Do you have a habit of delaying tasks until the last minute? While it can boost productivity for some people, postponing tasks isn’t the best option. That’s because when you rush things, it’s not always easy to work to your full potential. As a result, you’ll often struggle to get good results and will wish you didn’t waste so much time.
Looking for solutions to overcome this procrastination habit? Then you can benefit from the Pomodoro technique. In Italian, pomodoro means tomato. But it has nothing to do with food. Rather, you can use the Pomodoro technique for procrastination.
The technique can help you make better use of your time. So, whether you’re a student or a working professional, you can benefit from it to make the best use of your time.
What is Meant by Pomodoro Technique?
Pomodoro is basically a time management technique. Francesco Cirillo proposed this method in the 1980s. He was a student at that time and was looking for ways to better manage his study schedule.
And I’m sure he didn’t want procrastination to tamper with his grades.
So, what he did was to use his tomato-shaped kitchen timer to come up with a solution. And this is why he named it after the Italian word for tomato!
The technique involves multiple sessions of 25 minutes with short breaks. Here’s a visual representation of this approach:
You divide your time for study or work into optimal intervals of 25 minutes. This period is enough to get a chunk of work done without getting tired. And Cirillo tried and tested several interval periods to find the most suitable interval for study sessions.
Then after every 25 minutes, take a short break of 5 minutes to relax and rest.
Once you finish 4 consecutive sessions, take a longer break of 15-30 minutes. During this time, you can recharge your energy by snacking, doing light exercise, or even having a meal.
Understanding Procrastination
Picture this.
You have a deadline to deliver a project in the next 2 days. But you find it more interesting to work on a less urgent task that’s due the next week. Or you may be tempted to instead clean your room that’s long been on your to-do list but you usually despise. But now it seems so much more interesting than working on an urgent task.
Ever find yourself in a similar situation? Then giving in to this temptation is called procrastination.
Procrastination is when you delay important due work in favor of less urgent tasks. These tasks may be due later but you find them enjoyable when faced with seemingly more challenging tasks.
Sometimes, people confuse procrastination with laziness. But learning about the difference between procrastination and laziness can help you identify the actual problem and find appropriate solutions.
You may want to know how to stop procrastinating right now. But I’d say there’s no single solution to give up procrastination. What you can do is to make better lifestyle choices to deal with this problem. And Pomodoro technique can be a good step to finding your way to a more organized lifestyle.
How to Apply Pomodoro Technique for Procrastination
Begin with choosing tasks for the day. Prioritize important tasks first thing in the day. You may feel the urge to make coffee or check emails when you begin working on it. But remind yourself you have to work for only 25 minutes, and then you can make coffee during the break.
Break Down Large Tasks to Make Them Less Intimidating
Procrastination often arises because you find a task overwhelming. You may fear you lack the knowledge and expertise to do it. But when you actually start working, you may realize the fear was baseless.
So, Pomodoro helps you divide the same task into smaller chunks. This takes away the stress of working on a large, challenging task. And you’re likely to finish these smaller chunks of the task at a quick pace.
Before you know it, you’ve already completed more than half of a big project. Then you can easily progress from there.
Introducing Deadlines
Are you one of those people who can work at their best when the deadline is close? Then the Pomodoro technique can be your best friend.
It introduces deadlines. So, you can focus on your work and produce quality work due to the looming deadline of the timer alerting you about the end of the 25-minute interval.
Challenge Yourself
Do you think a specific task is too difficult for you? And you may not be able to meet expectations even if you work hard on it? Then challenge yourself with the help of the Pomodoro technique for procrastination.
Knowing that you only have to work on the task during pre-defined intervals will motivate you to do your best. This motivation will drive you to perform better than your own expectations. And you can beat procrastination as well.
Avoid Distractions
Distractions tend to make it extra difficult to focus on your work. Also, this causes you to procrastinate on important tasks.
So, you can turn to Pomodoro to keep distractions at bay. With short intervals, you can better concentrate on the tasks at hand and get quality results.
Increase Accountability
Do you know why Pomodoro works for procrastination?
Lower accountability means you are more likely to procrastinate. However, with this technique, you can bring a sense of accountability into play. Knowing that you have a fixed number of hours to complete a project, your performance significantly improves. Further, you may find it easier to manage your pace.
An additional benefit is that you can deliver quality results due to increased attention or focus.
Reduce the Risk of Mental Fatigue
Working for extended periods results in fatigue and mental stress.
The Pomodoro method, however, helps prevent burnout and exhaustion through frequent breaks. It helps you recharge your energy so you can focus and finish due tasks in a timely manner.
How to Adjust Your Pomodori
While the Pomodoro method involves a defined method, you can always modify it to best suit your specific needs.
For instance, you may need longer meal breaks before completing an entire cycle of four pomodori. Or you may be too tired some days to follow the method of 4 pomodori with 5-minute breaks. You can adjust it as per your energy level. After all, you can’t expect to get the best results when you’re hungry or tired.
Some tasks on your to-do list may be shorter than one pomodoro. For example, checking your monthly utility bills, setting an appointment with your physician, and looking for local trade technician recommendations. So, these small tasks of similar nature can go together. This means you can merge them into one pomodoro interval.
Applying the Pomodoro technique can be quite challenging when you need to switch between multiple tasks. That’s because this method wasn’t primarily developed for multitasking. So, you may need to merge multiple tasks within a cycle or customize it to complete those tasks without getting distracted.
So, ready to apply the Pomodoro technique to overcome procrastination? We’d love to hear about your experience!