The Pomodoro Technique is a popular technique created by Francesco Cirillo – one that has been used for years to help people have greater command over their time and their tasks. I’ve written about my lack of love for The Pomodoro Technique before and my thoughts on the tactic have evolved since then. Although I do not use it as my primary productivity driver (I use this), there are instances where I leverage its usefulness every so often.
And you can too. Here are four ways you can make that happen.
Tasks You Hate Doing
I can’t think of a single person who enjoys working on tasks that they hate doing. Time just seems to drag on whenever you work on those kinds of tasks. That’s where knowing you only have to put in 25 minutes of effort into the task can be a godsend.
The Pomodoro Technique can help you with this, either in full or in part. You can earmark tasks you dislike and sprinkle them throughout all four pomodoros in a cycle or – if you’re a bit of a productivity masochist – dedicate an entire run of pomodoros to tasks that you absolutely can’t stand.
Either way, when you begin working on something you don’t enjoy already armed with the knowledge that you have a time limit of just 25 minutes, it makes the task of working on those tasks a little more palatable.
Between Scheduled Events
The default tasks between meetings and other appointments are to check email or jump on social media for a spell. But both of those can not only suck you in, but chances are you won’t be able to see them through to completion within that short period. Especially if you have in the back of your head another scheduled event that is looming large on your calendar.
Rather than set aside time for one large project or working through email alone during that timespan, try to run a full pomodoro session in that space. If you follow the guidelines of the technique accordingly you can get plenty of focused work done in a full session.
I’m not suggesting you ignore emails at all – if anything you could use one of the cycles for email processing if you’d like. What I am suggesting is that the Pomodoro Technique can give you something intentional to capture your attention between scheduled blocks of time. (Then again, theming your time can also do this.)
During Focus Fix Sessions
I’ve used the template of The Pomodoro Technique in my growing membership community, TimeCrafting Trust, during our “Focus Fix” sessions.
While some of these sessions feature 50-minute focus cycles, the majority of the focus cycles follow the model of The Pomodoro Technique because they are 25 minutes in length. Coupled with the group accountability of each of these Focus Fix sessions, the pair of 25-minute stints allow members (and yours truly) to get some great work done.
Want to join us in these Focus Fix sessions? You can learn more about my membership community here.
Make The 4th Pomodoro Better
Already a devotee of The Pomodoro Technique? Then this suggestion is designed for you. Let me explain what you can do with “The 4th Pomodoro” in this video I’ve produced for my YouTube channel.
Want to make sure you don’t miss a single video I craft? Subscribe to my YouTube channel here.
I strongly believe it’s wise to have several tools in your productivity toolkit. So, if you’ve been curious about how you can make the most of The Pomodoro Technique then give any or all 4 ways a try and start using them today.
