The Pomodoro Technique has been around for a long time, and it has many devout followers. For those of you unfamiliar with this time management/productivity technique, here it is broken down into its basic steps:
- Choose a task.
- Set a timer to 25 minutes.
- Work on the task until the timer goes off.
- Record the time spent on the task with an “x”.
- Take a short break, say…5 minutes.
- Repeat the above process four times.
- After every four tasks completions ( or “pomodoros”), take a longer break — anywhere between 15–20 minutes.
Essentially, you’re breaking your work down into manageable chunks, but those chunks are defined by the time over and above the task.
For example, if you have a task that takes longer than 25 minutes to complete, then the rigidity of the system forces you to step away from it for 5 minutes and actually prompts you to move on to another task. So when you start your day (or take the time on the day before to plan your day), you need to work out “pomodoros” with the knowledge that you have 25 minutes or less to work on it at any given time.
I’m not a fan of systems that are that rigid. While The Pomodoro Technique can force you to work…
