The Pomodoro Technique

The Pomodoro Technique (ital. pomodoro = tomato) is a great method to conquer procrastination. This time management philosophy was developed by the Italian life coach Francesco Cirillo. It’s based on working in 25- minute intervals and using a timer to keep yourself accountable. (The kitchen timer that Cirillo first used was shaped like a tomato.)

This is how you can apply the strategy when doing homework, writing a paper, studying for an exam or many other projects:

1. Pick ONLY one specific task (no multi-tasking).
2. Work on that task for 25 minutes and do NOTHING else. Set the timer!
3. henever you think of a DISTRACTION (another task, something you would rather do), write it down.
4. Take a 5-minute BREAK and do whatever you want. Set the timer! Repeat those steps 3 more times (for a 2-hour study session) and then take a longer break. Repeat as needed.

Consider the following tips to optimize the Pomodoro Technique:

1. Get everything in place before you start, so that you don’t get distracted looking for a pencil or a textbook. Also, remove anything that might distract you (e.g. social media, your phone, apps or websites).
2. Experiment with time intervals to see what works best for you. Your intervals can be shorter or longer depending on your energy level, time of day or nature of the task. If you have a good work-flow, feel free to keep working beyond 25 minutes but take regularly scheduled breaks to optimize your brain capacity.
3. Use a commitment app on your computer or phone. Instead of a tomato shaped kitchen timer you can use apps such as Cold Turkey Writer, Focus, SelfControl, Tomato Timer or Tide.
4. Keep track of the number of pomodoros, so you can take your longer (~20 minute) break.