The Pomodoro Technique – Transforming Time Into An Ally

When Francesco Cirillo was a university student in Rome struggling to stay on task, he decided to create a time management technique that would help him boost his concentration and sharpen his focus.  These are the tools he had at hand:

• Paper;
• Pen; and
• A kitchen timer in the shape of a tomato (“pomodoro” is tomato in Italian).

At a glance, The Pomodoro Technique–which is what Francesco named the system he came up with–looks very much like timeboxing.  With timeboxing, you decide on a specific period of time, usually from twenty minutes to an hour, during which you work exclusively on one specific task.  Once the time is up, you can choose to devote another “timebox” to that task, or you can choose to go do something else.

Here are the basics of The Pomodoro Technique:

• Choose a task.
• Set your timer for twenty-five minutes (these twenty-five minutes are called “a pomodoro”).
• Work on your task until the timer rings and then put an “X” on your sheet of paper next to that task.
• Take a five minute break.
• When the five minutes are up, keep working, pomodoro after pomodoro, until the task is complete.  Once the task is complete, you can cross it off your list.  Then move on to the next task.
• After four pomodoros, take a longer break (15 – 30 minutes).

There’s more to this technique, as is explained below.

The Process – Five Stages

There are five stages involved in The Pomodoro Technique:

1. Plan at the start of each day: you’re going to list the activities you plan to accomplish on that day on your to-do list.
2. Track throughout the day so that you can see what activities you’re spending your time on, and how long it takes you to complete each task.
3. Record your results at the end of the day to create an archive of how you’re spending your time.
4. Process at the end of the day to transform raw data into observations.
5. Review how you’re spending your time and make decisions on how you could improve.

What You Will Need

This is what you will need in order to apply The Pomodoro Technique:

• A kitchen timer (you can also use computer software).
• A pencil.
• A To-Do Sheet (there’s a sample here).
• An Activity Inventory Sheet (there’s a sample here).
• A Records Sheet (the “Record”, “Process” and “Review” stages are all done on this sheet).

The Pomodoro Technique Rules

These are the rules you need to follow in order to apply The Pomodoro Technique:

• A pomodoro is indivisible (it’s always 25 minutes long).
• If you start a pomodoro and you get distracted and start working on a different task, that pomodoro doesn’t count and you can’t write down an “X”.
• If you complete an activity before the 25 minutes are up, continue reviewing the same activity until the timer rings.
• If you complete an activity in five minutes or less and a revision wouldn’t be worthwhile, just don’t count that as a pomodoro.
• When the timer rings, stop working even if you think that you could complete the task by working for a few minutes longer.
• During your five minute breaks try to do something good for yourself: get some water, stretch, close your eyes, and so on.  These short breaks allow your mind to “disconnect” from the task you’ve been working on and assimilate what you’ve learned.  It allows you to feel alert and ready for the next pomodoro.
• If a task takes more than 5 to 7 pomodoros, break it down.  For example, if you put down “Write article” on your to-do list and it takes you more than 5 to 7 pomodoros to write an article, try breaking it down into the following tasks: conduct research for the article; create an outline; write the first draft; write the final draft; edit and proofread the article.
• If a task takes less than one pomodoro, look for other small tasks and batch them into one pomodoro.
• Once a pomodoro begins, you have to concentrate on the task you’re working on until the timer rings.  You’re training yourself to stay focused and on task for twenty-five minutes at a time.
• During the longer breaks you can go to the coffee machine, check your voice mail, look through your e-mails, and so on.
• Also, use the longer breaks to refocus.  Ask yourself whether you spent the last two hours productively.  If you didn’t, take a look at your to-do list and recommit yourself to getting things done.

How to Deal With Interruptions

Interruptions can be either internal or external. Here’s how to deal with them:

Internal Interruptions

Internal interruptions are those that come from you: you get a sudden urge to check your email or go on Twitter, you decide to look something up on the Internet that you’ve been wondering about, you remember that there was someone you needed to call, you decide to tidy up your desk, and so on.

Every time you feel an urge to move your attention away from the task at hand, put an apostrophe (’) on the sheet where you record your pomodoros.  Then do one of the following:

• Write down the new activity on the To-Do Sheet under “Unplanned & Urgent” if it’s something that you really need to get to on that day.
• Write it down on the “Activity Inventory” if it’s something that can easily be done another day.

Once you’ve done this, get back to the task you were working on and continue working on it until the timer rings.  If you’ve marked something as “urgent”, then you’re going to have to do it on that day, probably at the expense of some other task you had planned for the day.

External Interruptions

External interruptions are when the phone rings, someone knocks on the door, a colleague walks into your office, and so on.  When this happens, place a dash (-) on the sheet where you record your pomodoros.

For External Interruptions, apply the “Inform, Negotiate, and Call Strategy”.  That is, inform the person that you’re in the middle of a task and negotiate quickly to reschedule the interruption.  Then apply the same procedure as for the Internal Interruptions.  Lastly, make sure to get back to the person as agreed.

Record, Process, and Review – Improve How You Use Your Time

What you track and record depends on what you want to observe and the types of reports that you want to generate.  One option is to set a goal to be able to determine accurately how long it takes you to complete activities that you perform often.

To continue with our example of writing an article, you might want to record how many pomodoros it takes you to complete each of the following tasks:

• How many pomodoros does it take you to conduct research for an article?
• To create an outline?
• To write the first draft?
• How about writing the final draft?
• Finally, how many pomodoros does it take you to edit and proofread the article?

Once you know how long each of these tasks takes you, you can then try to improve on those times.  Perhaps after looking over your records you notice that it takes you a long time to research articles.  You could set a goal to spend less time researching and think of ways you could do this.

Another option is to set clear guidelines, such as the following: “I will devote two pomodoros to conducting research and then I will write the article with whatever information I have at that point.”

In addition, when you review your records you might notice that you’re spending a lot of time on activities that aren’t really that important to you, and neglecting activities that would help take you closer to reaching your long term goals.

You might also notice that you’re spending time on activities that are necessary, but that you haven’t been taking into account when planning your day.  This will give you valuable clues as to where your time is going.

Conclusion

It’s likely that at first you’ll find it difficult to concentrate on one task for 25 minutes at a time, especially if you have trouble keeping your attention on the here and now.  Francesco reassures the reader often that with his technique, “the next pomodoro will go better”.

You can order The Pomodoro Technique from Amazon, or you can download a free PDF detailing the technique here.

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