Get work done: The Pomo Way
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Producitivity hack, huh? Well, does it work really?
It’s so easy to get distracted in today’s world. From checking phones every few minutes, scrolling through social media feeds to taking a deep dive in Youtube ocean. Most people are not able to fully focus on their important tasks.
Personally for me this was a huge problem. There are distractions everywhere. Some of the major one’s for me -
- Twitter/Reddit Feeds
- Instagram/ Youtube
- Slack messages
- Reading some random thing instead of doing work I decided before.
If you are like me, then I’ll recommend to learn more about this technique and give it a try and see if it works for you?
What is pomodoro?
Pomodoro is a very simple technique which you probably have already done at some point of time unknowingly.
Pomodoro name is derived from the tomato shaped kitchen timer that Francesco Cirillo, who was the first one to perfect this technique.
Remember going to the library 1 week (if engineer then 1 day 😛) before exams for focused studies? Or going into those quiet spaces or cabins in offices to get work done. You sit there and do your work without disturbances. Pomodoro is similar but in a much more planned fashion.
Pomodoro is one of the popular time management framework which helps you do work with focus resulting in higher productivity. The idea is to break up tasks into smaller chunks and complete them in a certain timeframe. (generally 25 mins) and take short breaks in between.
How does it work?
Divide your task into smaller actionable items.
Try to limit task so that it can be completed in a time block. (Approximation is fine)
Start with X mins (~ 25 mins) without any distraction. The idea is to limit yourself to a particular task and complete it. Each X mins (25 mins) time block is called Pomodoro.
After 1st Pomodoro, you take a break of Y mins (~ 5 mins). Frequent short breaks are to keep your mind clear, take rest before you get back to work.
Get back to work and start where you left. The cycle repeats!
After your 4th pomodoro, take a longer break (~20 mins).
How I do it
The technique is same. I configure the time for Pomodoro, short and long breaks depending upon tasks I have. Not the best way, but who cares it works for me.
I have set of reminders for repititive tasks throughout the day. Here’s my regular day with iteration count -
| Iterations | Task |
|---|---|
| 1 | Typing practice |
| 3 | Office Work |
| 2 | Podcast/Writing |
| 1 | Learning spanish |
| 2 | Reading (articles/book) |
The reminders bring in habit and Pomodoro technique lets me focus to do those tasks one at a time. Planning your task before hand lets you simplify the process and helps you in getting things done.
Pomodoro Apps
You can start off even with a simple stop watch in your phones. There are lot of apps available for all platforms.
I personally use the ticktick app for tracking habits, reminders and tracking pomos. For each cycle, i use Pomofocus because i prefer keeping the phone in another room. Pomofocus has a clean and simple UI and the best part is you can use this without login as well.
Here’s a screenshot from Pomofocus 👇
There are lot of other options as well. Some popular ones -
- Pomodor
- Focuslist - Mac/iOS folks
- Focus To-do - App + Awesome UI
- Marinara - Chrome extension
Will it work?
Oh but if you never try you’ll never know - Coldplay (Fix You)
Pomodoro is a highly personal technique. It might work like magic for some and not for others. The idea is not to over optimize on frameworks that your focus changes from doing actual work to just managing techniques.
But to summarise, pomodoro technique can help you -
- To do focused work
- Finishing task on time
- Avoiding distractions
- Analysing and improving your productivity
- Beating procastination
Resources
I hope you learned something new. Feel free to suggest improvements ✔️
I share regular updates and resources on Twitter. Let’s connect!
Keep exploring 🔎 Keep learning 🚀
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