive periods , helping you plan multiple tasks around them. By practicing the pomodoro technique, you can produce excellent quality work in less time .
Reinforces responsibility
By only having 25 minutes of work, the technique offers you the effective push to start with your pending tasks, facing the dreaded procrastination. Thus, the increase in your productivity and the effective and disciplined completion of your tasks become part of the benefits of this process.
Fight mental fatigue
By not allowing the mind and concentration to disperse on different topics, added to the rest periods that the technique provides, it results in a reduction of mental fatigue during the work day or during study time.
Regular breaks improve mental agility and the ability to focus, so the minutes of rest between sessions allow the mind to relax and achieve a high level of concentration that will help us exploit our thinking skills .
Increase your motivation
The time trial nature of the technique creates a feeling gambling data vietnam phone number of satisfaction at the end of each period, making it an exciting race against the ticking clock that, in the end, rewards you with faster work and greater motivation to face work challenges.
5 easy steps to apply the Pomodoro technique
Despite the simplicity of the method, not everyone can get the most out of it .
Below, we leave you a list of 5 simple steps to apply the Pomodoro technique in your daily life:
1. Create a to-do list
Establish how you want to work by creating a list of tasks to complete, ordered by your priorities . This helps you not to interfere with your concentration with several tasks at once.
Rationalizing your responsibilities in order of importance makes it easier for the brain to align itself with the productivity we want to achieve, and avoids executing tasks in order of ease and entertainment.
2. Set a time
Set the timer for 25 minutes . You can use the pomodoro timer apps available on iOS or Android, use the stopwatch on your mobile phone or, failing that, a physical one.
3. Focus on a single task
Tackle one task at a time until you finish it. This makes it easier to move forward with pending work. Work with maximum concentration on the chosen task for 25 minutes , avoiding distractions and external factors that alter your performance.
4. Recover
Breaks are not optional , take a short 5-minute break when the scheduled bell rings marking the end of the 25 minutes, even if the task is not complete. Having the satisfaction of having successfully finished or made progress without distractions will motivate you to continue with the next pomodoro.
5. Ultimate Pomodoro
After completing 4 pomodoros, with their respective short breaks, take a long break of around 25 to 30 minutes.
This break is designed to clear your mind , avoiding any activity that requires mental effort, so that the brain has the necessary time to rest and absorb information. Tidying up your desk, having a snack, making tea, or listening to music are ideal activities for this long break.
Tips to increase productivity with the Pomodoro method
Although it is a simple technique, not everyone is able to use it to its full potential. So here are some tips that you can put into practice to apply this technique consistently, obtain better results and, thus, increase your productivity.
Don't do calculations in tomatoes
Habit is an inherent part of your daily routine, so you should be careful not to create a mechanism in your brain that pushes you to calculate how good or bad your productivity was during the workday, based on pomodoros.
The pomodoro is not conceived as an end or a measure to calculate productivity, but as a tool to increase it . It is crucial to understand that the purpose of the technique is linked to the effective fulfillment of the priority list, and not to measuring your personal productivity on a daily basis.
Identify interruptions to improve your concentration.
There are some useful tips to improve concentration in situations that require it, such as performing a constant or urgent task at work, managing a team towards a specific objective or improving the daily work routine.
On the other hand, threats to concentration can be divided into two: internal and external disruptions .
The former can be like checking social media, replying to a message, eating a snack or looking out a window. These distractions are mitigated through developing self-control , training your mind or making small changes, such as turning off the Wi-Fi on your phone if you don't need an internet connection, otherwise, turning off notifications for new messages, emails, chats and any other notifications. There is nothing so urgent that it can't wait 25 minutes.
External interruptions, on the other hand, are those that come from the environment : colleagues, family, coworkers and pets. These can be addressed by a strategy that Cirillo himself recommends, the so-called “report, negotiate and call back” mechanism.
This mechanism consists of:
Let the person doing the interrupting know that we are working on something else.
Follow up with a quick negotiation on when to address the issue that is causing the interruption.
Call back the person who interrupted and, if it is not some kind of emergency, postpone the conversation to 25 minutes.
Let the timer be unquestionable
It is of utmost importance to adapt to the routine of the Pomodoro technique that respect for deadlines is unquestionable . Not extending the break time and not extending the minutes of work, makes discipline a fundamental axis of the process. It is necessary to get used to complying with the established deadlines. With time and practice, it becomes easier and more achievable to achieve this.
During your breaks you have to really rest.
The goal of the Pomodoro technique is to focus your attention on 25 minutes of work with the promise of getting a break when the timer goes off. This is relative to the fact that the minutes of rest should be linked to activities that clear your mind and are not related to the tasks performed , in order to use them intelligently. When you finish your minutes of work, you can drink a glass of water, a cup of coffee, stretch, breathe deeply, among others.
A short break recharges our energy, and marking the pomodoro as finished gives us a sense of accomplishment and encourages us to continue until the day is over.
Time optimization is an ongoing effort, and the technique offers a simple solution to time management by alternating focused work sessions with breaks. Whether you use the Pomodoro method as a study or work technique, by following the five steps mentioned in this article, you can boost your productivity and measure your progress. The method is simple and offers many benefits.
