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What is the Pomodoro Technique, and Why Should You Use It?

Maintaining motivation to work or study for a certain period can be your most demanding task of the day. But you must get the work done and on time. So what is the best way to keep motivated and ensure you complete the task on time?

Perhaps you have tried many time management tips, like creating a to-do list and allocating the best time to do various activities, but you still need to hit your target. Then it would be best if you employed this time-management and productivity hack called the Pomodoro technique. In this article, you will find just how unique, effective, and useful this time management method can be for you.

What is the Pomodoro Technique?

What is the Pomodoro Method Hero
Image credit: gerlos via Flickr

The Pomodoro technique is a time management technique invented by a university student named Francesco Cirillo in late 1980. As a student, Cirillo struggled with staying focused while studying. Thus, he challenged himself to stay focused and study for at least 10 minutes.

Cirillo used a kitchen timer shaped like a tomato to time himself to achieve his aim. Hence, the name Pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato, which the technique is named after. He used the type of timer twisted to the required time and rings automatically when the time rounds up.

After a few sessions, Cirillo found that the technique worked well for him and greatly increased his study lifestyle, so he shared the technique, which is now widely used. After a few modifications and experiments with other time intervals, he found setting the timer to 25 minutes intervals (each interval is called a Pomodoro) with a 5-minute break in-between to be more effective and increase productivity, consequently setting the foundation of the Pomodoro technique.

Steps Involved in the Pomodoro Technique

The steps to utilizing the Pomodoro technique are a bit different from your regular time management activities, only with a few modifications with your psychology in mind to create a more effective routine.

Here is how to start using the Pomodoro technique:

  1. Start a to-do list

    Create a list of the activities you want to execute in their order of importance.

  2. Start your timer

    Set a timer to 25 minutes and start the first task immediately.

  3. Note any distractions

    Should you get distracted, note the cause of the distraction and get back to work immediately.

  4. Take a short break after one pomodoro session

    At the sound of the timer, you have completed a Pomodoro and can take a 5 minutes break, after which you get back to the task.

  5. Take a long break after four pomodoro sessions

    After completing four pomodori, take a 20-30 minutes break.

  6. Rinse and repeat

    Repeat the process until you complete all your tasks or the day is over. Then, address the cause of your distractions and find a way to minimize or erase them.

Why You Should Use the Pomodoro Technique

Suppose you wonder what makes the Pomodoro technique more effective than other time management tips. Asides from its straightforward, reasonable, and practical approach to time management, there are a lot of benefits and milestones you can reach using the Pomodoro technique. Here are some of the benefits of using the Pomodoro technique.

Keep Track of Your Time

Have you ever wondered how you spend your time after the day, and you cannot keep track of your activities? Using the Pomodoro technique can help you find the answer.

The Pomodoro technique allows you to write down and allocate time to your daily tasks. And if a situation outside your program for the day appears, you note it down. This way, you can keep track of the time and the activities that take your time.

Maintain Momentum and Motivation

Once you overcome that initial stage of inertia by employing the Pomodoro technique, it is easier to build and maintain momentum to execute tasks. The Pomodoro technique motivates you to keep going until you complete your tasks while also taking breaks to build momentum and keep rolling.

We all lose motivation and focus when on a project for an extended time. Hence, using the Pomodoro technique challenges you to stay on a task for at least 25 minutes, thus building your motivation to beat the timer.

Prevent Physical and Mental Fatigue

Staying at a particular task for a long period makes you tired and leads to a creative block. Accordingly, the Pomodoro technique is designed to reduce tiredness and maintain brain power by giving you the space to rest and recuperate after completing a time interval.

Seeing the importance of rest as critical to one’s optimal performance, having just the right amount of rest and work time is essential to your productivity; this makes the Pomodoro method effective.

Fight Procrastination and Achieve Your Goals

Once you set the timer, you get to work on the task immediately so you can complete it before the buzzer goes off. Hence, using the Pomodoro technique can help you stop procrastination and get work done when due.

In the long run, you get one step closer to achieving your long-term goals as you continue to reach your daily goals with the Pomodoro method.

Improves Planning

If you find it difficult to plan your day effectively, then the Pomodoro technique is for you. Using the Pomodoro technique helps you plan your day the best way possible by organizing your activities into different segments, with the most important and urgent ones first and the less important ones getting to the bottom of the list.

Consequently, this method not only improves how you plan your day but also helps you craft an effective monthly and yearly plan and helps you stay on track.

What is the Pomodoro Technique, and Why Should You Use It: Final Thoughts

The Pomodoro technique presents an effective time-management and productivity hack compared to other time-management tips. It is especially helpful because it helps you consider some rather important aspects that enable productivity which is easily ignored if you do not use the technique, like the need for a break after a period of work and taking note of distractions to prevent them. Furthermore, it enables you to find your maximum and most effective threshold for concentration during work or study. All these insights from using the Pomodoro technique give you the overall benefit of increased productivity and effective time management alongside some very helpful perks. So follow the information in the article and learn how to utilize the Pomodoro technique to your benefit.

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