What do tomatoes have to do with management? Everything according to Francesco Cirillo, the man who invented this time management technique in the late 1980s.
The method is named after the kitchen timer shaped like a tomato some of you might have already seen.
Image Source: Flickr – Marco Verch – (CC BY-NC 2.0)
This method consists in maximising your attention for short periods of time by taking frequent breaks to refresh your mind. By splitting a large task into many smaller tasks, you are able to keep up your motivation and enhance creativity.
The method is extremely easy to implement by following a few simple steps:
- Choose a task to be accomplished
- Set the timer to 25 minutes
- Work on the task, without any distractions, until the timer rings, then put a checkmark on a piece of paper
- Take a 5 minute break, then return to the task
- After four pomodoros (that is, four 25-5 minute splits) take a longer break (15-30 minutes), then get back to the task
The actions of recording pomodoros adds a sense of accomplishment to our work and helps us give our undivided attention to the task during the 25 minutes of work.
The times indicated are those suggested by the pomodoro technique, but we can adjust them to our needs, keeping in mind always to keep a short break and a long break every 4 short breaks.
Though the method was traditionally conceived using a mechanical timer, today there are many apps that can help us in using this technique.
I recommend the app “Clear Focus” – simple and effective!
If you want to read more about the pomodoro technique and its history, you can head over to the official website:
https://francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodoro-technique