Like most writers – and most people – I have a dedicated staff of – you guessed it – one (namely Me).
That is why I am grateful to people like Francesco Cirillo, the inventor of the Pomodoro Technique. Wikipedia details the “how to’s” of the technique in a concise manner. The University of California, San Diego has kindly posted a detailed guide created by Mr. Cirillo. (Click on the image at left to access the guide in pdf format.)
But the technique is simplicity itself:
- Get hold of a kitchen timer – the old-school kind that makes an audible tick-tick-tick sound. (Mr. Cirillo used a timer shaped like a tomato – which is why the Italian word for tomato, pomodoro, is used for the technique.)
- Define a specific task you wish to accomplish.
- Wind the timer to 25 minutes.
- Work on the task at hand for 25 minutes. (While the timer is ticking: no Internet browsing; no email or text message checking. In fact, turn your phone to mute. Do, however, keep a piece of paper and a pencil handy to note down “to do’s” that come to mind while you’re working at the task at hand.) When the timer rings, you’ve “completed one Pomodoro.”
- Take a 5-minute break.
- Repeat 3 more times. After you complete your fourth “Pomodoro,” take a longer (15- to 20-minute break).
Productive writers work to schedules. For me, it has sometimes been a struggle to stick to a schedule. Discovering the Pomodoro Technique was a real breakthrough. I hope by sharing this, others also will find it helpful.
Image: Peterhof Palace Garden by Leon Yaakov via Flickr