Description
The idea behind the technique is that the timer instills a sense of urgency. Rather than feeling like you have endless time in the workday to get things done and then ultimately squandering those precious work hours on distractions, you know you only have 25 minutes to make as much progress on a task as possible.
Try the Pomodoro Technique if you…
Find little distractions often derail the whole workday
Consistently work past the point of optimal productivity
Have lots of open-ended work that could take unlimited amounts of time (e.g., studying for an exam, research for a blog post, etc.)
Are overly optimistic when it comes to how much you can get done in a day (aren’t we all 🙃)
Enjoy gamified goal-setting
Really like tomatoes (just kidding)
The 25-minute work sprints are the core of the method, but a Pomodoro practice also includes three rules for getting the most out of each interval:
Break down complex projects. If a task requires more than four pomodoros, it needs to be divided into smaller, actionable steps. Sticking to this rule will help ensure you make clear progress on your projects.
Small tasks go together. Any tasks that will take less than one Pomodoro should be combined with other simple tasks. For example, “write rent check,” “set vet appointment,” and “read Pomodoro article” could go together in one session.
Once a pomodoro is set, it must ring. The pomodoro is an indivisible unit of time and can not be broken, especially not to check incoming emails, team chats, or text messages. Any ideas, tasks, or requests that come up should be taken note of to come back to later. (Use something like our “To Do” list inserts to keep track of the tasks).
Note from Kate: This is the full set of Pomodoro Technique Productivity Planner that we recommend you start with as it has instructions, guidelines, a productivity quiz and two types of tracking inserts.
After you use this one, figure out which one you like best and order a full pack of those inserts for the future.
These inserts are available in Pink, Green, or Black.
25 sheets / 45 pages
