Admittedly, I am a woman who gets distracted quite easily. Whether that be notifications flashing up on my phone screen, music-y TV adverts or making sure a learner driver doesn’t hit my car while practicing parallel parking, you name it, I get distracted. When that happens, I lose all of the focus I had on the task I was attempting to complete. It’s like those distractions I mentioned are an unwanted diversion from the task I’m trying to finish. I’ve been trying to think of methods and techniques to try in order to guide my focus toward completing my to-do list. I don’t want the solution to be as simple as turning off my notifications or muting the TV. After doing some research, I came across the Pomodoro technique.
The Pomodoro technique is a method I hadn’t heard of until recently. For those who don’t know, the Pomodoro technique is a time management method which encourages us to work with the time we have. The concept of the technique is to break up your workday into 25-minute chunks. After 25 minutes, you give yourself a 5-minute break. After 4 Pomodoros (four 25-minute chunks), you take a longer break of about 15-30 minutes. The aim of the Pomodoro technique is to combat distractions, make it easier to start a task/tasks and boost productivity and focus.
Here is the step-by-step of the Pomodoro Technique:
- Step 1 – Pick a task.
- Step 2 – Set a timer for 25 minutes.
- Step 3 – Work on the chosen task until the time is up.
- Step 4 – Take your 5-minute break once the timer stops.
- Step 5 – After every 4 Pomodoros, take your extended 15-30 minute break.
I tried the Pomodoro technique for a week so I could give it a fair chance. I wanted to try it for a period of a week to see if it can actually work for me. As I don’t WFH, I used this technique when I wanted to do blog-related tasks. When I’m getting through my blogging to-do list, I do get easily distracted or get fed up with trying to complete a task which is taking me bleeding ages to finish. I wanted to see if this technique would help boost my blogging productivity.
So, what did I think of the Pomodoro technique?
At first, I was sceptical as to whether this method of working would actually work. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much the Pomodoro technique has helped me. I felt super productive during my 25-minute time chunks. It felt a lot easier to complete tasks and I used to find that I could tick off everything on my daily to-do list and more. It certainly helped me to focus all my attention more on completing my to-do list. Working this way made the blogging workload more manageable.
What surprised me was how much I could do during those five-minute breaks! I did mini tasks such as making a cuppa, folding clean clothes, hoovering the downstairs, doing the washing up etc.
The Pomodoro technique is a method which I would like to continue to use. Using this technique has meant me staying off social media for prolonged periods. During my 5-minute breaks, I found myself not feeling the urge to endlessly scroll. That’s an accomplishment in itself!
Following the technique has meant that by the end of the day, I’m not feeling that sense of guilt for not completing my to-do list. Most days since I started practicing this technique, I have completed my to-do list with ease. If there is a task I haven’t completed that day, I’ll just add it to the next day and prioritise that task first.
So yes, the Pomodoro technique is a method I plan to continue using in the long term!
