The Pomodoro Technique
Beat procrastination and improve your focus one pomodoro at a time
Tags:Low commitment,Popular,Time management,Procrastination,Focus
1. Introduction
2. What is the Pomodoro Technique?
3. What makes pomodoro so effective?
4. Quick tips for pomodoro-ing
5. How to pomodoro with Todoist
1. Plan
2. Work
3. Repeat
How to pomodoro with Todoist
1. What is the Pomodoro Technique?
2. What makes pomodoro so effective?
3. Quick tips for pomodoro-ing
4. How to pomodoro with Todoist
Take the quiz
The secret to effective time management is...thinking in tomatoes rather than hours. It may seem silly
initially, but millions of people swear by the life-changing power of the Pomodoro Technique.
(Pomodoro is Italian for tomato. 🍅)
This popular time management method asks you to alternate pomodoros — focused work sessions —
with frequent short breaks to promote sustained concentration and stave off mental fatigue.
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, researching 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
Find out which productivity method fits you best
Get a personalized recommendation based on your workstyle and goals.
Take the quizExplore on your own
What is the Pomodoro Technique?
The Pomodoro Technique was developed in the late 1980s by then-university student Francesco
Cirillo. Cirillo was struggling to focus on his studies and complete assignments. Feeling overwhelmed,
he asked himself to commit to just 10 minutes of focused study time. Encouraged by the challenge, he
found a tomato (pomodoro in Italian) shaped kitchen timer, and the Pomodoro technique was born.
Though Cirillo went on to write a 130-page book about the method, its biggest strength is its
simplicity:
1. Get a to-do list and a timer.
2. Set your timer for 25 minutes, and focus on a single task until the timer rings.
3. When your session ends, mark off one pomodoro and record what you completed.
4. Then enjoy a five-minute break.
5. After four pomodoros, take a longer, more restorative 15-30 minute break.
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:
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 noted to return to later. A digital task
manager like Todoist is a great place for these, but pen and paper will do, too.
In the event of an unavoidable disruption, take your five-minute break and start again. Cirillo
recommends that you track interruptions (internal or external) as they occur and reflect on how to
avoid them in your next session.
The rule applies even if you finish your task before the timer goes off. Use the rest of your time for
overlearning, or improving skills or scope of knowledge. For example, you could spend the extra time
reading up on professional journals or researching networking opportunities.
Todoist Tip
Keep an "Overlearning" project in Todoist with a list of tasks you can quickly choose from the next
time you find yourself with pomodoro time to spare.
If the system seems simple, that’s because it is. The Pomodoro technique is all about getting your mind
in the zone to finish your tasks.
What makes pomodoro so effective?
The arbitrary silliness of using a tomato as a stand-in for units of time belies the Pomodoro Technique's
serious effectiveness in helping people get things done. Here's what makes the method uniquely suited
to boosting productivity:
Making it easy to just get started
Research has shown that procrastination has little to do with laziness or lack of self-control. Rather, we
put things off to avoid negative feelings. It's uncomfortable to stare down a big task or project - one
you may not be sure how to even do or one that involves a lot of uncertainty. So we turn to Twitter or
Netflix instead to boost our mood, if only temporarily.
Luckily, studies have also shown an effective way to break out of the avoidance cycle: shrink whatever
it is you're putting off down to a tiny, unintimidating first step. For example, instead of sitting down to
write a novel, sit down to write for 5 minutes. Still too hard? Try just sitting down to edit a paragraph.
Doing something small for a short period of time is a whole lot easier to face than trying to take on a
big project all at once.
That procrastination-busting strategy is exactly what the pomodoro technique asks you to do: break
down your big tasks, projects, or goals into something you only have to do for the next 25 minutes. It
keeps you hyper-focused on the next thing you need to do rather than get overwhelmed by the
enormity of what you're taking on. Don't worry about the outcome — just take it one pomodoro at a
time.
Combating distractions
If you’ve ever been interrupted when you were in a flow state, you know how difficult regaining focus
can be. Yet, the constant stream of information pouring in via emails, team chats, and social media
notifications demands more and more of our attention.
While it would be nice to blame technology for everything, recent studies suggest over half of all
workday distractions are self-inflicted — meaning we pull ourselves out of focus. In the moment, it
can be easy to justify these internal pulls — “This email is too important to wait,” or “It took less than
a minute to check my Twitter; it isn’t a real distraction.”
But those small interruptions add up! It isn’t just the time you lose on distractions; it also takes time
and energy to refocus your attention. After switching gears, our minds can linger over the previous task
for over 20 minutes until we regain full concentration. Indulging the impulse to check Facebook "just
for a minute" can turn into 20 minutes of trying to get back on task.
The Pomodoro Technique helps you resist all of those self-interruptions and re-train your brain to
focus. Each pomodoro is dedicated to one task, and each break is a chance to reset and bring your
attention back to what you should be working on.
Becoming more aware of where your time goes
When planning out our future projects, most of us fall victim to the planning fallacy — our tendency to
vastly underestimate the time needed to complete future tasks, even when we know similar tasks have
taken longer in the past. Your present self imagines your future self operating under entirely different
circumstances and time restraints.
The Pomodoro technique can be a valuable weapon against the planning fallacy. When you start
working in short, timed sessions, time is no longer an abstract concept but a concrete event. It becomes
a pomodoro — a unit of both time and effort. Distinct from the idea of 25 minutes of general "work,"
the pomodoro is an event that measures focus on a single task (or several simple tasks).
The concept of time changes from a negative — something that has been lost — to a positive
representation of events accomplished. Cirillo calls this "inverting time" because it changes the
perception of time passing from an abstract source of anxiety to an exact measure of productivity. This
leads to much more realistic time estimates.
Writer Ben Dolnick describes how his perception of time changed while using the method:
"Five minutes on the internet, as measured by my timer, would pass in what seemed to me about
35 seconds. A timed hour of research would seem to take between three and four hours. My
timer was a crisp metal yardstick laid down in the fog of my temporal intuitions.”
When you use the Pomodoro technique, you have a clear measurement of your finite time and your
efforts, allowing you to reflect and plan your days more accurately and efficiently. With practice, you
can accurately assess how many pomodoros a task will take and build more consistent work habits.
Gamifying your productivity
Every pomodoro provides an opportunity to improve upon the last. Cirillo argues that “concentration
and consciousness lead to speed, one pomodoro at a time."
The Pomodoro technique is approachable because it is more about consistency than perfection. Each
session is a fresh start to reevaluate your goals, challenge yourself to focus, and limit distractions. You
can make the system work for you.
Motivate yourself to build on your success by setting a goal to add an extra pomodoro each day.
Challenge yourself to finish a big task in a set number of pomodoros. Try setting a goal number of
pomodoros for each day without breaking the chain. Thinking in tomatoes rather than hours is just
more fun.
Quick tips for pomodoro-ing
While the 25/5 minute work/break intervals are the heart of the Pomodoro Technique, there are a few
things you can do to make your pomodoros more effective:
Plan out your pomodoros in advance
Take 15 minutes at the beginning of your workday (or at the end if you're planning for the next day) to
plan out your pomodoros. Take your to-do list for the day and note how many pomodoros each task
will take. (Remember, tasks that will take more than 5 pomodoros should be broken down into smaller,
more manageable tasks. Smaller tasks, like responding to emails, can be batched together in a single
pomodoro.)
If you work an 8-hour workday, make sure your pomodoros for the day don't go over sixteen. If they
do, postpone the least urgent/least important tasks for later in the week.
Dig deeper
Learn how to plan your day for optimal productivity.
Build overflow pomodoros into your day
While an 8-hour workday technically leaves room for sixteen pomodoros, it's best to build in a buffer
of 2-4 "overflow" pomodoros, just in case. Use your overflow pomodoros for tasks that take longer
than you planned or for unexpected tasks that come up during the day.
If you don't end up needing them, use the extra pomodoros for learning or lower-priority tasks that
always get pushed to the end of your to-do list. It's much less stressful to end the day with pomodoros
to spare than to overschedule yourself and get behind.
How many pomodoros are in a day?
Over time, you'll get a better sense of how many high-quality pomodoros you're actually capable of
completing in a day. It's ok if it's not a full sixteen. The vast majority of people aren't actually
productive for the full 8 hours of a workday, and those who think they are probably haven't been
paying close enough attention. When it comes to pomodoros, challenge yourself, but keep the focus on
quality over quantity.
Experiment with the length of your pomodoros
For some types of work that require extended periods in a creative "flow" state — think coding,
writing, composing, etc. — 25 minutes may be too short. Try extended work sessions with longer
breaks. A DeskTime study found that a 52-minute focus and 17-minute break is the perfect balance.
Others prefer 90 full minutes with a 20-30-minute break, based on Ultradian rhythms.
For tasks that you've been putting off for one reason or another, 25 minutes might be too long. If you're
feeling a lot of mental resistance, or you just can't get yourself to stay focused for 25 minutes, try a 15-,
10-, or even 5-minute pomodoro.
For most people, most of the time, the sweet spot will be in the 25-50 minute range for peak
concentration with a 5-15 minute break. Try mixing your intervals based on your available energy, the
type of work, and how much a task makes you want to bury your head in cute puppy videos on
YouTube instead.
Get away from screens during breaks
Not all breaks are created equal. If your pomodoro work sessions happen on your computer, don't just
switch over to Twitter or Instagram when the timer goes off. Give your eyes and brain a break from
screens — that means your phone, too! Stand up, move around, stretch, go outside, do a mini
meditation, grab a snack, and watch birds out the window. If you work from home, fold some clothes
or clear off the kitchen table.
Whatever you do, your break will be much more mentally refreshing if you escape the glowing
hypnosis of your computer or phone.
Use an app to enforce your pomodoros
Humans are fallible. No matter how motivated you are at the start of the day, it's really hard to actually
stick to your pomodoros. Hold yourself accountable with a break reminder app.
The best ones let you customize how long your work sessions are, how obtrusive you want your
reminders to be, and how strictly you want your breaks enforced. Some will lock you out of your
computer for the duration of your breaks.
We recommend BreakTimer (for both Windows and Mac.)
How to pomodoro with Todoist
So you're convinced the Pomodoro Technique is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Now, it's time to
put the method into action. Here's how to plan your pomodoros with Todoist:
Plan
At the start of each day (or the night before), review all your active projects and one-off tasks and
schedule everything you want to accomplish for "Today."
Estimate how many pomodoros each task will take. Add tomato emojis to the end of the task name to
indicate your pomodoro estimate.
Todoist Tip
Hold down the Alt/Option key while clicking on a task to quickly edit the task name without opening
the full task view.
Break anything bigger than four pomodoros down into smaller sub-tasks. For example, a project titled
"redesign website" might need a more pomodoro-sized sub-task like "find 5 example websites as
inspiration."
Now, when you open your Today view, you'll see your scheduled tasks and how many pomodoros each
will take. Drag and drop your tasks to reflect the order in which you'll work on them.
If you have more than 12-14 pomodoros (remember that buffer!), postpone some of your tasks to the
next day or later in the week. If you have 10 tasks you want to do in a day, you may find it helpful to
schedule only half of the list and to assign an "@on_deck" label to indicate the tasks you'll get to if you
have time.
Todoist Tip
You may want to add tasks you do every day — or even multiple times a day — as recurring tasks. For
example, you might have a task called "Get to inbox zero" scheduled for "every weekday". Here's how
to add recurring due dates in Todoist.
Work
You'll start your day with a clear plan of what you'll work on during each pomodoro. You can use the
timer on your phone, a physical Pomodoro timer, or any of the many digital alternatives like Pomodone
which integrates with Todoist.
Once your timer starts, it must go off! Keep focused by adding any ideas or requests that come in as
new tasks in your Todoist Inbox. When your timer runs out, you can review the list, schedule urgent
tasks for a later pomodoro, and file away less urgent things for another day.
Dig deeper
Learn 11 fast ways to add tasks to Todoist so you can get back to your pomodoro.
Repeat
Build your concentration muscle by making your pomodoro planning a daily routine. Add a task in
Todoist for the same time each morning to remind yourself to plan out your pomodoros. Challenge
yourself to hit a certain number of pomodoros each day, and take time at the end to reflect on what
went well and how you could improve your focus in the future.
Laura Scroggs
Laura is a freelance writer, PhD candidate, and pug mom living in Minneapolis, MN.