The Pomodoro method: multi-task solution?

21/10/2019

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If you’re like most of the earthlings, handling your time at work can be puzzle. Moreover, when one is an Office Manager, one has a very long “to do” list, and we tend to move on from one task to another, at rapid fire speed. This multi-task aspect of the profession may have a drawback: by dint of jumping from pillar to post, we have a hard time focusing, due to which one is scattered, without actually knowing where one is headed, nor what one has actually accomplished, at the end of the day. Not to mention the notifications, requests from your boss and many other distractions. Today, we are offering you to discover a very simple technique, to better manage your time and avoid a multi-task burn-out: the Pomodoro technique. One should learn it at school!

What is the Pomodoro method?

The Pomodoro method isn’t a new miracle diet or an ointment against dry skin. It’s a time management method, invented by a certain Francesco Cirillo during the 80’s. Why Pomodoro? Because it means Tomato in Italian and our dear Francesco used a timer in the form of a tomato, when he developed this technique. The concept of the Pomodoro method is simple:

In your endless “to-do” list, choose a task on which you’ll be working right now.
Set a timer (or an app, even end of an article) for 25 minutes.
Work for 25 minutes on a chosen task and ONLY on this one. Avoid all distraction and don’t multi-task!
After 25 minutes of working, take a mini break of 5 minutes. Go stretch your legs, have a coffee, try to score some of your colleague’s muffins. But most of all, respect this breaktime!
Begin a cycle of 25 minutes once again, on the same task if it isn’t finished, or another one if you’re done with it.
Take a longer break of 15/20 minutes, after every 4th cycle and beat the hell out of your colleagues at foosball. Once again, you must respect this break!

All this is very easy, but very efficient too. You’ll see

Why use this method ?

Reduce distractions and get a grip on your time

With the Pomodoro method, you can get a grip on your time. If you’re interrupted by a colleague in the middle of a cycle, and it’s not EXTREMELY URGENT, tell the latter that you’re in the middle of the Pomodoro cycle (of course, there is a risk this person’s eyes might pop out, but ignore this detail) and get back to this person once the cycle is over.

If you come across other sources of distraction, like mails or a message on Slack, jot down the reminder quickly on a post-it and get back to it later.

You know exactly what you’re doing

Your boss asks you at the end of the day about what you did, and you’ve done so many things that you don’t know where to begin? The solution: at the end of each Pomodoro cycle, jot down what you’ve accomplished during this cycle. This way, you can give a complete report about what you did to your boss, who believes in micro-management and shuts his pie-hole. But mostly, you’ll have the impression of the work you’ve accomplished through a real vision on your working day, at the end of all this.

Improve your planning capacities

By dint of working via a 25-minute cycle, it’ll be easier for you to estimate the time you devoted to every task. Therefore, it’ll be easier to plan out your projects in the future and say no when one asks you to finish a task by sticking to a crazy deadline.

Fight against fatigue and backache

A key role which needs to be respected with the Pomodoro method: respect your break time. When you take these breaks, you get up from your chair, get your blood circulating in your little legs and fight against backache, by not sitting for hours at a time. Moreover, giving yourself little breaks makes you think about other things, air out your mind, feel physically and mentally better and fight against a burnout.

Maintain motivation

The Pomodoro method makes work more fun, it almost makes it a game to finish a given task, before the end of a cycle and the alarm goes off. This excitement triggers motivation and one works faster, in a more productive manner!