The Pomodoro Technique

First of all, you may be asking yourself, “Pomo-what?” Believe me. I had the same reaction the first time I heard about it.

The Pomodoro Technique is actually a pretty nifty focus tool, and I myself have used it with great success in my studies. You set a timer for a set interval of time, generally 25 minutes. You work on your projects. Once the timer is up, take a short break. Generally about 3-5 minutes long. Then you set the timer for 25 minutes and start over again.

How does it work? I think we’ve all struggled with distractions in today’s world. It’s easy to get sucked into an Internet wormhole when you have a fully-functioning computer in your pocket at all times. We may sometimes find ourselves working for hours and hours straight, yet it seems we’re hardly getting anything done. However, when you get down to it, we tend to get distracted and waste nearly half of that time, generally on our phones. The Pomodoro technique is a great solution to this common problem.

The Pomodoro Technique works by, for lack of a better word, forcing you to work during those 25 minutes. But, with the incentive of a 5 minute break at the end of that chunk of time, it makes it easy to work through. Not only this, but now you won’t have to feel guilty about looking at pictures of cute cats while you’re supposed to be working.

Here’s a fun fact: Pomodoro is actually the Italian word for tomato. The technique got its name from its creator, Francesco Cirillo, who first developed the technique as a college student in the late 80’s. What does a tomato have to do with this? He used a kitchen timer in the shape of a tomato.

Funny enough, things haven’t changed much in the past 30+ years. Most people today set their timers with an Apple. 

By Danny Holland - Danny is a senior public relations and advertising major and the Communications Intern for the Division of Student Affairs at The University of Southern Mississippi.