What isthe ideal length for work and rest intervals? Who isthe technology unlikely tosuit for? What scheduler applications have built-in ‘tomato’ timer?
Our blog has anarticle about this magical technique and wesuggest you read itfirst torefresh your memory. Now weare going totell more details about 'tomatoes': why the Pomodoro technique iscriticized, how tofind the optimal length for work and rest intervals, and how such timers work indifferent task scheduling applications.
Briefly about the technique (for those who donot want toread the article mentioned above)
The Pomodoro technique isthe brainchild ofFrancesco Cirillo, anItalian student from the 80s who was looking for away toconcentrate onhis studies. Heused atomato-shaped timer from his kitchen. The idea ofthe technique isvery simple:
1. Select the task you want towork on.
2. Set atimer for 25 minutes.
3. Work hard onthis task for 25 minutes.
4. After that, take a5-minute break.
5. Then do25 minutes ofconcentrated work again.
6. After 4 Pomodori cycles, take along break of15−30 minutes.
Then repeat itagain.
Inaddition toatimer (akitchen one, like that one Francesco used, will do), apaper and apen will come inhandy tomark the 'tomatoes' that have been done. Progress, checklists… —just because people love toput check marks :)
Onthe same piece ofpaper, you can write down any ideas that you came upwith during the working interval orapuzzle that popped into your mind. Also, you can list all the distractions like the endless notifications, tea breaks, oremails inyour inbox. All ofthe above are the patterns ofbehavior that destroy your true productivity.
And the most important thing isthat you should work inaquiet place with aminimum ofdistractions (open spaces are not good for this, though you can use headphones and "Do Not Disturb" status).
Ifyou exactly follow the Pomodoro technique— work only during work intervals and rest during 5-minute breaks— you will never burn out. And this isvery good news for people who are tired ofoverworking onweekdays and beavering away onweekends. This technique promises asurge inproductivity, because you can cope with the same tasks faster. Much faster.
People love deadlines and action movies about defusing bombs atthe last moment. Adrenaline vslazy ten-cup-coffee break between two hard and dull tasks aday. Inthe Pomodoro technique, the principle isthe same: intervals are limited intime. That’s why you want touse your work interval time asproductively asyou can and todoeverything in60 seconds.
The main thing isyou should not doanything related tothe task list during along break. Itcan destroy the entire system and quickly lead toburnout.
The Minimum Required for Successful Pomodoro Technique
Itseems assimple asapiece ofcake: you set the intervals 25/5, and here you go! But simplicity isdeceitful. Tomake itwork, you need something else:
• You should have alist ofclear tasks for the day (preferably bypriority). Pomodoro cannot help you become super productive ifyou don’t have the list.
• You should silence all notifications: instant messenger and other stuff can wait half anhour.
Silence all notifications?! It’s easier tosay than todo. And what can bedone with the feeling ofanxiety ifyou doremove them? Ifnotifications constantly attack you, you probably suffer from the fear ofmissing out, the fear that usually torments businessmen.
According topsychologist Larry Rosen ofCalifornia State University Dominguez Hills, smartphones are designed, inpart, tocause anxiety. They provide you with new information and you experience different emotions every time you use smartphones. That’s why you feel anxiety ofmissing something important ifyou put your phone aside even for asecond. Unsurprisingly, 25 minutes without asmartphone seem like aneternity.
Silencing notifications isnot the most radical suggestion for successful work. There are tougher recommendations:
Turn off the Internet. Yes, completely (if, ofcourse, the task completion doesn’t require the Internet). This will help you avoid all these "well, I’ve been working for 23 minutes, it’s time torelax" and "plus one minute torest time won’t hurt anyone." Also, you should avoid watching YouTube and surfing Instagram during rest breaks because all these will load your mind with extra information. And your task during rest intervals istorelax!
Donot play music inthe background. Because itdistracts. Although for some people, afamiliar tune inthe background helps tofocus ontheir work and even serves asanindicator when you should stop working: assoon asyou start listening tothe music actively, that means itisworth taking abreak.
Donot use your smartphone asatimer. This isnot productive atall, because the gadget isahuge distraction, even when itjust lies onthe table, itstill annoys and distracts with its mere presence inview. So, according tothe precepts ofMaxim Dorofeev you should keep smartphones away from desktops!
But ifyou still want touse your smartphone asatimer, then welcome toairplane mode (for anxious individuals this option isunlikely towork).
The author ofthis article himself tested the airplane mode while using the Pomodoro technique. And this iswhat hesays:
"I always get anxious when Iswitch onanairplane mode onthe phone: aswarm ofnervous, nasty thoughts distract mefrom the task that needs focused concentration for 25 minutes tobedone properly. What ifsomeone from myfamily calls me? They will hear that Iamnot available and will worry. They will beworried and nervous for 25 minutes (especially ifitis mygrandma who always worries about me). What ifsomeone very important calls me? The President ofthe United States, for example?! And Iamunavailable! This isadisaster! What ifsomeone writes mesomething super urgent inachat? Apicture for mysocial media post?! After 25 minutes, itwill betoo late. And what if, and what if … After this the Pomodoro technique nolonger seems sosafe and cool.".
The brain can betrained like amuscle. Experienced Pomodoro technique fans say it’s normal for the first time tofeel nervous after turning off notifications. Toget used toworking with 'tomato' intervals, itisreally better toturn off all notifications onlaptops and smartphones. But soon you will not need todoit because your brain will know for sure that after 25 minutes you can read all the notifications. And then you will becalm when you see those annoying red number badges indicating unread notifications. Bythe way, one ofyour Pomodoros each day can bespent onreading notifications inbetween more important tasks. Yes, you can dothis.
Criticism oftechnique
Time istoo short, the technique interrupts the flow
Some criticize Pomodoro saying that 25 minutes are not enough tofocus and concentrate onalarge and difficult task. The sound ofthe timer makes the flow stop making itdifficult toget back towork after arest interval. They also say that technique kills creativity and forces you toswitch from one context toanother.
Statements like this make sense. Research shows that our brain needs, onaverage, 23 minutes tofocus onatask and make full use ofits capability. This iswhat iscalled aflow state, inwhich weperform our best.
Therefore, wecan conclude that after switching from one task toanother, ittakes 23 minutes tofully regain our concentration. There isaso-called "attention residue" when some ofour thoughts about the previous task distract usfrom the current one. This means that even aquick glance atyour inbox reduces your ability tofocus onyour main task for atleast the next 23 minutes.
Sothat means that you have just entered the flow state and after 2 minutes you hear the timer signal for abreak.
Ifyour tasks require more than 25 minutes orare too creative— noproblem— increase your work interval and rest time. Let itbe a50-minute work interval instead of25 and take a15-minute break for rest instead of5. Ofcourse, atthe beginning, itmay behard for you toquickly enter the flow state. But some practice will help you get involved inwork assoon asthe timer starts counting down the seconds…
The endless rush for productivity
Some complain that the Pomodoro technique makes them always hurry along. And because ofthis, they make mistakes and drive themselves into anervous state ala "I have todoas much aspossible inthese 25 minutes, faster, faster, faster!" Your tension increases, negligence appears, and concentration isgone. Well, calm down, guys! You can extend the intervals and stop pushing yourself todoeverything faster. You are not inadisaster movie, where you have just afew minutes orseconds (!) tosave humanity.
Nojob satisfaction
Greetings from freelance artists who hate structure, prefer life without aschedule and feel good. These guys complain that when they work at 'tomato' intervals, they turn into very productive, but brainless robots that burn out too quickly. And they burn out because they feel like time controls them. Well, what can weadvise them? Wait for the muse and leave Pomodoro tothose who are motivated bythe technique, but not demotivated. And ifyou are one ofsuch creative individuals, then you can quit reading the article:)
Weare all too different
The Pomodoro Technique isahuman invention, and the recommended intervals have not been supported byscientific research. The duration ofyour concentration may differ from that ofyour colleague onthe left. Many different factors can also affect it: your health, some life events (divorce ordeath ofloved ones will definitely reduce productivity), your environment (sometimes even headphones cannot help isolating you from what ishappening around). So, the ability tofocus onaspecific task varies from day today.
There isonly one recipe: adjust the intervals tosuit you. A25-minute interval isnot anironclad rule. Itisjust arecommendation. Ifyou find ithard towork inthe 25/5 mode: you feel like these intervals are not enough, you donot have time torelax and you quickly lose concentration, try one ofthe following schemes:
20/2
You need torelax every 20 minutes, but just for acouple minutes. Why not? Work for 20 minutes, then take a2-minute break, and after 6 cycles, take abreak for 30−45 minutes.
45/15
Make the intervals longer: in45 minutes itisreally possible tocompletely immerse yourself inatask and make progress init. After three 45-minute intervals with 15-minute breaks between them, you can allow yourself anhour break.
90/15
Creating intervals between work and rest copies the work ofour brains. Anaverage person can only focus for 90−120 minutes, then heneeds abreak. The ultradian rhythm promotes this switching mechanism— acycle that regulates the body’s work even insleep. Itwas first discovered by Nathaniel Kleitman, aninnovator insleep research. Kleitman found that there are 90-minute cycles during which you gothrough five stages ofsleep, and heidentified aregularity that isalso reflected inwakefulness.
Ifyou know which part ofthe day you have the 90-minute cycle, you will beable toimprove your efficiency. How tofind your highly productive intervals during the day, wewrote here. After productive work, the brain requires rest. So, allow yourself 15 to20 minutes ofbreak torecover. After acouple ofsuch bursts ofenergy, take along break and completely relax.
Secrets and subtleties oftechnology
How many 'tomatoes' should you plan for aday?
Itisrather ahard question. Ifyou have 6−7 small tasks per day, spending amaximum one hour for each, that means you will need 2 'tomatoes' per task, intotal itwill be12−14. But this isnot anironclad rule: everything depends onyou.
What ifthe 'tomato' isnot over, but the task has already been completed?
After completing the task inthe remaining time, you can:
• Goover what was done toedit.
• Review the task: what did you learn new, and what could beimproved?
• View alist ofupcoming tasks for the next 'tomato', prepare everything for their execution.
What should bedone atthe end ofthe working day?
After completing all the 'tomato' cycles for the day, carefully review the to-do list and you will see alot ofimportant things. The number oftomatoes spent oneach task will help you estimate the time you spent tocomplete them and subsequently estimate the duration ofnew tasks based onthe number ofintervals. Itwill also reflect your productivity because the number of 'tomatoes' completed per day reflects how much time you devote totasks.
The author ofthe technique, Francesco Cirillo, has achecklist template, soifyou like using checklists, you can print the template and tick all the 'tomatoes' you spend ondifferent tasks every day. You can download it here (however, itisas much as3.25 euros). And here you can make your own checklist the way you like.
How tohack atechnique
1. 'Tomatoes' can beofdifferent duration
According tothe author ofthe technique, the ideal interval is25 minutes. But aswealready mentioned above, productivity changes throughout the day. Inthe morning, many are more focused and energetic. Therefore, you can skip abreak between the first two 'tomatoes' and work 50 minutes inarow. Then you should take abreak, evaluate your strengths todecide how long the next interval will last.
2. Switch between tasks
Nomatter how productive you are, when you doone task for along time, your concentration drops. The solution: switch tosomething else. Ifyou are writing anarticle, you can look for apicture forit. Ifyou are working onnumbers inthe report, you can write adescriptive analysis for it.
3. Use 5-minute breaks for exercise
The temptation tosurf the social media isgreat, but wewrote above that this isnot agood break. It’s better todosome exercise, gooutside tobreathe, look out the window orhave tea. Doyou work from home? Wash the dishes :)
What else can you doduring the break:
• clean upthe workplace;
• prepare everything for afuture task inanew cycle;
• make ashopping list;
• call your family;
• stretch your back (and not only the back);
• write ashort post for social media;
• water the flowers.
And whatever else comes toyour mind :)
4. Use Pomodoro for tasks that steal your time
How many times has this happened: you start checking your email and spend anhour doing it: mailings, useful reading and other temptations again prevail. Set atimer and stop checking emails when itrings. Brilliant! Itwill also work with addictive apps like Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram.
APomodoro timers review inproductivity apps
There are not many scheduling applications that have abuilt-in Pomodoro timer. They should have itbecause Pomodoro isavery useful thing for those who want tobefocused onwork without being distracted byexternal stimuli.
You never know that there isatimer until you search for itpurposefully inthe settings. But ithas flexible options for setting intervals: you can vary the length ofwork and rest intervals, the number ofrepetitions, the long break length and the number ofwork intervals beforeit. You can also click onthe checkmark tostart new cycles automatically.
Timer setup
Atthe end ofthe period, you can hear asignal and see apop-up with anotification that the tomato period isover, and itistime totake abreak.
One 'tomato' issuccessfully done— itistime totake abreak
Everything here isnot like inall scheduling applications: the presentation oftasks for the day, and even the Pomodoro timer are different. You have totry very hard tocustomize the intervals toyourself. The interface isABSOLUTELY not intuitive: you just click oneverything like crazy.
This iswhere you can find the Pomodoro timer inthe Weeek app and what the settings window looks like
Toset upyour intervals, you need topress the Set-Up button and then, inthe interval boxes, enter the needed numbers byguess. Would you like a5-minute 'tomato'? You have totry hard toposition the cursor!
Bythe way, itisnot atall clear why there are three boxes ofnumbers. Let’s imagine that, with great difficulty, you managed tocustomize the intervals, but atthe end ofthe first interval, you will see something absolutely absurd:
This isprobably acountdown ofshort 1-minute rest periods. But how toget back to 'tomatoes' isunclear
But there issomething else: when the 'tomato' isfinished, you can hear anawful alarm clock sound. The countdown rings for 7 seconds! Itseems eternal and your hand isgrabbing asedative.
For those who want tolearn aforeign language, there isTasklog (used tobecalled Tomatoid). The classic task scheduler iscombined with aCRM system. Ithas asimple timer tounderstand exactly how much time you spend onatask, and there isalso the good old Pomodoro.
Pomodoro settings inTasklog: intervals can really beofany length
There isnonotification sound atall. The progress indication atdifferent intervals is … weird. But you can guess: the upper strip shows many 'tomatoes' have been passed intotal, the lower one isthe rest / work interval progress. Well, that’s it.
Interval Progress inTasklog
This isascheduler application with asimple set ofoptions: you can view Today, Week, oradd tasks tothe Important folder. Itisalso rather hard tofind Pomodoro’s timer there. Itisin the settings for the created task. That means that the timer isbound toaspecific task. When it’s done, start another one. There are not too many parameters inthe timer settings: only the length ofthe intervals (you can set any).
Pomodoro timer settings inLanes
The interval progress isshown asadecreasing circle that isupdated every minute. Almost like the second hand running inawatch. There isnosound indication. The rest interval looks very much the same asthe interval progress:
Work interval
Rest interval
SingularityApp
Ofcourse, the app for controlling chaos can’t fail tohave Pomodoro (this feature, available inthe free version, was checked out bythe author ofJedi techniques, Maxim Dorofeev).
The timer iseasy tofind, there isanicon inthe upper right corner. When you click onit, awindow opens where you can select the 'tomato's' size. The completed 'tomato' cycles will becolored inthe cells under the numbers.
This iswhat the Pomodoro timer looks like inSingularityApp
The time progress isdisplayed onthe icon atthe top— itgradually turns red. This isconvenient ifthe timer window isminimized while you are working inthe application orinanother window.
The rest periods onthe timer are colored green, the working periods are colored red. It’s hard toconfuse :)
A5-minute break with Pomodoro timer inSingularityApp
The timer can becustomized— just click onthe gear icon inthe lower left corner ofthe timer window. There you can set the length and number of 'tomato' intervals and the duration ofsmall and large rest breaks. Doyou need avery long work interval? Noproblem!
Doyou want towork continuously for 120 minutes? Here you go :)
Bydefault, the sound ofthe timer isturned off, but ifyou really need atimer alert sound, you can addit. The sound will bepleasant and unobtrusive— like amessage notification inamessenger. The new period starts automatically, but you can stopit. Very convenient.
Pomodoro timer settings inSingularityApp
We are sure that the timer in your favorite scheduler is very convenient. But if you don't like any of the above, try the services focused only on Pomodoro. Here are the most popular ones:
Pomidorko is a web service with one single function of counting interval time. In the settings, you can set their length and number, and allow the timer to tick-tock (rather annoying) and, of course, ring at the end of the cycle.
Pomodoro Tracker is another web service with a less stylish design. But you can create tasks and check them when completed with the sound of a ship arriving at the port (you also can hear the same sound when the 'tomato' cycle has come to an end). The settings are flexible: both the length and the number of intervals can be configured, the auto start of the tracker can be enabled / disabled, and you can even set a goal for the day, i.e. how many 'tomatoes' you want to do.
And if you need super-motivation, try the Forest smartphone app which also has an element of game playing in order to do tasks and to get rid of phone addiction. To be focused on the task only, you plant a tree in the application. If you use your phone before the interval is over, the tree dies. The more self-possession the thicker your forest will grow! But there is one problem: you have to pay for the application. The list of similar applications in stores is abundant. But that's another story :)
Ifyou have not tried the Pomodoro technique yet, wehighly recommendit. This isone ofthe easiest ways toimprove your efficiency and reduce your time spent ontasks. And ifyou haven’t found your ideal planner yet— well, we’re not hinting atanything— here isalink todownload SingularityApp, the most powerful planner for all your tasks, projects, lists, to-do's and appointments.
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