I’ve been back into the swing of things this week, including back to my full time schedule now that I have largely recovered from the initial accident. In this post, I’ll talk about how I use the pomodoro method and how I structure my day to get a lot done with less time.

What is the pomodoro method? It comes from using a kitchen timer to set deep focus times so that you can do a bit of work, completely focused, without getting distracted. The idea is, whatever you set your pomodoro timer for, that time is sacred for the work task you have set yourself, and you can’t look at anything else. The benefit, though, comes from built-in rest times that come in small doses between pomodoros and in longer ones after a set. For example, I use 25 minute pomodoros, with a 5 minute rest in between. I do 4 of these before I take a longer break of at least 30 minutes. That is really all there is to it. Pomodoros have received some criticism because in this traditional form, some people find it difficult to get into a “flow” state or other deep work states. If that applies to you, you can vary the pomodoro times until you find one that is good. I’ve experimented with a 90 minute one followed by a 30 minute rest, but I found this too long to spend concentrating. Other people I know have tried a 48/12 split, or a 50/10. In short, you can make anything work, as long as you’re following those general principles of deep work followed by short breaks or a rest. My preferred app is Forest, because it is great at getting you to stop picking up your phone. If you exit out of the app while in a pomodoro, a fake tree dies. It sounds dumb but is surprisingly effective at getting me to stop using my phone! The only thing I don’t like is that there is no “timer” sound effect: I like to hear the seconds ticking down to remind me of how little time I have left to do the work, but your mileage may vary on that.

In terms of structuring my day, my goal is to get through 2 sets (8 pomodoros total), for a total of 4 hours worked that day. 4 hours doesn’t sound like much – it is only half of a typical work day of 8 hours after all! But that is not the only part of my day, just the part where I do my deep work. The two other parts that are important to me are composing (or general creative practice) and administration. I set aside an hour each day to compose. This is a minimum hour, and I’m lucky in that I can also use the pomodoros towards composing if it is relevant to the work I’m doing. But if you’re not in a job that requires a creative discipline, try setting aside an hour for that side project you’re working on, or trying something creative to get your juices flowing to start the day (for example, if you have to write a report). Setting aside this hour means I am more likely to do it rather than going “oh yeah, I should compose”. Administration is the other part of the workday. For me, I set that aside at the end of the day, once I’m tired from doing all my deep focus work. Administration is the boring stuff we don’t want to do but need to: answering emails, booking things, updating websites, setting up meetings, and so on. I find it easy to get distracted during the day if I have emails open and see everything come through. By batching it at the end of the work day, I’m doing it all when I’m too tired to focus on anything else in-depth and it also means, because I know that hour exists for me, then I will get to all the emails I need to do.

The structure I’ve been working with so far, then, looks like this:

• 9-10am: Compose
• 10am-12pm: Pomodoro block 1
• 12-1.30pm: lunch (includes the 30 minute rest from pomodoro block 1 and a standard hour lunch)
• 1.30-3.30pm: pomodoro block 2
• 3.30-4pm: rest from above block
• 4-5pm: adminstration

Now, that is 4 hours of deep focus and 2 hours of other work in a day, for a total of 6 hours – not too far from a “full” day of 8 hours, and very close to a 7 hour day. But, crucially, this includes deep work. Lots of studies have come out looking at how much work is actually completed in a full working day, and on average, employees do around 3 hours of work. So suddenly the 6 hours is looking pretty good, at double the average! The reason for this is that without some sense of structure, we are primed to seek distractions in many forms. This structure forces you into periods of deep work with the pomodoros, and even the “rest” times are productive: they refresh you to begin the next set of deep work. I’ve experimented with 12 pomodoros (6 flat out hours) in a day before, and I find by the 3rd set I am so wiped that I am really not focussing as much as I should be. I think this system is a nice balance of 4 deep focus hours bookended by 2 hours of “easier” work.

So if you’re struggling with getting things done, why not try this system and see how it works for you compared to a typical system? Let me know how you go, or any other ideas you may have on this system, in the comments below.