Fancy a Time Management method?

Try this out for size…

Do you ever feel like you have too many tasks and not enough time? Or that you are never removing the thing you want to from your To Do list?!

Over the years I have answered “Yes! That’s me!” to the above, but now when I feel like that I try to use the Pomodoro Technique - I’ll explain what this and how I stumbled across it in a minute - but it started with me thinking what was that thing my Mum used to do?! And I remember as a child that she’d set the timer on the oven clock for 20 minutes when she wanted to do a power tidy of the house – and it worked, she would literally fly round the house tackling all the key parts to making it tidy (with zero distractions allowed) but when the timer stopped so did she. And then we would play or head out, or do whatever was the fun for the day.

It set me thinking about what could I set a timer for and how long was the optimum time – that’s how I stumbled across the Pomodoro Technique. The idea behind it is to improve focus and productivity, and it is fab for tackling To Do lists.

What it is & How it works:

• Pick 1 task and set a timer for 25 minutes (each 25 min is called a “Pomodoro”)

  • Each Pomodoro is dedicated to 1 task

  • No other distractions are allowed (put your phone on Do Not Disturb) - if something pops into your head, write it down on a piece of paper and carry on with the specific task in hand

• When the timer pings, take a 5 minute break: grab a coffee, step in the garden for air, check texts/emails etc.

  • Each break is a chance to reset and bring your attention back to what you should be working on

• Back to your next Pomodoro timer

• Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break of 30 minutes

The timer instils a sense of urgency and takes away unwanted and unnecessary distractions, it literally requires you to puts blinkers on - and the breaks stop that frazzled feeling and you hitting any mental roadblocks. 

The Pomodoro technique is approachable because it is more about consistency than perfection – which is what I love about it.

When looking at To Do lists now, I estimate how many Pomodoros for each task – or as I actually prefer to do, decide how many it will take. Limit yourself to that number. Decide what timeframe of zero distractions is enough for that task.

It works for me, it’s not for everyone - so give it a go and see if it works for you.  Even if it’s just used on certain days or for certain tasks – clearly not for all day meetings etc!

Full disclosure: this blog post was written in 1 Pomodoro while the Spaghetti Bolognese was cooking in the kitchen. (Pomodoro is Italian for tomato so the perfect fit I thought!) And it took 1 more Pomodoro to publish on here.