When I’m feeling scattered, pomodoros come to the rescue. Though I consider myself to be a relatively organized person, I can get easily distracted when I have multiple tasks to tackle, jumping from one thing to the next without much focus. Where and how else have I used timers to get things done? And sometimes, when I get into a flow state, I keep working even after that timer goes off. This is what I’m supposed to be doing in this moment. I might be doing another 25-minute stretch–or three or four more 25-minute stretches–right after it, but the timer holds me accountable. Knowing that I have those 25 minutes to focus on a single task helps immerse me in my work. Whether it’s doing tricky research, or whether it’s editing a piece that’s due, I’ll set that timer, put on some music, and focus. How the Pomodoro Technique helps with “fun” writingįor my current writing projects, what I have referred to as “fun” writing since finishing my dissertation, I’ll also use pomodoros. It sounds a little desperate, and it was, but those 90-second sprints all added up and helped move me one step closer to being done. Sometimes, when I was especially un-motivated, I’d put a show on Hulu and make edits during the 90 seconds of commercials. I’d scribble out edits while riding the train to work, while waiting at the doctor’s office, or while heating up dinner. When I was really not in the mood to work on the dissertation (which was often), I’d use any already-constricted time as what I’ll call micro-pomodoros. (And there were a lot of edits.) Knowing that there was a clear end in sight, after which I could take a break, kept me motivated. I’d set a timer and tell myself that I only had to spend the next 25 minutes making edits on a chapter draft. I would not have finished my dissertation without the Pomodoro Technique or variations of it. How the Pomodoro Technique helped me finish grad school I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how much I can do in that amount of time. Ultimately, though, I find that the 25-minute time frame works best for me, and I can get a solid chunk of work done before taking a break. As for me, sometimes I only have time for a 10-to-15-minute work sprint followed by a short break before going on to whatever I need to do next. There are variations on the method some people, for example, may advocate for 50 minutes of focused work, followed by a 10-minute break. ![]() After a few pomodoros, take a longer break (about 30 minutes) if you plan to start the cycle again and continue doing pomodoros. Set the timer for 25 minutes again, then take another 5-minute break. When faced with a task, set a timer for 25 minutes (called a “pomodoro”), then take a 5-minute break. The key to the Pomodoro Technique is timers. The technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo, who used a kitchen timer as a student to get work done, and found it an effective tool for time management. Not much, except that kitchen timers are sometimes shaped like them. In Italian, the word pomodoro means “tomato.” What, you might wonder, do tomatoes have to do with productivity? I was an overwhelmed graduate student when I first heard of the Pomodoro Technique, sometimes also called the Pomodoro method.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |