Be free: how to manage your time using the Tomato technique

We continue to acquaint you with translations of Chris Bailey's articles that he wrote as he developed his project a Year of Productivity - they are available on our blog in the “ personal productivity ” section. Today we will share the translation of the article “Become Free: How to Manage Your Time Using the Tomato Technique” - in it the author spoke about a very simple time management technique.

So, give the floor to Chris!

About 30 seconds ago, I went into the productivity folder on my iPhone and opened the Focus Time application, which works with the amazingly simple tomato management time technique. Now the timer has started counting down 25 minutes, and when it reaches zero, I will take a 5-minute break, and then I will go back to work and so on until I write this post.

Tomato is a simple time management technique that breaks your time into pieces. You work for 25 minutes, after which you take a 5-minute break to throw a wash or drink water, and then get back to work for the next 25 minutes, and so four times. The fourth break will be 15 minutes or more. If this sounds complicated, then look at the chart below.



The main advantage of the “tomato” technique (named after the kitchen timer in the picture above) is that it allows you to do unpleasant and difficult things from your list in a series of 25-minute periods. This means that you do not need to put off those things that you do not know how to proceed (at least in my case).

Why the tomato technique gives an excellent result:

• It allows you to concentrate on work.
• It makes you sit at work for 25 minutes, no matter what, and this is quite difficult with a large number of distractions.
• She plays with your subconscious. When you have a timer, its course adds to your determination to begin solving the problem, and you also know that there will be a short break. The subconscious mind begins to associate attention with these time intervals, which further increases concentration during work and relaxation during the break.
• It structures the execution of those tasks for which you cannot determine the necessary time.

This great time management technique can be easily integrated into your workflow. First , make a simple to-do list. Secondly , set your timer for the necessary periods of time and try to exclude factors distracting from work as much as possible. Third , after completing each cycle, check the box next to the task to which you dedicated this cycle.


Next steps:

• Take the tomato kitchen timer or download the app:
• For Iphone: Focus Time (for $ 4.99 - I use it).
• For Android: Pomodoro Timer Lite (free) or Pomodoro Timer Pro ($ 1.99).
• Try the technique tomorrow. Write down a few cases and complete them by following these instructions. You will be surprised at how effective it is.

PS from the translation editor: if you are interested in reading other articles by the author, we highly recommend the controversial "10 lessons that I learned after I started using the smartphone 60 minutes a day . "