Francesco Cirillo developed the Pomodoro Technique when he was in college and overwhelmed with the amount of work he had to get done. The thought of it paralyzed him until he broke down the tasks and gave himself a time limit. The short time limit took away the temptation to procrastinate and reduced distractions.
Cirillo suggests 25 minutes but you can experiment to find the length of time that works best for you. The breaks help keep you from getting stressed out and over-fatigued. Using this technique also helps you track the amount of time you’re spending on each task, so you can get a better sense of how you're using your time.
The Pomodoro Technique (named for the tomato-shaped kitchen timer Cirillo used in college.)
- Make a list of things you want to accomplish.
- Pick one task, set a timer for 25 minutes, and focus on only that task for that time.
- When the timer sounds, put a checkmark by the task you were working on, and take a 5-minute break.
- Repeat.
- After the fourth time, take a longer break, 15-30 minutes.
Here's a vid with more details and suggestions: