Let me paint a picture: You get up in the morning refreshed and motivated to knock out your work for the day, but after an hour, you begin to fidget and open up new tabs and make lists for other tasks and and AND – all of the sudden four hours have gone by and hardly anything is done. Sound familiar?? If you struggle with staying focused, you are not alone! The Pomodoro Technique described below is a great way to fight procrastination and stay focused!
The Pomodoro Technique
- Step 1: Pick ONE task to work on (Turn off/ put away all distractions)
- Step 2: Set a timer for 25 minutes
- Step 3: Work solely on your task until the timer ends
- Step 4: Once the timer goes off, set the timer for a 5 minute break
- Step 5: Repeat!
After 4 rounds of this (or Pomodoros), give yourself a longer 15-30 break before jumping back into it. Your brain is only able to maintain focus on arduous tasks for a relatively short period of time, so using this technique capitalizes on your inherent windows of focusing power. The Pomodoro technique can be used for more than just work tasks too; this structure of 25 minutes on, 5 minutes off can be applied to all sorts of tasks throughout your day like cleaning, reading, or even social media use. I personally us this technique almost everyday for work and studying and it has helped so much with my productivity! Also, a pro tip from me to you: add some movement into your 5 minute breaks to make your body feel good while resetting your brain before your next Pomodoro!
If you struggle with procrastination and lack of focus, give the Pomodoro technique a try!
Written by GUADS Staff member Kate with contributions from www.todoist.com
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