Pomodoros, but #corporate
“Hour by hour resolve firmly to do what comes to hand with dignity, and with humanity, independence, and justice. Allow your mind freedom from all other considerations.
…see how little man needs to master, for his days to flow on in quietness… he has but to observe these few counsels, and the gods will ask nothing more.”
- Marcus Aurelius
When (if you’re anything like me) you sign on to twenty huge cool projects and goals all at once because you can’t bear to miss out on any, it can become incredibly hard to do what we all know, deep down, is the only way: one step at a time.
Recently I’ve looped back on an old and good habit: using Pomodoros to structure my focus during the day. Poms are a tool I learned and loved while writing my Masters. They have got me, and many many others, through some difficult times, so I thought it might be worth sharing what they are (for the uninitiated) and also how they can be easily adapted to a busy workday full of meetings, emails, Teams messages and other interruptions.
Pomodoros: a powerful tool for focus
Named after the inventor’s tomato-shaped kitchen timer, Pomodoros are designed as a structure to achieve full focus in blocks of 25 minutes. That’s just long enough to get a small chunk of satisfying work done - and, conversely, short enough that most of us can force our way through without looking at the phone or needing a loo break. If you’re really in struggletown, you stare at a blank screen for 25 minutes and, surprisingly, words often come out by the end.
The basic structure is simple:
Pick a task - say, write the first paragraph of your novel.
Get a timer and set it for 25 minutes.
Work. Without context switching, cups of tea, phone checks, or just checking Reddit for that one thing.
Take a 5 minute break.
Repeat, taking a longer break after the fourth Pomodoro.
So, it is a two hour block, then a longer break, then another two hour block.
When you have a long and unstructured work day with a big, amorphous task - say, you’re a grad student, or you are indeed getting started on your novel - this system is perfect.
I also find it hugely helpful for blocks of reading. In recent years it’s been wonderful to balance parenting with business and risk courses. My kids could see and understand the moving timer, and the end of the Pom was never far away. Fitting one or two Poms of reading into an evening felt possible in a way that “read and understand chapter 5 on macroeconomics” did not.
But do Poms translate to an office environment?
As good as the concept is, bringing Poms into the workplace has some obvious challenges. A large tomato shaped timer ticking away on the hotdesk would be pretty obnoxious, and there is the very real fact that interruptions happen. Pomodoro purists seek deep focus, and discount emails in particular from Poms, as if they’re a true evil. If you’re trying to write a PhD I completely get it.
But what if your job is email? What if your work is very often made up of complex problems that need to be solved in groups, in chats on- and off-line, in meetings , asynchronously, and by exploring information till it makes sense?
It’s tempting to think, then, that poms aren’t the answer. But with some modifications they work super well.
I think the biggest benefit is clarity and a sense of acheivement in the day. If you often leave the office feeling like you could have done more, a day of Pomodoros is a tangible marker that you gave the day your very best, and it’s time for a run, a long bath, or to switch your focus to family time.
Pomorodos but #corporatelyf
Here’s how I approach Pomodoros at work.
The first question is how many? I typically look to complete 12 in a work day; that’s a total of six focus hours, with random conversations, emails, replying to people on Teams and such in between as needed. Plus, I hope, a lunch break.
Then there are some change to “Pure Pomodoro.
Go subtle with the timer. I like using my sport watch as it has a silent, subtle timer. If your work allows you to download apps, there are tons of dedicated Pomodoro trackers that not only time you, they allow you to plan and track your Poms. Phones are fine of course, I just don’t like involving my phone as it becomes a distraction.
Chunk your work up. At the start of the day I like to make a short list of things I might tackle in one Pom’s worth of time, and I add to it as I go. If you are lost at the start of a project, write two or three things you can do to move it along. Set up a meeting with Jeff. Ask Indira about the history of project X. Several things that aren’t a full Pom long make a satisfying set to batch up in an early session (so much tangible achievement!) Longer issues like “brainstorm how to solve stakeholder disagreement on Project X” need to wait till I’m in more of a flow state. These are the sessions most likely to run over 25 minutes and become deep work, which is great. Always stoked to let that happen. But conversely:
Accept that interruptions are work. If you tie success to getting focus time for a series of perfect 25 minute stretches all day long, gods help you. It’s no more use getting frustrated at people who drop by your desk than it is to get mad at the sun for shining - let’s be real, we all do it. Accept that relationships are forged and problems solved by these drop ins, and therefore: it’s part of the Pom. Was it what you planned to do with the Pom? No. Is it important to make sure the conversation doesn’t roll into 75 minutes of bike talk with Dave? Sure is. But you can switch context in this Pom and return to your task in the next.
Make meetings Poms too. But my rule: only if you really focus for that whole time. Did you half listen, or answer three emails? Not a Pom.
Similarly - emails are Poms. Controversial! I’ll often sprinkle an email-only Pom or two into the day. It’s a good way to smash down on the to-reply pile with intention and focus. And lastly:
The long break may not fit. The original Pomodoro method assumes a lot of control over your day, control you simply may not have. While I fully endorse the need for breaks, for me that is often just structured around what the day offers. I’ll always work in quite a lot of cups of tea, a stretch around the block whenever possible, or as needs must, a supermarket run. Honestly this is fine - grad study or writing is deep focus in a way that the office usually isn’t, and the need for a half hour off after each 2 hours is usually unneccessary, at least in my own experience.
Bonus Poms
At home I’ll often sneak in a 25 minute Pom for things I’m super dreading: cleaning up after the kids! Taxes! Once your mind gets really used to how good it feels to just stick with it for one Pomodoro, it becomes a lot easier to start almost any dreaded task.
And a warning
One last note: if you’re super motivated by ticking things off lists (hi, guilty), be aware of what’s going on the list. Is it really the most important thing you could be doing, or is it just ‘stuff’ that feels like work? It’s still important to pick a priority of the day - I love an Eat The Frog Pomodoro. Ribbit! And good luck!
