Time Management by Pomodoro Technique

The hard truth is that time waits for no one. If you want to accomplish more, you should learn to keep up with the time. No amount of time management books and training sessions can make you perform better unless you set your mind to it. It’s not enough to collect the best time management practices and approaches until you recognize your flaws. 

Today I am going to discuss a very special technique of Time management that aims to provide a person with maximum focus and creative freshness, thereby allowing them to complete projects faster and with less mental fatigue. I believe this will help you a great deal in your life.

To all who are joining today for the first time,

Hi, I am Kapeel Gupta, founder of study abroad academy. I am on a mission to coach and mentor 100,000 high school students and help them realize their dream of studying in the best universities of the world and build happy careers for themselves.

Today I am going to introduce you to a very powerful time management technique – The Pomodoro Technique that will help you manage your time efficiently.

I believe everyone wishes to solve this problem of time management but aren’t able to do it. Some of the common mistakes they do are:

• They try to be a perfectionist: There is nothing wrong in being a perfectionist but to produce high-quality work they lose track of time. This often causes stress, burnout and anxiety that impair their performance. Many times, it might not be wrong to be comfortable with imperfection too.
• Not able to concentrate and remain focused: Most of us at least once experienced this state when you read a paragraph of text over and over and can’t get a grip on what it says. Its because our mind is wandering and we are unable to concentrate.
• Not able to schedule their tasks effectively: This is a very important task. You cannot manage your time and focus if you prioritize the wrong things and invest time into the wrong goals.
• Not able to Track Time: Time management isn’t possible without learning to track time. It might sound difficult but once you implement it into your routine, it will reveal unexpected trends and insights.
• Not able to Cope with Stress: Stress management and time management often go hand in hand. If you wait until the last minute to complete your task at hand, fail to plan ahead and prioritize, then you will more likely feel stressed.
• Being Bad at estimating Time: Most of us tend to underestimate how long projects and tasks will take us to finish. This phenomenon is called planning fallacy 
• Not Managing Distractions: By distractions, we mean emails, notifications, social media, paper clutter, and there are thousands of articles on the internet on how to manage these. But in reality, on top of this, we are distracted from important work by other lower-priority work. It happened to all of us: 

The above points were difficult to manage even for me. I am the sort of person who would sit for hours in front of the computer. I used to measure my productivity by the number of hours spent on my laptop instead of the tasks completed. I believe many of you also do that. Talking about students, they would often say to parents: I have already studied for like 10 hours in a day including school time, tuition time. Can’t do more. The Truth is results aren’t there to show even for them.

But after hearing so much about the Pomodoro Technique from friends. And then there is a friend of mine Venicia Creado, a Mid Career Consultant. She also informed me about it. I decided to give it a try.

The process is simple:

Step 1: Choose a single task you will focus on and write it down.

Step 2: Set the timer to 25 minutes. Each 25-minute work period is called a “Pomodoro”. If you’re wondering what Pomodoro means, it is an Italian word used for tomato. Francesco Cirillo named this method Pomodoro because he used a kitchen timer shaped like a tomato as his personal Pomodoro timer.

Step 3: Work on the task until the timer rings and put a checkmark on your paper.

Step 4: Take a short 5 minute break.

Step 5: Work for another 25 minutes.

After 3-4 work periods of 25 minutes, take a longer 20-30 minute break.

There are many benefits of the Pomodoro Method.

1. Set Time for Distractions

2. Limits Open-Ended Work

3. Turns Work Into a Game. Thanks to the Timer.

4. Helps You Move Away from Procrastination

Quick Tips for Using the Pomodoro Technique

1. Invest in a Timer

You’ll need an app or a timer for the Pomodoro technique to work. The timer on your phone is also a great tool. You need to:

2. Choose your tasks for the day: Select a task that needs to be completed in a day or a project on which you need to progress.

Work till the timer alerts you: If you are not used to this method, you’ll have a strong urge to check your phone, chat with a friend or reply to emails before the timer alerts you. Do not fall into this trap. Keep working until you get alerted.

3. Enjoy your break: Even if you have gotten into a state of flow, it’s time to get up and enjoy your break. That will help you reduce stress and make you feel fresh.

4 Have a Clear Plan

Before you start working, you must take at least fifteen minutes to plan your sessions or Pomodoros. Prepare a to-do list and record the number of Pomodoros that every task will take.

 If you work eight hours or more every day, you should ensure that you don’t exceed sixteen Pomodoros a day. In case this happens, consider postponing the less important tasks.

5.   Extend or Reduce the Length of Your Pomodoros

Some types of work will require you to work for extended periods to get things done. Activities such as writing, coding, or composing will require you to be in the state of flow to get good results. In the state of flow, 25 minutes can be too short. Therefore, extending your sessions together with breaks can increase your level of effectiveness.

If you are feeling tired or experiencing mental resistance, you should consider reducing your sessions to fifteen or even ten minutes. You should adjust the intervals based on your energy level, the number of tasks that need to get done, and the type of work.

Like we say there cannot be one solution to all problems so its not necessary that this technique can also solve everyone’s problems. But I am sure its worth giving a try.