Isn't that the Italian word for tomato?

Pomodoro Technique - It's all about the tomato

For those of you who are new to this concept, it was 'invented' in the late 80's by Francesco Cirillo, a university student, who used one of those natty little tomato-shaped kitchen timers to help him manage his study time, hence the name 'pomodoro'.

This technique is so simple and so obvious that I first thought "really, no sh*t Sherlock", I couldn't believe a whole time management system had been built around it.  Then I tried it for myself and wow, it did actually make me so much more productive and I found I could translate it across all areas of my life, from work to home life to running.

Although there's no absolute evidence and, depending on what the task is, there's a theory that most adults can only focus for around 20 mins at a time, which is why it's always best to breakdown tasks into bitesize chunks rather than keeping going for hours without a break.  

This is where the Pomodoro Technique comes into play.  The technique simply entails setting yourself a timer for 25 mins and you completely focus on one task for the full amount of time.  You then take a 5 mins break regardless of where you are up to with that task.  You stop, walk away, go get a drink, have something to eat, stretch your legs, whatever.  You then return to your task and continue this cycle of 25 mins followed by a 5 mins break.  Each cycle is called a 'pomodoro'.  After four cycles of pomodoros, you then have a longer break of around 15-30 mins.

Here's a few examples of how I've been using it:

Running - I'm training for a half marathon at the moment so have been doing some long runs of around two hours.  I set the timer on my phone for 25 mins and run at a steady, consistent pace then, when the timer goes off, instead of having a break in this instance, I run fast for 5 mins, then slow down again and repeat this cycle.  So within a two hour run I've included a total of 20 mins at a fast pace which has really helped improve my speed endurance.  This also works for circuit style exercises, for example, you do a circuit of different exercises for 25 mins (you could choose to do 5 different exercises for 5 mins each or say, do 10 different exercises and complete as many circuits of those exercises as you can within the 25 mins) and then finish with 5 mins stretches / yoga.

Work - As a PA to several Directors, I'm often pulled in different directions with everyone making demands on my time.  When I'm trying to type up minutes and actions from meetings, if I'm constantly pulled away to do other tasks then those minutes can sometimes take me two days to complete!!  If the task I've been asked to do is not absolutely urgent at that moment in time, then I simply add it to my 'to do' list and carry on with my minutes.  I also use this technique when dealing with emails; I deal with as many emails as possible within 25 mins and then go make a cuppa, come back and do something different.  This helps me resist the temptation to click onto my Inbox the minute a new email notification pops up, as I know that at some point later in the day I've got time set aside to deal with them.  I only wish I could introduce this technique into meetings - STOP, 25 mins is up, let's take a break.  I'm sure we'd feel more refreshed and focused.

Home - If there's one thing I hate, it's cleaning.  I love it when it's finished and everything looks tidy and smells divine, but I hate the actual process of doing it.  Once again, this is where using the pomodoro technique can help me focus.  With this task I try to race the clock too - how much cleaning / how many rooms can I possibly do within 25 mins!!  Also, because I don't want to drag it out for too long, at the end of the 25 mins I'll break from cleaning whatever room and go and do something else for 5 mins such as washing up, putting clothes away and then go back to the room I was cleaning / start on the next one.  It also works really well when you're trying to declutter and tidy a room.  You can set yourself the target of doing it within 25 mins.

I know this all sounds ridiculously easy and obvious but it's really helped me to stay focused.  With tasks I enjoy doing it gives me the opportunity to be more productive by staying completely focused and with the not so enjoyable tasks, I know that I can have a break in 25 mins.  Give it a go and let me know how you get on.  You can also do your own time variations, it's not set in stone that it has to be 25 mins and 5 mins.

This technique works perfectly for the mash-up May theme too!  You can do something for 25 mins, have a break and then do something completely different for the next 25 mins.  Mix and mash-up your tasks.  By the way, it's quite frightening how quickly 25 mins passes by (which is really good when you're doing a task that's not enjoyable ... like cleaning!).

#mashupmay