Exploring Popular Focus Techniques: Pomodoro

The term “hack” has been used commonly in relation to productivity, gaming, cooking and a whole host of other activities. But, to be perfectly honest we’re not fans because do it right or don’t do it at all in our book. However the Pomodoro technique is a great productivity hack!

With the help of the Pomodoro time management technique, people are encouraged to work with their available time rather than against it. You divide your workday into 25-minute periods and five-minute breaks using this technique. Pomodoros are the name for these breaks. You take a lengthier pause of roughly 15 to 20 minutes after four Pomodoros.

The brilliance of the technique stems from the sense of urgency it instills in you. Instead of dawdling through the day touching on many tasks but not making much progress, this focus method pushes you to get tasks done ASAP as you only have 25 minutes on any given task. The breaks also alleviate the stressed, exhausted sensation that most of us have towards the end of the day. It's possible to lose track of the hours spent in front of the computer for extended periods of time and the timer makes it so that you remember to take a break.

There are even apps you can use if you don’t want to keep track of the time yourself as you may be distracted with work, for android you can try Pomodoro Timer and for IOS try Pomodoro-Focus Timer. If you’re working on your computer and do not want to keep looking at your phone you can use https://pomofocus.io/

Contrary to the popular belief, sitting at your desk for 8 hours straight isn’t being productive, at least not for the majority of people. Breaking up your day and taking frequent breaks seems counterintuitive to the goal here. However as you shall see for yourself the results are quite telling, it is comparable to the lockdown productivity boom we have seen in the past 2 years. Corporations are reporting all time highs in productivity with workers at home, and our reasoning is due to the ability to take a break whenever you feel like it but knowing you still need to accomplish the task by the end of the day, hence imitating the Pomodoro technique to some degree.

The most important aspect of any focus method or technique is that it should work for you, there is no universal answer to being more productive so finding what works for you is key!

We find that having a neat workspace improves productivity and also gives your space a dash of style and color and Nomad Supply Desk Pads have been awesome for us, your environment influences you subconsciously and the Focus Mat helps you get mental clarity as well as making your workspace more comfortable.

Read our other posts to learn more focus techniques to take your productivity to the next level, and don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter for weekly post updates and nuggets of focus wisdom.