You find yourself unable to properly apportion time to tasks. And if you do, you tend to procrastinate on them day in day out. To add, you find yourself frazzled and tired at the end of a normal workday. If the following describes your normal workday at the office, then you definitely need to try out the Pomodoro technique. This productivity tool has been the subject of contention, with CEOS, managers, journalists, and people across the world, questioning what it is and its effectiveness. Well, here are the answers. If you also want to know more about the Pomodoro technique and master it, click this link.
So, what is the Pomodoro Technique?
The time management principle technique starts off with encouraging people to work with their available time spans. The application of this method starts with breaking down your typical workday into 25-minute segments, each divided by five-minute intervals. Each of these intervals is known as a pomodoro. The technique also asks that after about four pomodoros you take a longer break of approximately fifteen to twenty minutes.
The technique was developed in the 1980s by an Italian known as Francesco Cirillo. The term pomodoro is Italian for tomato. The inspiration came from a tomato-shaped timer that Francesco used during his days as a university student.
The Rationale behind the Pomodoro Technique
The reasoning behind the technique is that each pomodoro (each twenty-five minutes) is meant to push you towards a certain goal. You have a sense of urgency.
When working with a larger time limit, say your entire workday, Francesco Cirillo postulates that you are bound to procrastinate about the tasks that you are to accomplish. You will squander the precious hours available to you. Hence, the breaking down of time into pomodoros. With a set task or goal at the end of each pomodoro, you know that you have to efficiently use your 25 minutes to make as much progress or possibly finish that task.
Another reason for the pomodoros is you remove that fatigued feeling that most people experience at the end of the day. The five-minute breather after each pomodoro works as a reset button. You can stand stretch and relax your body and mind as you prepare to tackle the next pomodoro and the next task.
So, is it effective?
The Pomodoro technique at first is quite unusual. You have to stand and relax after every 25 minutes. For those who are used to working for long hours at a time, you are tempted to ignore the timer and push on. Here’s where you are urged to trust the process.
Once used repeatedly, you develop a razor-sharp intensity that pushes you to move towards your goal. You can no longer be distracted by ads and filler content on your laptop. Why? You have a goal to meet at the end of your pomodoro!