I Tried the Pomodoro Technique for a Week - Here’s What Happened

We’ve all experienced it - you sit down to work, determined to be productive, but 25 minutes later you’re reading random articles online or deep in your Instagram feed. The work isn’t getting done and your time seems to just slip away.

I’ve struggled with staying focused while working from home, so when a friend suggested trying the Pomodoro technique, I was intrigued.

The Pomodoro technique has been around for decades and has a huge following among productivity nerds.

The premise is simple - you set a timer for 25 minutes, focus intensely on one task during that time, then take a 5 minute break. After four 25-minute sessions, you take a longer 15-20 minute break. Then repeat.

The structured intervals are meant to maximize your focus and prevent burnout. It forces you to work with purpose in short bursts without getting drained.

I decided to test out this productivity method for one week to see if it could help me get more done. Here’s what happened:

Setting Up My Pomodoro Week

I started by downloading a Pomodoro timer app on my phone. There are tons of free apps and online timers you can use. I opted for one that let me customize the length of the focus and break intervals.

The default for most Pomodoro timers is:

- 25 minutes of focused work

- 5 minute break

- After 4 work intervals, a 15-20 minute break

You can adjust these times as needed to suit your workflow. I tweaked them to:

- 30 minutes of focused work

- 10 minute break

- After 3 work intervals, a 20 minute break

I have a hard time sticking to just 25 minutes, so I gave myself a little more time to get into a groove. And I extended the breaks to 10 minutes because I tend to need more than 5 minutes to refresh.

Now that my timer was ready, I had to start planning what tasks to tackle during the work sprints.

Planning My Pomodoro Sprints

The Pomodoro technique emphasizes working on one single task during those 25-30 minute bursts.

So for this to work, I needed to break up my big projects into specific actionable sub-tasks that I could reasonably complete in one sitting.

For example, instead of “Write blog post” I broke it down into:

- Outline intro & headers

- Write section 1 draft

- Edit section 1

- Find & add images

- Proofread section 1

- Write section 2 draft

Etc.

I took time at the beginning of each workday to identify 2-3 key priorities and map out how I could break them into 25-30 minute Pomodoro tasks.

This planning step was crucial - I needed work that could be advanced in a series of short sprints.

I also tried to estimate how many 25 minute blocks each bigger task would take so I could plan my day accordingly around my Pomodoro schedules.

Kicking Off My First Pomodoro Week

I’ll admit, I was skeptical as I set my timer for the first work sprint on Monday morning. How was I going to focus for a full 30 minutes without getting distracted?

But I was determined to give it a real try, so I silenced my phone, cleared my desk of distractions, opened up the task I had planned for my first sprint, and hit start on my Pomodoro app.

The timer ticked...25 minutes passed surprisingly quickly! When the alarm went off signaling my break, I had made significant progress drafting an introduction for a new blog post.

I checked email and Slack during the 10 minute break, then did a little stretching.

When my break was over, I set another 30-minute sprint, this time scheduling a call with a colleague.

Again, I was able to discuss key agenda items without getting derailed, thanks to the timer keeping us on track.

When my third 30-minute sprint ended, I had crossed three full tasks off my list – I felt super productive! I took my longer 20 minute break then geared up for three more sprints.

The Verdict: My Experience With the Pomodoro Technique

I ended my workday feeling more focused than usual. Starting Tuesday, I kept up the Pomodoro technique and fixed my habit of checking email and Slack constantly. Here’s what I noticed by the end of the week:

**The Good

- Made a significant dent in my to-do list each day

- Removed constant distractions and context switching

- Forced me to estimate and plan task durations more precisely

- Helped me structure my workday around focused deep work intervals

- Felt more productive and motivated as I completed Pomodoro task after task

**The Bad

- Required extra planning and task breakdowns at the start of each day

- Some tasks didn’t fit neatly into 25-30 minute chunks

- Occasionally felt frustrated having to stop when I was in the zone

- Some breaks didn’t feel justified if the sprint was easy

The Verdict

Despite the extra planning required, I'm sold on the Pomodoro technique after testing it for a week. I got way more done during the workday than I normally would have.

Removing the urge to constantly check distracting apps was life-changing - I never realized how much those little task switches were killing my productivity until I took them away.

I plan to keep using the 30/10 structure going forward. Though I may shorten some work sprints or skip breaks when I’m deeply focused on a bigger task.

Overall, if you struggle with distraction, splitting your day into Pomodoro intervals can really help maximize your time. I encourage anyone looking to limit procrastination and boost productivity to give it a try!

Let me know in the comments if you’ve used the Pomodoro technique and what your experience was! I’d love to hear any tips or modifications you recommend.