The Pomodoro Technique® is a registered trademark by Francesco Cirillo.
I use the Pomodoro Technique® regularly to manage my time. And I believe that it is the most valuable time management system that I have learned in my working life. 😍
What is it?
I recommend the creator’s website at francescocirillo.com where they explain the system very clearly.
In essence, you work in 25-minute blocks of time. And you work only on one task in those 25 minutes.
At the end of the work time, you take a 5-minute break. After that break time, you start another “25-minute work then 5-minute break” cycle.
Each of these 25-minute time chunks is known as a Pomodoro®.
With this technique, I am able to achieve maximum focus since I am working only on one task at a time. I am able to do more work and I truly believe that I am producing higher quality output.
And, honestly, multi-tasking does lead to poorer quality work. 🙊
When do I use it?
Typically, I tend to use it in the following areas.
- Preparing project documentation
- Learning new programming languages
- Application development
- Writing blog posts 😃
For all these cases, it would normally take me a large amount of time to complete. And without the Pomodoro Technique® I would not be able to maintain my focus throughout.
Most of my day I spend on meetings, conference calls and email management 😔. And I do not use this technique during those times.
Generally, I am able to do about 3-4 pomodoros a day. At the end of each Pomodoro®, I feel a great sense of accomplishment. And because of that I really enjoy those 5-minute breaks!!! 🎆
What tool do I use?
I use the website kanbanflow.com that has a Pomodoro® timer for time tracking. I have pinned the site to my web browser as the first tab!
This website has a Kanban board (see Kanban board wiki) where I track my pending tasks. So when I use the built-in timer and select one of those pending tasks, my time on that task gets automatically tracked.
So, for example, I am able to exactly know how much time I spent on a specific project’s documentation. Obviously, this is valuable information to have when preparing schedules for future projects.
When I select a task and click that timer, I automatically go into “super-focus mode”. 🤓
In Conclusion
If you have worked with me in the past, you very well know how I sing praises about the Pomodoro Technique®.
I have enjoyed great benefits from the use of this system over the past several years. You have to try it to believe it!
Oh, and by the way, I took 3 pomodoros to write this post. 😉
Important Note
This blog is not affiliated with, associated with, or endorsed by the Pomodoro Technique® or Francesco Cirillo.