TL;DR
If you have trouble starting on a task, alternate between 25 minutes of work and 5 minute breaks.
If you’re anything like me then you get those days where it’s just a total slog getting started. I’ll find any excuse to put off my major project work, by doing things that make me FEEL productive, while still procrastinating all the same. Maybe it’s “Oh, I should probably clean my desk!” or “I just remembered that I wanted to scrub down the shower”. While being necessary in their own right, do I really need to do these things now? No way, I’m just trying to fill time and delay some task that I really don’t want to do, even though the bigger task is probably wayyy more important.
Pomodoro Technique
In comes the “Pomodoro Technique”! Named after the tomato-shaped timer that the inventor of the technique, Francesco Cirillo, used to track his work (I’m guessing something like this although the nerd in my is all about this Death Star kitchen timer xD ). So a general run-down is pretty dang simple:
- Pick whatever task you need to work on.
- Set a timer for 25 minutes (this is called a “Pomodoro”, or I like to call them sprints, but you can call them whatever you want).
- Work on this task until the timer goes off, then once it rings you can put a check mark down onto a sheet of paper, in notepad, whatever (you’re just tracking each Pomodoro that you’re finishing).
- Set a timer for a short break of 5 minutes, get up and stretch or just take a break doing whatever during those 5 minutes.
- Once the timer goes off you start a new Pomodoro (step number 2, so 25 minutes of working on your task). Every 4 of these Pomodoros you complete take a little longer of a break ( I use 10 minutes).
Note: I like to use a free website called “Tomato Timer” because it’s simple, and easy. There are a ton of other options out there, just search for “Pomodoro Timer” or “Tomato Timer” on the iTunes app store or Google Play.
That’s it! Seems easy enough right, but does it work? Many times when I’ve brought up that I use this technique it gets poo-pooed on by people who have never given it a try. “Only 25 minutes? That’s not enough time to get anything done”. Well the beautiful thing is that it’s enough time to get part of a task done, but not too long to where your mind begins to drift. In fact, researchers found that “Brief diversions vastly improve focus” , as “After a while, you begin to lose your focus and your performance on the task declines”. These Pomodoros can help you continually bring your focus back up with the timed breaks.
I know that for me it’s much easier to stay focused for these short sprints in the beginning, and it builds enough momentum (feeling great that I’m getting some progress made on my project!) that it keeps me going. Typically by my 4th Pomodoro I don’t even set the timer for a break, I’m able to continue working for blocks of 8+ hours after that if necessary (although breaks now and then are important, I just space them out a bit more). Now your mileage may vary, but if you ever find yourself unable to get started, give the Pomodoro technique a try, I think the idea of doing 25 minutes worth of work is much more palatable than the notion of “cranking widgets” for 4 hours then a lunch break.
As always, I try to write these posts with mostly actionable information, but if you want you can read more on the Pomodoro Technique with Francesco Cirillo’s book here or on his website at francescocirillo.com.