

"Sure there’s no better way of doing this kind of things?"ĭuring the week, you need to reach several different goals and Time can show up in your mind in the shape of thoughts like: "Sure you’re not forgetting about the things you need to do?" "Wouldn’t it be better to work on another task?" now? With all the things you have to do?"ĭuring the day, you need to complete several tasks and Time can show up in your mind in the shape of thoughts like: "Why don't you start working on that other project"
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"I think it's time to update our Facebook account." While you're working on a task, Time can show up in your mind in the shape of thoughts like: When dealing with Time, there are several situations in which it can appear as a vicious predator. The Pomodoro® Technique is not just the timer! The Pomodoro® timer is for sure the most iconic element of the technique. Is the Pomodoro® Technique just the timer? I decided to use Time, spend it to take a break, favour my mental processes, allow my mind to organize the information it had acquired in the working time and put me in the best situation to start my next Pomodoro." Exactly at the moment when Time appeared to be such a vicious predator to me I managed to stop in front of it, and still and afraid ask this simple question: "How can you, Time, be useful to me now?įor the first time I used time instead of running away from Time. There, on that table in September 1987, I hadn't noticed yet but for the first time I had managed to turn time into an ally. I didn't take too long to realize that, for a number of factors, the ideal unit of work was 25 minutes followed by a 2-5 minute break. I got to one hour, but that was too much. Surprised, I began to ask myself why it had worked? I gradually increased the amount of time when I set the timer. When the timer rang I had won my bet against Time. I wound it up to two minutes and started reading my book. The timer was red and shaped like a Pomodoro (tomato in English). I made a humble bet with myself: 'Can you stay focused for two minutes without distraction?' I went to the kitchen, grabbed a timer and came back to my table. I couldn't keep my mind focused on my book. "I was a student at the university in 1987 and I had to take the sociology exam in September. Why Pomodoro®?įrancesco Cirillo, the creator of the Pomodoro® Technique tells the "Pomodoro Story."
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The Pomodoro® Technique helps our brain recognise and observe those tricky moments and learn how to deal with them efficiently, which is so crucial in order to find functional answers and in the end to reach our goals. Procrastination and low productivity are the effect of the anxiety we feel when we don't know how to deal with the fact that we can't control time.

And, as you may have experienced, these answers generate more frustration, weariness and a sense of guilt.

The answers our frightened mind finds are dysfunctional: “run faster”, “work harder”, ”find a shortcut” "do something else". When our mind realizes that it cannot control time, we get scared and time appears to us as a vicious predator. We can't have as much as we want, neither stop it nor slow it down. This deceptively simple tool transforms both work and home life and make us far more productive. The Pomodoro® Technique is a training programme to learn how to deal with these occurrences in a productive way in order to reach our own objectives.

These kinds of occurrences are common when it comes to reaching goals under the pressure of time. We know we should focus on the task in hand, but it feels impossible with so many distractions and demands on our time. You are not alone! We all face the same problem.
