Eat That Frog with a Pomodoro
The Pomodoro (Tomato) technique involves setting up a timer for 25 minutes , working constantly on it until the timer ends, take a 2–3 minutes break and then repeat the same cycle for 3–4 times after which you’re allowed a 15–20 minutes break.
This technique is particularly helpful when one wants to cut off a task from their checklist ASAP. I had a similar task, doing my scheduled part of a university assignment.
Now for my experience using this technique for the first time: When I sat down to work on a review paper related to Cancer Treatment using Oncolytic Viruses, with my 25 minutes timer on, I noticed that the time flew by really fast. I wouldn’t have realized this if it were not for the timer.
The first two rounds went quick and I enjoyed them as well. But as the third round progressed and I got deeper into reading the research papers, the time seemed to have slowed down. After the fourth round, I took an approx. 20 minutes break, walking around the house contemplating what I should eat after I’m done, and then went back to complete my scheduled topic for the day.
All in all, it took me around 2:15 hrs. in total. Although these were hectic, but were quite productive as well.
For those who haven’t tried it yet, I 100% recommend it and will In Shaa Allah work on it more in the future as well because I find it to be more productive for getting a task done and that too in a lesser time.
One tip, just make sure you don’t get carried away with distractions while the timer is on. Also, even during the break one should try to close their eyes and relax for a moment or two. I did the same and it helped me regain some energy to start working again. One thing not to be done would be chatting or gossiping on the phone during the break because it can break the temperament of the ongoing task.
