

The Pomodoro Technique: How a Tomato Could Make You More Productive - clwen
http://www.dailyblogtips.com/the-pomodoro-technique/

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Killswitch
I've tried this technique, and I found it doesn't work... At least for me... I
don't take too much time to get "in the zone" but when I am, I don't want to
break that for a small break, I'd rather keep going until I lose focus or
something.

Say if one day I'm extra unmotivated and it takes me 20 minutes to get into it
and I start this timer, stare at my code, tinkering with small things, like
indentation, or something that really doesn't matter, then I finally get into
it and start doing something productive, 5 minutes passes and I need to "take
a short break" which then causes me to lose focus... Then I'm right back at
phase one... I prefer to either just force myself into the zone, or let myself
get to the point on my own... Then stay there, not stop.

Like Thursday I had no motivation or anything, sat at my computer screwing
around from 8AM until 2PM when I finally started being productive.... But then
there's days like Friday and yesterday where I jumped out of bed and was
productive until I had to force myself to bed at 2AM.

~~~
kamaal
Its called building momentum. Once you get going, taking a break interrupts
the 'in the zone' mode.

There is a deeper philosophy to it. Check out this concept called 'Flow'. Its
pretty much the opposite of this philosophy.

~~~
mjschultz
For anyone interested in looking for at this, here is the wikipedia article:
[https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_(psychology)](https://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flow_\(psychology\))

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marvin
It's so crazy that people spend so much effort creating self-help books to
increase productivity. If you have a problem with procrastination, it is a
simple question of self-discipline or alternatively, knowing your own
limitations. You can't just read your way out of this problem.

The technique described in this post is more or less the exact technique I
naturally use myself in order to get things done. Sometimes, it doesn't work.
Usually, this is because I am over my work capacity for the day. In this
instance, the only thing which works is to either slog through and get
terrible productivity per hour, or just take the rest of the day off. The
latter is usually the best option, which results in better concentration the
next day. But eventually, it really comes down to just sitting down and
getting stuff done. If you are consistently unable to do this, maybe you
should consider whether you are in the right line of work?

~~~
crusso
_it is a simple question of self-discipline_

You say that as though there's nothing to be learned about self-discipline or
as though there's no way to increase your ability in self-discipline by using
a technique you don't already know.

There are lots of little techniques and tricks that people can use to fake or
encourage self-discipline until neural pathways build that make the whole
concept come more naturally. The Pomodoro technique works for lots of people.

Personally, I've found that I can induce a lot of focus by putting on a pair
of noise-canceling headphones and listening to music without words. I have a
rule whereby I can have my headphones ONLY if I'm doing real work.

The other thing that works really well for me is the "just one little thing"
strategy. If I'm avoiding some task because it's huge and daunting, I decide
to close my HN browser window for a few minutes and just do one little thing
to make progress on the overall task. Nothing big, just one little thing.
Maybe if I'm going to start a new web site, I decide to just create the
repository or import a template.

It's a good trick since typically what ends up happening is that one thing is
easy so I decide to do another... and another. Before I know it, I'm engrossed
in the task and feeling good about making progress.

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mdkess
I do something similar - discovered before I heard about the pomodoro
technique. What I do is:

1\. Pick a task, and explicitly state my goal. You could write it down, but
the point is just to have a better than high level idea of what you're doing
it, so I just usually say it out loud to myself. For example, "Make the
submission form for the user signup page".

2\. Spend 30 minutes uninterrupted working on this goal - even if I'm stuck,
poke at things, read documentation, do anything to move forward in the task
even if just a little bit.

3\. After the 30 minute mark, keep working on the task until I loose steam -
and not necessarily at the task at hand. Sometimes I'll keep working for
another four hours at this point, other times I'll stop at the 30 minute mark
to regather my thoughts (but never before). Take a break, and then GOTO 1.

I do this with more than just programming - practicing piano, reading,
running, cleaning, etc.

I find that the first 20 minutes of working on things are the hardest, since
I'm still in the mode of formulating a problem, and filtering out information,
distractions, etc. Building focus. So I would take breaks, surf hacker news,
etc. Eventually I would get through that 20 minutes, but it would take a lot
longer than 20 minutes. This forces me to get through that 20 minutes.

As a programmer, it can be hard to separate work from rest time (ie. does a 2
minute hacker news break while unit tests are running count as work, a break,
or is it just wasted time?), and so I am trying to be more clear to myself
about separating the two.

While I've never tried the pomodoro technique, at the surface it strikes me as
too rigid. Some days I can work for hours on end without blinking - so all
that I need is that single catalyst to kick off a day of productive work.
Others, it takes all of my will power to write five lines of code. So I want
something that pushes me to start, but gets out of the way after that.

Does anyone have experience with similar things?

~~~
abraxasz
Slightly unrelated. As part of the Seinfeld method (don't break the chain),
I've been focusing on 4 tasks for 20 minutes every day. Some of them are very
technical (asymptotic theory in statistics), some are more relaxed
(programming Arduino, as a hobby). I have noticed two things:

1) getting "in the zone" takes less and less time. It used to take me most of
my 20 minutes to actually get focused. Now, 3 or 4 minutes suffice.

2) the level of focus I reach is unusually high, especially for technical
subjects.

A final remark is that I realized that you can do a lot of things by spending
only 20 minutes every single day. A lot of things indeed.

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tzs
I don't formally use Pomodoro, but I have adopted the use of the 25 minute
timer for health reasons. It's well known that sitting for extended periods is
not good for you, but I don't want to switch to a standing desk--standing for
long periods is also bad for you.

Best is to use a sitting desk, but to get up every so often and move around:

    
    
       Sit to do computer work. Sit using a height-adjustable,
       downward titling keyboard tray for the best work posture,
       then every 20 minutes stand for 2 minutes AND MOVE. The
       absolute time isn’t critical but about every 20-30 minutes
       take a posture break and move for a couple of minutes.
       Simply standing is insufficient. Movement is important
       to get blood circulation through the muscles. And movement
       is FREE! Research shows that you don’t need to do vigorous
       exercise (e.g. jumping jacks) to get the benefits, just
       walking around is sufficient. So build in a pattern of
       creating greater movement variety in the workplace (e.g.
       walk to a printer, water fountain, stand for a meeting,
       take the stairs, walk around the floor, park a bit further
       away from the building each day).
    

Source:
[http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/CUESitStand.html](http://ergo.human.cornell.edu/CUESitStand.html)

Note how they recommend getting up every 20 to 30 minutes--a perfect fit for a
Pomodoro timer.

I find that the timer doesn't interrupt being in the zone--I can just keep
thinking about what I'm working on while I walk around for a couple minutes,
and the fitness break is essentially no interruption at all. If I'm not in the
zone, then after the break I will do a Pomodoro-like thing and check email and
reevaluate what I should be doing before getting back to work.

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pomodoro
Throwaway since I don't want to out myself as having ADHD.

Pomodoro technique is one of the 3 critical pieces for my actually surviving
life. My current favorite tool for it is

[http://www.marinaratimer.com](http://www.marinaratimer.com)

It's free, it allows you to either use "pure" pomodoro, or in my case when I
started with my coach, we used much shorter pomodoros of 15 minutes to train
myself to get started.

Like many people here, I soon found myself frustrated with the break in flow,
so I often start with a 15 minute pomodoro, then a 25, and then move to 40
minutes. After four pomodoros one takes a 15 min break and that's good for
emails, etc.

During the 5 minute breaks I try not to do anything on the computer. I stand
up, stretch, breathe, write anything down that came up. Look out a window to
rest my eyes. Hit the restroom. (I also keep a pad of paper and a pen handy
for "stray" thoughts that come up while working. )

in short, I highly recommend this method, because if it helps someone with
ADHD, it's got help anyone who's feeling distracted. Don't feel like it has to
be so rigid, adapt it for your cognitive style.

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michaelmcmillan
I started using the Pomodoro technique about two months ago and my
productivity has boosted. An overlooked advantage is that you typically end up
doing other productive tasks in your 5-minute break. Personally I often find
myself cleaning, making my bed, taking out trash etc.

One of the top comments implied that this technique is primarily for those who
procrastinate. This is not necessarily true, at least not in my case. There
are studies (apologize for the lack of sources, on the bus) that show that
your brain - although it may not feel like it - stagnates in regards to
concentration after 25-35 minutes.

This technique can therefore force you to split up your work into intervals
causing your brain to rest. To me this has proven to be very effective,
especially during programming. You will be surprised how quickly you return to
the "the-zone".

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spalmrich
To me this is most useful when you're doing something that doesn't take any
thought or creativity. I use it for rote tasks that I don't want to do and
find myself having trouble concentrating on. In general, I agree with the just
wanting to get in the zone and not being confined to a timer, but when getting
those awful tasks out of the way I do like this method.

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incision
I developed something very close to this for myself a while back and happened
on pomodoro when searching for an interval timer.

The two most important things I get from these techniques is "tricking" myself
into starting unappealing work by considering that "it's only 30 minutes" and
regular break reminders.

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gotofritz
I found that for programming 25 mins is just too short... that's just when I
hit "the zone". I switched to 38 mins / 7 mins, and it seems to work quite
nicely.

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denishennessy
Of course, there's an app for that -
[http://focustimeapp.com](http://focustimeapp.com)

(disclaimer: I wrote the app)

~~~
tomgruner
I actually use and enjoy this app... I use the breaks every 25 minutes to do
some jumping jacks and stretching - trying to avoid the detrimental health
impact of the "sitting is the new smoking" issue that happens when you sit
down to long. Or I will change from standing to sitting postures for each
pomodoro. "Scared straight out of your chair? Good. Because the remedy is as
simple as standing up and taking activity breaks. Stuart McGill, Ph.D.,
director of the Spine Biomechanics Laboratory at the University of Waterloo
says that interrupting your sedentary time as often as possible and making
frequent posture changes is important. "Even breaks as short as one minute can
improve your health," he says." \-
[http://www.runnersworld.com/health/sitting-is-the-new-
smokin...](http://www.runnersworld.com/health/sitting-is-the-new-smoking-even-
for-runners) Nice app!

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bestest
I prefer bananas.

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danso
This is a pretty good way to stay on task...I find it has another effect on
me...I'm pretty good at working on things for a long period of time. The
problem is, I end up taking way longer than I should be...maybe
writing/perfecting more tests when I should be moving on to more
functionality. I use this technique to help instill mini-deadlines on myself,
as well as keeping me from doing random surfing/unrelated tasks during the
timed block.

The app that I recommend for this is Ambience, which exists on ios and Android
for 99 cents. You have access to a huge number of ambient sounds, from
standard white/brown/blue noise to audio recorded in random coffee shops, even
subway stations around the world. You can also mix sounds and create playlists
and there's a handy timer:

[http://ambianceapp.com/](http://ambianceapp.com/)

Best 99 cent purchase I've ever made, and probably the main use of my
smartphone besides photos and talking.

