Get free: how to manage your time with the help of "Tomato" technology

We continue to acquaint you with the translations of the articles by Chris Bailey, which he wrote as his project a Year of Productivity developed - they are available in our blog in the “ personal productivity ” section. Today we will share the translation of the article “Become free: how to manage your time with the help of the“ Tomato ”technology” - the author told about a very simple time management technique.



So we give the word to Chris!

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



"Tomato" is a simple time management technique that breaks your time into segments. You work 25 minutes, after which you take a 5-minute break to throw a wash or drink water, and then start working again 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 diagram 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 complicated things from your list for a series of 25-minute periods of time. This means that you do not need to postpone those things that you do not know how to proceed (at least in my case).



Why the tomato technique gives an excellent result:

• She 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 progress adds you the determination to start solving the problem, and you also know that there will be a short break. The subconscious mind begins to associate attention with these periods of time, which further increases concentration during work and relaxation during a break.
• It structures the execution of those tasks for which you can not determine the required time.

This excellent time management technique can be easily integrated into your workflow. First , make a simple list of tasks you must complete. Secondly , set your timer to the required time intervals and try to eliminate distracting factors from work as much as possible. Thirdly , after the completion of each cycle, tick off the task to which you have dedicated this cycle.





Next steps:

• Take the kitchen timer "tomato" 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 several tasks and follow them, 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 “10 lessons I learned after I started using my smartphone 60 minutes a day” that caused a lot of controversy.