Elevate Your Workflow - Pomodoro Style

Autodesk 2024 is just around the corner, and many of us are trying to finish tasks before attending the conference.

If you travel for conferences, you may notice that time flies by. There is not enough time to do it all. Additionally, you may find yourself trying to hit deadlines before, during, and right after traveling. Travel and a change of environment can inadvertently create distraction and procrastination because of the time management challenges that arise.

We’re here today to introduce an approach for maximizing your time during conferences and while working on tasks back at the office.?

Time Management

Time management techniques come in many flavors to suit different needs and workflows. Tactics can range from fully AI assisted calendar workflows, to digital task management apps, to an old school notepad. Today we’re talking about a time management technique that can be done digitally or via analog means.

Pomodoro? Technique

Developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, the Pomodoro? Technique is a time management technique that involves setting intentional and focused sessions, usually twenty-five minutes in length and followed by short breaks. Each session is called a “Pomodoro” (Cirillo, What is the Pomodoro? Technique).

How did it get that name?

When the technique was first developed, Cirillo used a simple tomato shaped kitchen timer to track the sessions. Pomodoro is Italian for tomato. Cirillo determined that twenty-five minutes of work followed by a 2–5-minute break was ideal after several tests (Cirillo, What is the Pomodoro? Technique).

A Typical Process

The general concept involves choosing a task, setting the timer, working until the timer buzzes, and tracking how many “Pomodoros” were completed for that task (Cirillo, What is the Pomodoro? Technique).

More information about the how and why behind this is available on the Pomodoro? Technique website.

What About Modifications?

Some people might insist on twenty-five-minute sessions, but that doesn’t mean you have to. This article is currently being written alongside a timer that has been running for about twenty-nine minutes now. The key to any time management technique is to be clear on what time you have and what time you can accomplish something. If you have fifteen minutes before an appointment, you can set a sense of urgency to complete or make decent progress on a particular right-sized task in those fifteen minutes. The sense of urgency from a timer can help prevent procrastination in that time period.

Now, what about accounting for different workflows? If long hours and intensive tasks are part of your workflow, maybe exactly twenty-five-minute Pomodoro sessions would not work for you. In that case, perhaps working under a similar structure for fifty minutes would be better. If multiple priorities are typical in your workday, and you aren’t sure where to start first, perhaps you can get even more granular with the technique and time the tasks to less than twenty-five minutes.?

Logistics

Now, you might be thinking that this sounds nice but would not be practical with so much interaction with a timer. Read on further to see how it’s easier to implement than you think.

The Pomodoro? style timer sitting in front of the keyboard right now is a rotating gravity-controlled timer with preset five, twenty-five, ten, and fifty minutes on it. It has features to vibrate or make a sound when the timer is finished. To set, pause, or reset the timer, all it takes is to simply rotate it on a surface. Gravity takes care of the rest. There are also other custom options available to suit even more times beyond the preset.

This particular timer has USB C charging capabilities and is selling at the time of this writing for about $15 on Amazon. There are many affordable options around the same price.

Additionally, there are apps such as the digital Pomodoro? timer and Pomofocus out there that offer a completely digital alternative. This method hasn’t been tested personally, but it is worth noting for those who like a completely digital workflow.

Build a System

If you want to plan exactly what you want to work on and when, there are multiple options out there to support a Pomodoro? technique workflow.

For analog options, time-blocking capabilities are available in planners such as the BestSelf planner. This planner is a best seller and a personal favorite for business and personal use. One of the highlights is that it has both full week and daily spreads paired with time blocks. Time block spreads show all hours of a typical working day with lines extending from the hours. The hour time blocks range from 6:00am to 9:00 pm. (BestSelf Planner - undated 2024 - 2025 planner). Additionally, there are other planners and time block spreads out there that can go a full 24 hours with time blocks. Planners like this provide the space to draw boxes around the hour time-blocks you’d like to allocate to certain tasks.

From there, you can use a Pomodoro? timer to stick to the plan.

Digital workflows with time-blocking also exist in apps such as Motion. While not tested personally, this looks like a solution for those who may need to move around priorities often. The moving plans paired with a Pomodoro? timer could help you stay productive with whatever comes your way.

Conclusion

Now that the Pomodoro? timer on the desk has started buzzing, we’ll be taking a short break.

What do you think? Do you think a Pomodoro? timer style workflow could suit your time management needs?

Cited Sources

AI calendar: Meet Motion’s AI calendar assistant (try for free). AI Calendar | Meet Motion’s AI Calendar Assistant (Try for Free). (n.d.). https://www.usemotion.com/

BestSelf Planner - undated 2024 - 2025 planner. BestSelf Co. (n.d.-b). https://bestself.co/products/self-planner

Cirillo, F. (n.d.-a). Pomodoro? timer - Francesco Cirillo. Pomodoro? Timer - Francesco Cirillo. https://timer.pomodorotechnique.com/

Cirillo, F. (n.d.-b). What is the Pomodoro? Technique. Pomodoro? Technique. https://www.pomodorotechnique.com/what-is-the-pomodoro-technique.php