The Pomodoro Technique - stop procastinating and make deadlines your friend

http://www.tecnicadelpomodoro.it/docs/francesco-cirillo/2007/ThePomodoroTechnique_v1-3.pdf

by qaexl • 18 years ago

21 28 18 years ago

swombat3• 18 years ago

Anyone read it? Is it worth reading? 44 pages is pretty lengthy if it's just the usual masturbatory self-improvement stuff (but I'm willing to believe that it's not, if someone can summarise why it is better than the other stuff)...

inerte• 18 years ago

I've skimmed the first parts. You set a timer and do your stuff, which was planned on the start of the day. Then you think about it and make graphs.

Seems good, but I won't promise that I will fully read it later :p

eru• 18 years ago

Perhaps when you can find the time? ;p

olefoo• 18 years ago

condensed version:

1. use a kitchen timer

2. minimize interruptions

3. work in iterations of 25 minutes with 5 minute breaks

4. change it up sometimes longer or shorter breaks longer or shorter work chunks.

5. plan your day

6. change your plans as needed.

That's pretty much it.

//Pomodoro=tomato //his first kitchen timer was shaped like one.

swombat3• 18 years ago

Ah yes, I tried that for a while. Even wrote an article about it: http://www.inter-sections.net/2008/04/23/de-batching-or-how-...

It works well, but gets boring after a while... I've found it works best when you're drowning under a sea of small tasks.

qaexl5• 18 years ago

There's a few more things worth noting here.

You track your interruptions. It is similar to the "trusted system" in the GTD system. It is also similar to meditative techniques where you let go of extraneous thoughts instead of trying to actively suppress them.

By the way, I've only read the first two chapters which is maybe 10 pages long. I haven't bothered to read the rest of it, though I'll probably add it as a pomodoro. I don't really plan on using it in a team setting and I was itching to get started on stuff after reading it.

As for the kitchen timer, I wrote shell two shell script that tells mplayer to play the Final Fantasy 6 harp theme after 25 minutes using the 'at' daemon.

Tichy2• 18 years ago

I am halfway through it, and I like it.

lief79• 18 years ago

It's not as long as it sounds, as there are a lot of blank pages and images.

creativeembassy• 18 years ago

I may actually try this. I think I'll pick up a timer after work.

metaguri2• 18 years ago

If you have an iPhone, it has a nice timer app built in (not necessarily directed only to you creativeembassy, but to the general, largely iPhone-using HN public)

inovica• 18 years ago

I second that! I use mine all the time

Shamiq2• 18 years ago

I've had the timer randomly quit on me if I switched off the phone, which made me lose confidence in it.

Whatever the bug was may have been fixed, but that doubt stops me from using it exclusively.

gcheong• 18 years ago

My main problem is just getting started on a task, but once I get started I can usually follow through. What do people here do to get over that inertial bump?

Shamiq2• 18 years ago

Make it into a ritualized behavior. A 5 minute routine that says "and now I'm going to make this task my main effort".

qaexl5• 18 years ago

The timeboxing described here works well for me because it makes me just sit there and start. I've noticed doing that with other things. The reasoning is if I have to sit here anyways, might as well work.

Just so you know, I set up my office along pg's suggestions. I had moved off all non-work-related stuff to the desktop computer.

I've also been using Pivotal Tracker. The gig I'm working on had pulled in Hashrocket, and they insisted on it. The stories are chunked down to easy bite sizes, so I've been able to crank it out.

The real test though will be doing this for the non-consulting projects, where the payoff is going to be far far away...

GHFigs• 18 years ago

1. Shock yourself out of the inertia of the previous context by removing yourself from it quickly and decisively as soon as you realize it's time to get to work. Devote a few minutes to something as far removed as possible for the explicit purpose of clearing your head of what you've been doing. Do not delay. Leave things unfinished: if it is not as important as the task you're switching to, then by definition it can wait.

2. Start with the smallest, simplest, most self-evident and well-defined part of the larger task that you can think of. Reduce every task until you find something you can do right this minute without having to think more than a few minutes ahead, and repeat. Make reversible decisions by guesses or random selection if necessary to keep moving forward. Resist the urge to prematurely optimize by batching, list-making, or prioritizing until your attention is fully on the new task.

edw519• 18 years ago

This sort of thing seems to work well when you have a lot of well defined work to do.

But what do you do if your work is not well defined or clear cut? Sometimes slowing down, taking a step back, looking at the big picture, and thinking outside the box produces much less work with much more impact. Then you don't need your timer nearly as much.

kristiandupont• 18 years ago

I have been using the technique for a couple of months now. I love it and I would say that for me, it works for both kinds of work. I know it sounds silly, but it has come to a point where the ticking sound is my work-mode reminder which helps me stay focused. Also, I have started competing with myself to see how many pomodoros a day I can do.

qaexl5• 18 years ago

I've been using a timer on the computer. I think a ticker might drive me nuts, but I get what you mean by the ticking sound.

I've been using something similar for my meditative practice, only I use incense. I sit there until the entire stick burns off. What ends up happening is that I subconsciously associate the meditative state with the smell of sandalwood incense.

Tichy2• 18 years ago

I guess you could assign pomodoros to "taking a step back and looking at the big picture"?

kolya3• 18 years ago

I've been using this trick when dealing with boring tasks, to prevent my mind from wandering. If you are on a Mac, this widget can crack the whip on you by chiming at regular intervals: http://www.apple.com/downloads/dashboard/status/prodme.html

Of course, the preferable solution is to find a job where your tasks aren't boring.

sethg• 18 years ago

I like the general idea, although if I had a kitchen timer ticking on my physical desktop and going off every 25 minutes, my officemates would beat me senseless, which could have some impact on my productivity.

RK• 18 years ago

I can recommend getting timer-applet if you're running Gnome.

0112358• 18 years ago

I read the whole article. It is designed for certain types of task, and it is not appropriate to others. For example, sometimes my tasks involve, "travel to the city and speak with Joe." "Travel to the city" takes 40 minutes. It should not be split into two work units with a break in between. Further, "speak with Joe" would not be splittable. How am I going to say, "Joe, when the timer rings, we are going to get up and not talk to one another for 5 minutes."

However, for desk-work it might help me. I have to stop every 20 minutes and take a 5 minute break anyway due to RSI. Using this interval as an atomic unit for task completion, recording, and estimation may be useful.

qaexl5• 18 years ago

http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/magazine/17-01/mf_sel...

"Diary of a Self-Help Dropout: Flirting With the 4-Hour Workweek"

The Pomodoro Technique - stop procastinating and make deadlines your friend

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