Pomodoro Technique: The Good, the Bad, and the Breaks

What I Tried:

• 25 minutes of focused work, followed by a 5-minute break.
• After four rounds, a longer break of 15-20 minutes.

What Worked Well:

• A Mental Game-Changer: Setting a timer for just 25 minutes helped me trick my brain into focusing. I’d tell myself, “I can do anything for 25 minutes,” and that sense of a short-term sprint often got me started on tasks I was dreading—like responding to a flood of emails or digging into a dense psychology reading.
• Frequent Breaks: Knowing a break was around the corner kept me from hitting that mental fatigue wall too early in the day.

Where I Struggled:

• Interruptions: Being a parent means I’m often at the mercy of a baby’s schedule. Other times, even the timer couldn't get me to focus properly with work calls, urgent matters coming up. It got frustrating to rely on strict intervals when life and work, inevitably, interrupts.
• Over-Reliance on the Timer: Sometimes I found myself checking how many minutes remained on the Pomodoro timer rather than staying truly immersed in my work. It was a small distraction that added up.

My Takeaway:
The Pomodoro Technique is a great starter if you need a quick, structured way to dive into tasks. For me, it’s not a one-size-fits-all solution, but I use it on days when I’m struggling to focus or procrastinating.