The Pomodoro Technique: how to improve productivity

Increase your productivity with the Pomodoro Technique. We tell you how to optimise your time and your rest to achieve maximum performance. Don’t miss it!

KNOW YOURSELF

What is the Pomodoro Technique?

Today, there are many techniques to help you maintain and improve your productivity at work. One of these is the Pomodoro Technique, a strategy that has become increasingly popular and which suggests how to manage and make the most of your time as well as creating new habits. But… what is the Pomodoro Technique?

The Pomodoro Technique was invented in 1980 by the specialist consultant and business coach Francesco Cirillo. It consists of compartmentalising time into periods of 25 minutes of work and 5 minutes of rest. Cirillo was studying at university when the technique occurred to him, and its curious name is attributed to a very amusing anecdote: during the process, he was accompanied by a tomato-shaped timer, and that is why he ended up naming his technique pomodoro (‘tomato’ in Italian).

How does the Pomodoro Technique work?

To understand how the Pomodoro Technique works you simply need to know how to divide the time. This technique requires you to work in intervals of 25 minutes during which time there should be no interruptions or distractions. Once the 25 minute cycle has been completed, its time to rest for 5 minutes. And so it continues, until the four pomodoros have been completed; once the four pomodoros have been completed consecutively, you can take a slightly longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.

The Pomodoro Technique enables you use time more conscientiously and to focus all your attention on a specific task so that it can be completed with the maximum efficacy and efficiency. Sometimes it can take hours to complete a simple task because we get distracted or we tend to interrupt what we’re doing with other smaller tasks. We also tend to procrastinate, and doing so makes it quite complicated to pick up where you left off.

Because of all this, the Pomodoro Technique is a marvellous tool for carrying out tasks that require a lot of concentration (such as writing, programming or designing) or tasks that are repetitive and monotonous (such as replying to emails or making phone calls). By dividing the tasks into time intervals and setting rest periods, this method enables you to better prioritise and manage time, as well as maintaining a correct and healthy balance between work and rest.

Tips for adjusting the time of your pomodoros

What can you do to get the most out of the Pomodoro Technique? Note the following:

Make a list of pending tasks and order them according to their priority. Estimate the time each of them will take; for example, if you think you are going to dedicate an hour to a task, assign it two pomodoros.
Have something to hand with which you can measure time, this could be a timer, an app, a watch… whatever is best for you; but don’t let it distract you with other notifications or sounds. If necessary, block apps to allow you to stay focused.
Set the 25 minutes and focus on just one task until the time ends.
When that session finishes, note that you have completed your first pomodoro before you rest for 5 minutes. When you complete four consecutively, you can take a little more time (15-20 minutes) to disconnect. What can you do during that gap? If you have been in front of a screen during the pomodoros, you can rest your eyes and do some stretching, movement or breathing exercises, drink some water or a healthy drink, listen to music, read a book or magazine or do a jigsaw.

Of course, there are some aspects of this technique that you can adjust. For example, if a task requires more than four pomodoros to complete, break it down and divide it into smaller and more manageable activities. If, on the other hand, you have several smaller tasks that can be completed in a single pomodoro, group them together. Keep in mind that when you set a pomodoro you cannot break it, as this is one of the key reasons why the technique is so effective.

If an interruption is absolutely inevitable, take a 5 minute break and start again. If this kind of distraction is due to something specific, reflect on it and find out how to reduce or get remove it so that your next session can be more effective.

Benefits of the Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique has many benefits: it is easy to implement (all you need is a physical or digital timer), it fosters creative work (you make better use of your productivity), it makes complex things more digestible, it eliminates procrastination and leads to big ideas. Of course, the key to making all the advantages of the Pomodoro Technique yours is perseverance and determination. Go for it!