I used the Pomodoro technique for a week and it changed my life!

I’ve just finished this post in two 25 minutes burst. One burst for writing and the second for pictures and editing. How did I do it? The Pomodoro technique of course. With the help of this quirky little tomato timer, my Trello board has never seen tasks getting swiped from its To-Do list into the Done list so fast.

For those of you who haven’t come across the nifty little productivity trick that is the Pomodoro technique then you many have just stumbled across your biggest productivity hack yet.

The Pomodoro technique was devised by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s as a way for him to hack his time management skills whilst at university.

In a nutshell, the method involves

1. Picking a task that can be condensed into 25 minutes.
2. Setting a timer (Cirillo used a little tomato shaped timer, hence pomodoro, but there are plenty of apps around).
3. Work continuously on this task with no distractions until the 25minutes are up.
4. Have a 5 minute break whereby you step away from the task and do something else. I usually grab a drink or read a few pages from my book.
5. Return after the 5 minutes to continue on said task or another 25 minute task if you were speedy enough to complete the one in your first Pomodoro.
6. Keep this up until you have done a set number of Pomodoros (usually in a block of 4) and then have a longer break of anywhere between 30–60minutes.
7. Start the process all over again

Now you might be thinking that this is just a fun and competitive way to challenge yourself (hello fellow Type-A) but I can honestly say that by following this method, my productivity has soared and I have gotten more done in the last week than I probably have for the entire last month.

It has also taught me a few home truths and lessons that I thought I would share.

When I first started out using the Pomodoro technique, I thought I would easily be able to smash through 16 in a day. I work 8 hours a day, so excluding lunch that would mean I could easily conduct 14 pomodoros on my work tasks and that would leave me 2 pomodoros to tackle any life admin such as writing this blog post in either my lunch break or after work.

However, life doesn’t quite work out that way.

Most of my day is filled up with meetings and even though I tried to apply the Pomodoro technique to my meetings, I have to say, it didn’t quite go to plan. Mostly because I realised two things; sometimes meetings are really important and you can’t quite fit them into 25 minute intervals. Secondly, some meetings are completely pointless and people just like to talk for the sake of talking, with no actionable tasks in sight by the end of it.

So I went back to the drawing board, or should I say my Trello Board, and broke down all the tasks that just involved me, into 25 minute chunks. I then set up my board into 4 Pomodoro lists and assigned tasks to each Pomodoro. I reasoned with myself that if I could complete 2 hours a workday of focused work, then I could be reasonable chuffed with myself.

This new plan worked. Not only did I start to smash through my to-do list but it started to get to a point where I was also crossing off those “difficult tasks”. You know the ones that you don’t want to do but really have to do? Like making those sales calls even though your job isn’t to do sales or tackle that spreadsheet you’ve been meaning to fix because the idea of data inputting fills you with dread? I started to reason with myself that even I could do “insert horrible/soul-destroying task” for 25 minutes.

By the end of the week, I’d completed all the tasks assigned to me for new product development, endured a personal finance detox and came out the other side knowing a lot more about my finances than last Sunday and conducted a full decluttering marathon a la Marie Kondo.

So what were my key takeaways from my week living the Pomodoro Lifestyle?

• You need to shrink down tasks I realised that by picking apart larger tasks and turning them into individual easy to execute chunks, I reduced the overwhelm and fear that had prevented me from tackling a task. So rather than say “start my own business” or even “research market”, I would break it down into “read x article”, speak to X person or listen to X podcast. This makes the tasks less daunting and easier to execute.
• I felt fantastic I’m a typical type A, if you hadn’t guessed already, and love a good to-do list. It might not be the right thing to say but I genuinely get a lot of satisfaction by ticking off everything I’ve said I’m going to do that day off my to do list.
• I stopped over thinking things By shrinking tasks down to their bear minimum and confined to 25 minutes, it stopped me overthinking about what could go wrong or start doubting myself and my abilities because, hey, it was just one thing on my to-do list and only cost me 25 minutes of my life — what could seriously go wrong? But what I realised was that all these completed actions built up into some serious task smashing. Most of the time I would only do 1–2 Pomodoros of a certain “topic” per day so I didn’t feel like I was going too fast, as sometimes when I feel that things are moving too fast, I end up pulling life’s hand break — think in the US its called the emergency break — and stopping everything I’m doing and stalling. Using this method, I was able to work at a consistent pace without fear stalling my progress.
• I merged my work task and personal tasks throughout the day Because I was able to get so much work done in each Pomodoro, I was able to blend my work and personal tasks throughout the day to mix it up and give back some variety. I realise this isn’t an option available to everyone but if it is, I would definitely recommend it as it means you keep your energy consistent throughout the day.
• It makes you do the things you don’t want to do You know those tasks that you know you should do because they’ll make your life easier/get you to where you need to be, but don’t want to do? Yeah those. As I mentioned earlier, whether it is picking up the phone to make a sales call or reaching out to someone, to even decluttering your house, Pomodoro gives you the motivation to push through your resistance and just get it done. Scheduling in Pomodoros to execute those stubborn tasks has helped me push forward on tasks that I didn’t want to do because I was the expert on being able to talk myself out of anything. Using the Pomodoro technique was the motivation I needed to get stuff done.
• I stopped beating myself up for not pushing forward on my goals By scheduling in to reach out to someone I wanted to speak to or tackling a frustrating task by breaking it down in to 25 minute time chunks, I was able to move forward on tasks that had been gathering dust for quite sometime. For example, I was able to tackle my finances. By spending 25 minutes creating a personal cash-flow spreadsheet and writing up all my incomings and outgoings gave me the information I needed to create a financial detox. I became clearer about my financial situation, set up some personal goals for the year, broken down further into Q1 goals that I’ve now nearly completed and just feel genuinely more secure in my personal financial situation. To say that I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders just because I now have a plan that I can easily execute, is an understatement.
• You stop wishing things were different or attending your own self-pity party. You know when you hear that someone is doing something you wish you were doing and it makes you feel deflated or even jealous? Whether its starting a new business, becoming an instagram influencer or just getting a dream job, hearing about other people successfully achieve their dreams whilst you sit on the sidelines can make you wallow in self pity and throw that pity party for one. Its even worst when you could invite another 5 people to said pity party as it can make you feel validated with your feelings. Well stop! Pomodoros give you just enough self-confidence and motivation to start working on your dreams and seeing what happens. 25 minutes is enough time to set up a instagram account, upload a profile pic and add a killer bio and upload your first post and picture. 25 minutes is enough time to start researching the market you want your start up to be in and its definitely enough time to revamp your CV or create alerts for jobs you want to apply for. So instead of sitting on the coach indulging in another Netflix binge (for the record, there is nothing wrong with doing this on an ad hoc basis), break your task into manageable 25 minute chunks, set your Pomodoro timer and get cracking.
• You stop being able to hear people complain about their lives. I was in two minds about whether to include this one as a) it might just be my personality and b) I feel like a hypocrite as I used to be part of this club but seriously, once you start smashing through a few Pomodoros and seeing progress in your goals, you start to develop a visceral reaction to complaining. I mean like when someone keeps going on and on and you end up screaming at them “well you can either accept the situation or change it”, because you have zero tolerance to whining. I’m still working on this one and for now, I’ve decided to step away from those conversations when you know there is zero hope of that person ever changing because, hey, they enjoy having their daily pity party for one or, if there is a glimmer of hope, telling them about the game changer that is the Pomodoro technique.

So will I keep sticking with the Pomodoro Method? You bet I will. For the first time in a long time, I feel motivated, more self confident in my abilities and am genuinely happy with my life. All thanks to that little tomato shaped timer!