Why the pomodoro technique is ketchup (and what you should do instead)
Deep work trumps the Pomodoro Technique
Look I’m not ashamed to admit…I was wrong. When I was first recovering from Burnout I shouted about the Pomodoro Technique from the rooftops. I thought it was the road to productivity Damascus. A few months down the line I realised…it’s not everything it’s cracked up to be.
These days I prefer scheduling deep work sessions and getting into a hyperfocus state and an hour is a much better time block to enable this.
Let me explain.
What is the Pomodoro Technique?
Named after the kitchen timer, the pomodoro technique encourages you to work for 25 mins, take a 5 min break, repeat four times after which you take a longer break. Sounds great right? Hmm.
Is it all bad?
Nope! The Pomodoro Technique has some role in your productivity ecosystem.
I first came to it when I was recovering from Burnout and couldn’t face sitting down for an hour to work. My attention span was shorter than ever and motivation at an all time low.
The Pomodoro Technique is handy if you’re struggling to get started. It’s much easier to tell yourself you’re just going to work for this 25 mins than face a whole hour of deep work. If you’re procrastinating on getting started, definitely give the Pomodoro Technique a whirl.
It’s also handy for admin tasks. Let’s be honest, replying to emails, filling in forms, doing weekly reports don’t really need deep work sessions. They’re a necessary evil but we tend to put them off even though they’re not onerous tasks.
Pomodoro is great to boss through admin tasks in 25 mins flat, freeing you for the deep work you prefer.
Rotten tomatoes
Here’s why I now only use Pomodoro in 10% of my productivity ecosystem:
1. Just as you get in the flow, the timer goes off
I find that once I’ve started something, I get into the flow and the creative brain juices start flowing. Just as I’m really getting into max productivity, the timer goes off and it’s time for a ‘break’.
I definitely did some work using Pomodoro, but it wasn’t my best work. I couldn’t stay in the flow long enough to do what Cal Newport terms ‘deep work’ which is where our best results come from.
2. The breaks weren’t really breaks.
Trying to stop a thought mid-flow is like trying to stop a wee mid-stream. It’s very hard (try it if you don’t believe me).
Even though you’re trying to take the break, you’re not really ready for it, so thoughts of what you were just working on seep in. I ended up feeling like I hadn’t switched off during the break. However, my flow had been interrupted so in the next 25 mins block I ‘wasted’ about 10 mins re-entering the flow.
I started feeling that I was wasting 15 mins in every 65 min.
These two factors ultimately led me to park the Pomodoro Technique in favour of deep work and hyperfocus.By blocking time each day for deep work, I flex the work blocks to suit my energy and what I want to accomplish.
I believe our best work is done when we get hyperfocus and get into deep work for as long as our brains can sustain it and then take an extended break. The depth of focus and creativity this unleashes turbo charges your productivity. Pomodoro Technique can help you get started but make that timer a silent one because when you hit your stride, let it ride!
