Copyright©2006,2018byFrancescoCirilloAllrightsreserved.PublishedintheUnitedStatesbyCurrency,animprintoftheCrownPublishingGroup,adivisionofPenguinRandomHouseLLC,NewYork.crownpublishing.com
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Originallyself-publishedinadifferentformasThePomodoroTechnique:DoMoreandHaveFunwithTimeManagementin2006.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationDataisavailableuponrequest.
ISBN 9781524760700EbookISBN 9781524760717
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CONTENTS
PREFACETOTHE2018EDITION
PREFACE
INTRODUCTION
FOUNDATIONS
THECONTEXT
GoalsofthePomodoroTechniqueBasicAssumptions
REACHINGYOURINDIVIDUALGOALS
MATERIALANDMETHOD
OBJECTIVEI:
FINDOUTHOWMUCHEFFORTANACTIVITYREQUIRES
StarttheFirstPomodoroEveryFourPomodorosCompletinganActivityRecordingImprovementTheNatureofthePomodoro
OBJECTIVEII:CUTDOWNONINTERRUPTIONS
InternalInterruptionsScenarioExternalInterruptions
SystematicInterruptionsRecording:QualitativeEstimationErrorsinPlanning
OBJECTIVEIII:ESTIMATETHEEFFORTFORACTIVITIES
AvailablePomodorosPossibleScenariosRecordingEstimatesManagingExploration
OBJECTIVEIV:
MAKETHEPOMODOROMOREEFFECTIVE
TheStructureofthePomodoroTheStructureofthePomodoroSet
OBJECTIVEV:SETUPATIMETABLE
TheBest-CaseScenarioAScenariowithInterruptionsOptimizingYourTimetable
OBJECTIVEVI:
DEFINEYOUROWNPERSONALIMPROVEMENTOBJECTIVE
REACHINGYOURTEAMGOALS
APPLYINGTHEPOMODOROTECHNIQUEONATEAM
AllTooOften,TeamsBecomePreytoTheirGoalsHowCanthePomodoroTechniqueHelpaTeamReachItsGoals?
ADAPTINGTHETOOLSOFTHETECHNIQUETOATEAM
DoesEachMemberoftheTeamHaveTheirOwnPomodoro,orIsThereaPomodorofortheWholeTeam?
WhatIsaMicroteam?WhyNotHaveOnePomodoroforAlltheMembersoftheTeam?HowCanWeArrangeforEveryonetoAttendaMeeting?WhoSetsthePomodoro?WhoMakestheEstimates?WhoRecordsthePomodoros?
DoWeNeedtoModifythePomodoroTechniqueSheets?
SIMPLEPRACTICESTOGETYOURTEAMSTARTED
PomodoroRotationsSnapYourPomodoro
WHYTEAMSNEEDMOREADVANCEDPRACTICES
HowCanthePomodoroTechniqueHelpaTeamManageComplexity,Interruptions,andBottlenecks?
THEPRACTICEOFTHECOUNTER
ProblemSolutionProsandCons
THEPRACTICEOFTHEPOMODOROHACKATHON
ProblemSolutionProsandCons
THEPRACTICEOFTHERAM
ProblemSolutionProsandCons
RESULTS
OBSERVATIONS
LearningTimeTheLengthofthePomodoroVaryingtheLengthofBreaksADifferentPerceptionofTimeSoundsofthePomodoroShapesofthePomodoroRingAnxietyConstantInternalInterruptionsTheNextPomodoroWillGoBetterWhatTypeofTimerWorksBest?ImprovingEstimatesMotivationandthePomodoroAndIfEverythingGoesCompletelyWrong?ThePomodoroHasaLimitWhenNottoUsethePomodoro
MASTERINGTHETECHNIQUE
InvertingtheDependencyonTimeRegulatingComplexityDetachmentObservationandContinualFeedbackSustainablePace
THENEXTSTEP
RULES
GLOSSARY
GETTOWORK
TODOTODAYSHEET
ACTIVITYINVENTORYSHEET
RECORDSSHEET
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
IPREFACETOTHE2018EDITION
woundupthefirstPomodoroonacloudySeptemberafternoonin1987.Thesettingwastheterraceofahouseinamedievalvillage30milesnorthofRome—Sutri—where I spent my family holidays. The task was clear but scary: “Iwant to finish this chapter.” The chapter in question was the first of thesociologybookIwasreadingforauniversityexamIhad to takewithina fewweeks.Thatafternoon, Inever imagined thatonedaymillionsofpeoplearoundthe
worldwouldhaverepeated thatsamegestureofwindingupakitchen timer tobeatdistractionsandreachtheirobjectiveswithinthesetperiodoftime.IneverimaginedthatIwouldhearthesoundoftickingtimersinthebackgrounduponenteringanopen-spaceofficefullofbrilliantsoftwaredevelopers.AndIwouldhavethoughtitimpossiblefortheCEOofabanktousemysametomato-shapedtimertostructureaboardmeeting.Orthatthetechniquewouldbedescribedinsuch prestigious publications as the New York Times, The Guardian, andHarvard Business Review. Yet, all that did happen. But how it happened stillremainsapleasantmysterytome.IclearlyrememberthesensationIfeltwhenthatPomodororangforthefirst
time: anunusual andunexplainable senseof calm.Mymindhadbeendriftingfromonedirectiontoanotherlikeasmallboatatthemercyofastorm.“Ineedtopass the exam. I have three books to study. There’s not much time until theexam. I’llnevermake it. I can’t focus. I’malwaysgettingdistracted.Maybe Ishouldstopstudyingandpostponetheexam.MaybeIshouldstopstudyinganddosomethingelse.”After thePomodororang,andthatfirst timedworkperiodwasover,theseawascalmagain:IknewIcoulddoit.IrememberwantingtosetanotherPomodoro.AndIhadsetthatfirstoneforonlytwominutes,notthe25Iwouldcometofindwasideal.
ItwasthatsenseofcalmnessandcontrolIhadregainedthatenabledmetopassthe exam. And led me to start my own research into the phenomenon ofPomodoros:“Whydoesitwork?HowlongshouldaPomodorolast?HowmanyPomodoroscanyoudoinaday?HowmuchrestbetweenPomodorosshouldIallow?”Ittookanumberofyearstofindtheanswerstothosequestionsandtoorganizeandstructurethemintoatechniqueforimprovingproductivity.IfeltitwasnaturaltonamethetechniqueIhaddevelopedthePomodoro.As Iwrite this preface, the gentle ticking of that Pomodoro kitchen timer I
used to prepare for the sociology exam is stillwithme. It has become an oldfriend. Thirty-one years have passed since that September afternoon in 1987.Many things have changed since then. The development of the Internet andsocialmediahavetransformedourhabitsandbehavior.Oursmartphonesletusknowwhenweneedtoleavetogettothemoviesontimeorwhenthedinnerweorderedfromthecarortaxionthewayhomeisfiveminutesawayfrombeingdelivered.Socialmediaandvariousappsexposeustointerruptions24/7.SohowisthePomodoroTechniquestilleffectiveinthedigitalage?Themost prolific source of distractions remains our ownmind.What I call
internal interruptions—the sudden desire to order a pizza, update your socialmediastatus,orcleanyourdesk—canstillbemorefrequentanddisruptivethantheexternalones,suchas thepingofanewe-mailoraFacebooknotification.Thebestapproachtodealingwiththeseinterruptionsistoacceptthemandtreattheminagentleway.ThePomodoroTechniqueinvitesyoutowritethemdownonyourphoneor computeror apieceofpaper anddealwith themonceyourPomodoro is over. This way, you acknowledge their value and have time toconsiderandassessthemproperlytodecidewhethertheyarereallyimportantornot. If inashortspaceof timeyouexperience toomanyinternal interruptions,the Pomodoro Technique specifically requires you to stop and take a longerbreak.The appearance of so many internal interruptions is our mind’s way of
sendingusamessage:Wearenotateasewithwhatwearedoing.Thismaybebecausetheprospectoffailingworriesus—itcanbescary.Ormaybeourgoalseems too complex orwe feelwe are running out of time. To protect us, ourminds comeupwith different,more reassuring activities.We end up favoringinterruptionswhereverwecanlatchontothem.
Thetypeandfrequencyofinterruptions—whethertheyareinternalorexternal—donotthreatenthePomodoroTechnique.Thetechniquehelpsusbeawareofhow our mind works and helps us to consciously decide how to deal withinterruptions. Sometimeswhat pops into our head is truly urgent.But inmostcases, it can be postponed for 20 minutes, until the end of the Pomodoro.Because interruptionsareoften justwaysforourmindtodistractus, takingusaway fromwhatwe are supposed to be doing, this process can lead you to abetter understanding of the fears that underlie your reaction to interruptions.Onceyouidentifythesefears,youcanfindwaystomanagethem.Withoutthisprocess, our fears can take over and a “fear of fear” can paralyze us. Thetechnique helps us develop a constant dialogue with ourselves, to observeourselves and not delude ourselves. In any case, if you find yourself writingmessagesinsteadoffocusingonyourgoal,donotworry:ThenextPomodorowillgobetter.Begentlewithyourself.
TPREFACE
hebasic idea for thePomodoroTechniquecame tome in the late1980s,duringmyfirstyearsatcollege.Oncetheelationfromcompletingmyfirst-yearexaminationshadsubsided,I
foundmyselfinaslump,atimeoflowproductivityandhighconfusion.EverydayIwenttoschool,attendedclasses,andreturnedhomewiththedishearteningfeelingthatIdidn’tknowwhatI’dbeendoing, thatI’dbeenwastingmytime.The exam dates came up so fast, and it seemed that I had no way to defendmyselfagainstthepassingoftime.One day in the classroom on campuswhere I used to study, Iwatchedmy
classmateswith a critical eye and then looked evenmore critically atmyself:howIgotmyselforganized,howIinteractedwithothers,howIstudied.ItwasclearthatthehighnumberofdistractionsandinterruptionsandthelowlevelofconcentrationandmotivationwereattherootoftheconfusionIwasfeeling.Iaskedmyselfaquestionthatwasashelpfulasitwashumiliating:“Canyou
study—really study—for ten minutes?” I needed objective validation, a TimeTutor, and I found one in a kitchen timer shaped like apomodoro (Italian fortomato)—inotherwords,IfoundmyPomodoro.Ididn’twinthebetImadewithmyselfaboutstudyingrightaway.Infact,it
tooktimeandagreatdealofeffort,butintheendIsucceeded.In that first small step, I found something intriguing in the Pomodoro
mechanism.Withthisnewtool,Idevotedmyselftoimprovingmystudyprocessand later my work process. I tried to understand and solve more and morecomplex problems, to the point of considering the dynamics of teamwork.GraduallyIputtogetherthePomodoroTechnique,whichIdescribeinthisbook.Foryears I’ve taught thePomodoroTechnique inclassesopen to thepublic
andinteammentoring.Inthattime,generalinteresthasgrown.Moreandmorepeopleareaskingwhatitisandhowtoapplyit,andsothere’saneedformetoexplainthetechniqueasIconceivedit.Myhopeisthatitcanhelpothersreachtheirgoalsforpersonalimprovement.
FINTRODUCTION
or many people, time is an enemy. The anxiety triggered by the tickingclock, particularlywhen a deadline is involved, leads to ineffectivework andstudy behavior, which in turn elicits the tendency to procrastinate. ThePomodoroTechniquewascreatedwiththeaimofusingtimeasavaluableallytoaccomplishwhatwewanttodothewaywewanttodoitandtoempowerusto improve our work or study progress continuously. This book presents thePomodoroTechniqueas itwasdeveloped in1992andas ithasbeen taught toindividualssince1998andtoteamssince1999.TheFoundationssectiondelineates theproblemlinkedto timeandthegoals
of the Pomodoro Technique and its basic assumptions. The Reaching YourIndividual Goals section describes the Pomodoro Technique and shows howindividuals can apply it by completing incremental objectives. The ReachingYour TeamGoals section explains how to adapt the technique to a team anddescribes a series of practices to improve a team’s productivity. The Resultssection provides a series of observations that are based on the experiences ofpeople who have used the technique and identifies a number of factors thatexplainhowthetechniqueachievesitsgoals.
W
THECONTEXT
ho hasn’t experienced anxiety when faced with a task that has to befinishedbyadeadline?In thesecircumstances,whohasn’t felt theneed toputoff that task or fallen behind schedule or procrastinated?Who hasn’t had thatunpleasant sensation of dependingon time, chasing after appointments, givingupwhatonelovestodoforlackoftime?“Remember, Time is a greedy player who wins without cheating, every
round!” Baudelairewrote in his poem “The Clock.” Is this the true nature oftime?Or is itonlyoneof thepossibleways toconsider time?Moregenerally,whydopeoplehavesuchaprobleminthewaytheyrelatetotime?Wheredoesitcomefrom,thisanxietythatwe’veallexperiencedatthethoughtthattimeisslippingaway?Thinkers, philosophers, scientists—anyonewho’s taken on the challenge of
attemptingtodefinetimeandtherelationshipbetweenpeopleandtime—alwayshavebeenforcedtoadmitdefeat.Suchaninquiry,infact,isinevitablylimitedandnevercomplete.Fewhaveprovidedany truly insightfulperspectives.Twoprofoundlyinterrelatedaspectsseemtocoexistinregardtotime:
BECOMING.Anabstract,dimensionalaspectoftimethatgivesrisetothehabitofmeasuringtime(seconds,minutes,hours);theideaofrepresentingtimeonanaxis,aswewouldspatialdimensions;theconceptofthedurationofanevent(thedistancebetweentwopointsonthetemporal
axis);theideaofbeinglate(againthedistancebetweentwopointsonthetemporalaxis).1
THESUCCESSIONOFEVENTS.Aconcreteaspectoftemporalorder:Wewakeup,weshower,wehavebreakfast,westudy,wehavelunch,wehaveanap,weplay,weeat,andwegotobed.Childrencometohavethisnotionoftimebeforetheydeveloptheideaofabstracttimethatpassesregardlessoftheeventsthattakeplace.2
Of these two aspects, it is becoming that generates anxiety. It is by natureelusive,indefinite,infinite:Timepasses,slipsaway,movestowardthefuture.Ifwe try to measure ourselves against the passage of time, we feel inadequate,oppressed, enslaved, anddefeatedmoreandmorewithevery second thatgoesby.We loseour élanvital, the life force that enablesus to accomplish things:“TwohourshavegonebyandI’mstillnotdone;twodayshavegonebyandI’mstillnotdone.”Inmomentsofweakness,thepurposeoftheactivityathandisnolongerclear.Thesuccessionofeventsseemstobethelessanxiety-riddenaspectoftime.Attimesitmayevenrepresenttheregularsuccessionofactivity,acalm-inducingrhythm.
GOALSOFTHEPOMODOROTECHNIQUE
The aim of the Pomodoro Technique is to provide a simple tool/process forimproving productivity (your own and that of your team). It can do thefollowing:
AlleviateanxietylinkedtobecomingEnhancefocusandconcentrationbycuttingdownoninterruptionsIncreaseawarenessofone’sdecisionsBoostmotivationandkeepitconstantBolsterthedeterminationtoachieveone’sgoalsRefinetheestimationprocessinbothqualitativeandquantitativetermsImproveone’sworkorstudyprocessStrengthenone’sdeterminationtokeepapplyingoneselfincomplexsituations
BASICASSUMPTIONS
ThePomodoroTechniqueisfoundedonthreekeyelements:
ADIFFERENTWAYOFSEEINGTIMEthatnolongerisfocusedontheconceptofbecoming.Thisalleviatesanxietyandthusleadstoenhancedpersonaleffectiveness.BETTERUSEOFTHEMIND.Thisenablesustoachievegreaterclarityofthought,higherconsciousness,andsharperfocuswhilefacilitatinglearning.THEEMPLOYMENTOFEASY-TO-USE,UNOBTRUSIVETOOLS.Thisreducesthecomplexityofapplyingthetechniquewhilefavoringcontinuityandallowsustoconcentrateoureffortsonthegoalswewanttoaccomplish.Manytime-managementtechniquesfailbecausetheyaddanotherlevelofcomplexitytotheintrinsiccomplexityofthetaskathand.
TheprimaryinspirationforthePomodoroTechniquecamefromthefollowingideas:time-boxing;thecognitivetechniquesdescribedbyBuzan,3amongothers,relating to the way the mind works; and the dynamics of play outlined byGadamer.4NotionsrelatingtostructuringobjectivesandactivitiesincrementallyaredetailedinGilb.5
1HenriBergson,CreativeEvolution,BookJungle,2009.2EugèneMinkowski,LivedTime,NorthwesternUniversityPress,1970.3TonyBuzan,TheBrainUser’sGuide,Plume,1983.4Hans-GeorgGadamer,TruthandMethod,Continuum,2004.5TomGilb,PrinciplesofSoftwareEngineeringManagement,Addison-Wesley,1996.
TMATERIALANDMETHOD
heprocessunderlyingthePomodoroTechniqueconsistsoffivestages:
TABLE1:THESTAGESOFTHEPOMODOROTECHNIQUE
This basic procedure lasts one day but could take less time. In that case, the five
stageswouldtakeplacemorefrequently.
FIGURE1:THEPOMODORO
ToimplementthePomodoroTechnique,allyouneedisthefollowing:
APomodoro:akitchentimer(Figure1).AToDoTodaySheetfilledinatthestartofeachdaywiththefollowing:Aheadingwithplace,date,andauthor.Alistofthethingstododuringthedayinorderofpriority.Asectionlabeled“Unplanned&UrgentActivities”inwhichanyunexpectedtasksthathavetobedealtwithshouldbelistedastheycomeup.Theseactivitiescouldmodifytheday’splan.
AnActivityInventorySheetconsistingofthefollowing:Aheadingwiththenameoftheauthor.Anumberoflinesinwhichvariousactivitiesarewrittendownastheycomeup.Attheendoftheday,theonesthathavebeencompletedarecheckedoff.
ARecordsSheet.Thisisthesetofrawdataneededtoproducepertinentreportsandgraphics.Dependingontheobjectives,thiscontainsdifferentsetsofboxes.Normally,thissheetwouldincludethedate,thedescription,andthenumberofPomodorosofeffortneededtoaccomplishatask.Thissheetisupdatedatleastonceaday,usuallyattheendoftheday.
In the simple examples shown in this book, theRecording, Processing, andVisualizingstagesaredonedirectlyontheRecordsSheet.
Because of typographical constraints, the sheets used in this book show only the
entriesrelatingtothetopicinquestion.Simplemodelsofthesheetsdescribedhereare
providedattheendofthebookandcanbeusedtopracticethetechnique.
AnevolutionaryapproachtotheuseofthePomodoroTechniqueisprovidedin the following chapters, oriented to a progressive experimentation with thetechnique. Clearly, the incremental nature of the technique means that theobjectivesshouldbeachievedintheorderinwhichtheyaregivenhere.
T
OBJECTIVEI:FINDOUTHOWMUCHEFFORTANACTIVITY
REQUIRES
hetraditionalPomodorois30minuteslong:25minutesofworkplusa5-minutebreak.Atthebeginningofeachday,choosethetasksyouwanttotacklefromtheActivityInventorySheet,prioritizethem,andwrite themdownintheToDoTodaySheet(Figure2).
FIGURE2:TODOTODAYSHEET
STARTTHEFIRSTPOMODORO
SetthePomodorofor25minutesandstartthefirstactivityontheToDoTodaySheet.Whoever is using the Pomodoro, whether one person or more, shouldalwaysbeabletoseeclearlyhowmuchtimeisleft(Figure3).
FIGURE3:THETIMEREMAININGSHOULDALWAYSBEVISIBLE
A Pomodoro can’t be interrupted: It marks 25 minutes of pure work. APomodoro can’t be split up: There is no such thing as half a Pomodoro or aquarter of a Pomodoro. The atomic unit of time is a Pomodoro. (Rule: APomodoro is indivisible.) If a Pomodoro is interrupted by someone orsomething,thatPomodoroshouldbeconsideredvoid,asifithadneverbeenset;thenyoushouldmakeafreshstartwithanewPomodoro.WhenthePomodororings,markan“X”nexttotheactivityyou’vebeenworkingonandtakeabreakfor 3 to 5 minutes. When the Pomodoro rings, this signals that the currentactivity isdefinitely(though temporarily) finished.You’renotallowed tokeeponworking“forjustafewmoreminutes”evenifyou’reconvincedthatinthosefewminutesyoucouldcompletethetaskathand.
FIGURE4:THEFIRSTPOMODORO
The3-to5-minutebreakgivesyouthetimeyouneedtodisconnectfromyourwork. This allows yourmind to assimilatewhat’s been learned in the last 25minutes and also gives you a chance to do something good for your health,whichwillhelpyoudoyourbestduringthenextPomodoro.Duringthisbreakyoucanstandupandwalkaroundtheroom,haveadrinkofwater,orfantasizeabout where you’ll go on your next vacation. You can do deep breathing orstretchingexercises.Ifyouworkwithotherpeople,youcanswapajokeortwo.Duringthisquickbreakit’snotagoodideatoengageinactivitiesthatrequire
significantmentaleffort.Forexample,don’ttalkaboutwork-relatedissueswithacolleague,don’twriteimportante-mailsormakeurgentphonecalls,andsoon.DoingthesekindsofthingswouldblocktheconstructivementalintegrationthatyouneedtofeelalertandreadyforthestartofthenextPomodoro.Youshouldinclude these activities in your Activity Inventory and earmark specificPomodoros for doing them. Clearly, during this break you shouldn’t continuethinkingaboutwhatyou’vedoneduringthelastPomodoros.Oncethebreakisover,setthePomodoroto25minutesandcontinuetheactivityathanduntilthenexttimeitrings.Thenmarkanother“X”ontheToDoTodaySheet(Figure5).
FIGURE5:THESECONDPOMODORO
Takea3-to5-minutebreakandthenstartanewPomodoro.
EVERYFOURPOMODOROS
Every four Pomodoros, stop the activity you’reworking on and take a longerbreak,from15to30minutes.The 15-to 30-minute break provides an ideal opportunity to tidy your desk,
takeatriptothecoffeemachine,listentovoicemail,checkincominge-mails,orsimplyrestanddobreathingexercisesortakeawalk.Theimportantthingisnottodoanythingcomplex;otherwiseyourmindwon’tbeable to reorganizeandintegratewhatyou’velearned,andasaresultyouwon’tbeabletogivethenextPomodoro your best effort. Obviously, during this break you need to stopthinkingaboutwhatyoudidduringthelastPomodoros.
FIGURE6:THEENDOFTHEFIRSTSETOFPOMODOROS
COMPLETINGANACTIVITY
Keeponworking,PomodoroafterPomodoro,untilthetaskisfinishedandthencrossitoutontheToDoTodaySheet(Figure7).
FIGURE7:COMPLETINGANACTIVITY
Specificcasesshouldbehandledwithcommonsense:
IfyoufinishataskwhilethePomodoroisstillticking,thefollowingruleapplies:IfaPomodorobegins,ithastoring.It’sagoodideatotakeadvantageoftheopportunityforoverlearning,usingtheremainingportionofthePomodorotorevieworrepeatwhatyou’vedone,makesmallimprovements,andnotewhatyou’velearneduntilthePomodororings.Ifyoufinishanactivityinthefirst5minutesofthePomodoroandfeelthetaskactuallywasfinishedduringthepreviousPomodoroandrevisionwouldn’tbeworthwhile,asanexceptiontotherule,thecurrentPomodorodoesn’thavetobeincludedinthePomodorocount.
FIGURE8:COMPLETINGSEVERALACTIVITIES
Oncethecurrentactivityhasbeencompleted,moveontothenextoneonthelist and then the next, taking breaks after every Pomodoro and every fourPomodoros(Figure8).
RECORDING
Attheendofeveryday,thecompletedPomodoroscanbetransferredtoahard-copyarchive.Asanalternative,itmaybemoreconvenienttouseanelectronicspreadsheetoradatabaseanddelete thecompletedactivities fromtheActivityInventory Sheet. What you track and record depends on what you want toobserveandthekindsofreportsyouwanttogenerate.Theinitialaimoftrackingand later recording could be simply to present a report with the number ofPomodoroscompletedpertask.Inotherwords,youmaywanttoshowtheeffortexpended to accomplish each activity. To do that, you can use the followingboxes:thedate,thestarttime,thetypeofactivity,adescriptionoftheactivity,the actual number of Pomodoros, a short note on the results achieved, andpossibleroomforimprovementorproblemsthatmayhavecomeup(Figure9).Thisinitialrecordingmodelactuallyrepresentsthereportyouwant.It’seasytodrawitupevenonpaper.
FIGURE9:RECORDSSHEET
HowdidMarkfillinthetimehebegananactivityifhedidn’ttrackit?WiththePomodoroTechnique,it’snotessentialtotrackthestarttimeforanactivity(orforeveryPomodoro).What’simportantistotrackthenumberofPomodorosactuallycompleted:therealeffort.ThispointisthekeytounderstandingthePomodoroTechnique.Sincetrackingisdoneatleastonceaday,rememberingandreconstructingthestarttimesforactivitiesisn’tdifficult;infact,thiskindofrecallisabeneficialmentalexercise.
Ausefultechniqueforrememberingstarttimesistodoarundownofthedaybeginning
withthemostrecentactivityandmovingbackwardtothefirstone.
IMPROVEMENT
Recording provides an effective tool for people who apply the PomodoroTechnique in terms of self-observation and decisionmaking aimed at processimprovement.Forexample,youcanaskyourselfhowmanyPomodorosaweekyou spend on work activities and on explorative activities, how many
Pomodoros you do on an average day of the week, and so on. You also candetermine whether the stages in the process are all effective or whether onecouldbeeliminatedwhileyouachievethesameresults.Forinstance,wecanseeinFigure9thatittookMark10Pomodorostowrite,
fine-tune,andcondensethearticle“HowtoLearnMusic.”Thatseemsliketoomany.MarkwouldliketogetthesameresultwithninePomodorosorless.ThenhewouldhaveoneormorePomodorosoffreetimeforotheractivities.“I’dliketotrytowritethenextarticlewiththesamequalityandlesseffort.How?WhatshouldIcutout?Whatactivitiesarereallyuseful?HowcanIreorganizethemtobemoreeffective?”Thesearethetypesofquestionsthatenablepeopletoimprove,oratleasttry
toimprove,theirworkorstudyprocesses.Attheendoftheday,theactivityofrecording(andlaterlookingforwaystoimprove)shouldnottakemorethanonePomodoro.
THENATUREOFTHEPOMODORO
The Pomodoro marks the passage of time, and so it is a measure of thedimensionof time. Itbecomesameasureof thedimensionofeffortwhen it iscombinedwiththenumberofpeopleinvolvedinanactivity.Dependingonthisnumber, we can say that a task was accomplished with a certain number ofPersonPomodoros or Pair Pomodoros orTeamPomodoros,where these unitsmeasure effort.Thequantitiesof effort relative todifferentnumbersofpeopleare not homogeneous; they can’t be added together or compared with oneanother.Thework of an individual, a pair, or a group represents a differentway of
combining production factors and implies diverse means of communication.Thereareno formulas forconvertingPersonPomodoros toPairPomodorosorTeamPomodoros.
Let’s say we want to measure the cost of an activity performed by more than one
person individually, in pairs, or in teams. By applying amonetarymeasurement,we
cancompareandaddupthedifferentamountsofeffort.Forexample,takeanactivity
that’sachievedbytheeffortof twoPersonPomodorosandthreePairPomodoros. In
termsof effort, these amounts cannot be compared directly or summed in anyway.
However,byassigningamonetaryvaluefortheeffortofonePomodoro,forexample,
$10.00,wecansaythattheactivitycosts2×$10.00+3×2×$10.00=$80.00.
T
OBJECTIVEII:CUTDOWNONINTERRUPTIONS
he length of a Pomodoro—25 minutes—seems short enough to make itpossible to resist being distracted by various kinds of interruptions. However,experience shows that once you’ve started using the Pomodoro Technique,interruptions can become a real problem. That’s why an effective strategy isneeded to minimize interruptions and progressively increase the number ofPomodoros that can be accomplished consistentlywithout interruptions. Therearetwokindsofinterruptions:internalandexternal.
INTERNALINTERRUPTIONS
EventhoughaPomodorolastsonly25minutes,itwon’tbeeasyforeveryonetofinish the first few Pomodoros without giving in to an immediate need tointerrupt theactivityathand: theneed tostandupandgetsomething toeatordrink, tomakeacall that suddenlyseemsurgent, to lookupsomethingon theInternet(itmayberelatedorunrelatedtothetaskathand),ortocheckone’se-mails. Finally, we might even need to rethink how we’ve prioritized thisparticular activity;we’re constantly second-guessing our daily planningor ourdecisions.These kinds of distractions, or ways to procrastinate during the activity at
hand, are called internal interruptions. They generally disguise our fear of notbeingabletofinishwhatwe’reworkingonthewaywewantandwhenwewant.Internal interruptions often are associated with having little ability to
concentrate.How can we free ourselves from these internal interruptions? We have to
workontwofronts:
1. Maketheseinterruptionsclearlyvisible.Everytimeyoufeelapotentialinterruptioncomingon,putanapostrophe(’)onthesheetwhereyourecordyourPomodoros.
2. Makeadecisionaboutwhattodo.Youcanchoosetodooneofthefollowing:WritedownthenewactivityontheToDoTodaySheetunder“Unplanned&Urgent”ifyouthinkit’simminentandcan’tbeputoff.WriteitdownintheActivityInventory,markingitwitha“U”(unplanned);addadeadlineifnecessary.IntensifyyourdeterminationtofinishthecurrentPomodoro.Onceyou’vemarkedtheapostrophe,continueworkingonthetasktillthePomodororings.(Rule:OnceaPomodorobegins,ithastoring.)
Theaimistoacceptthefactthatneedsdoemergeandshouldn’tbeneglected.Lookatthemobjectivelyandifpossiblereschedulethemforanothertime.
SCENARIO
Anexamplewillclarify thedynamicofhandling internal interruptions.Duringthe second Pomodoro for writing the article “How to Learn Music,” Marksuddenlyfeels thathehas tocallhisfriendCarol tofindoutwhenhisfavoriterockgroupisgivingitsnextconcert.Markaskshimself:“Isthisreallyurgent?DoIhavetodoittoday?No,Icanputitoff.Maybeanhourortwo.Maybeevenuntiltomorrow.”MarkputsanapostropheontheToDoTodaySheetnexttothecurrentactivity(Figure10),addsanitemtotheActivityInventoryforunplannedactivities(markedwitha“U”—Figure11),andcontinueswiththePomodoro.
FIGURE10:ANINTERNALINTERRUPTION
FIGURE11:ANUNPLANNEDACTIVITY
ThenMarkaskshimself: “Does this activityhave tobedoneby tomorrow?No, it justhas tobedoneby theendof theweek.”Markadds thisdeadline inbracketsnexttothe“U”(Figure12).
FIGURE12:ANUNPLANNEDACTIVITYWITHADEADLINE
IfMarkgetsasuddencravingforapizza10minutes later,he’llmarkdownanother apostrophe, but this time he’ll note this activity on the ToDo TodaySheetunder“Unplanned&Urgent”(Figure13).ThenMarkwillcontinuewithhisPomodoro.
FIGURE13:ANURGENTINTERNALINTERRUPTION
Until this point, the Pomodoro hasn’t been interrupted. It’s kept on ticking,andMark has continuedworking, dealingwith interruptions. Clearly, as littletime as possible should be spent dealing with interruptions: a few seconds atmost.OtherwisethePomodorohastobeconsideredinterruptedorvoid.Finally,thePomodororings.Markrecordsitwithan“X”andtakesaquickbreak(Figure14).
Mark decides tomove on to the next Pomodoro. Eight potential interruptionsawaithimduringthethirdPomodoro,butfortunately,hedealswiththemall:Heclassifiesoneactivityasnoturgentandrecordsit intheActivityInventory;hehasnochoicebuttocategorizetheotherinterruptionsasurgent(Figure15).
FIGURE14:URGENTINTERNALINTERRUPTION,SECONDPOMODORO
The urgency of the activities listed in Figure 15 might make some peoplesmile, but that’s the way Mark perceives them. The point is that with the
PomodoroTechnique,lotsofusefulorfunthingstodocomeup,butwemakeaconsciousdecisionnottodothemduringthecurrentPomodoro.When we read through the various activities and the urgency we assign to
each,wecanseehowmuchourmindsaremovingandhowhard it is tokeepthem still and focus on the activity at hand.Often, the number and variety ofattemptedinternalinterruptionsaresymptomsofourfearoffailuretocompletethetaskathand.
FIGURE15:SEVERALURGENTINTERNALINTERRUPTIONS
Itshouldcomeasnosurprisethatmanyofthesedistractionslaterprovetobeanythingbuturgenteventothepersonwhowrotethemdown.MostlikelyattheendofthePomodoroortheactivityortheday,severalitemsmarkedurgentor
absoluteprioritywillbehandledindifferentways:
They’llbemovedtotheActivityInventory.Maybewecanpickoutabiketomorrow.They’llbedoneduringlongerbreaks.That’sthetimetolookupjazzconcertsinChicagoinJuly,forexample.They’llbedeleted.DoesMarkreallywanttoorderapizzaalongwithspringrollsandPekingduck?Hemightevenrealizethathedoesn’twanttoorderanythingandwilleatattheendoftheday.
It’sadifferentmindthatreadsoverthoseitemsattheendofaPomodoro,oraset of four, or at the end of the day. The new perspective is sometimessurprising.TrulyurgenttasksarealwayshighlightedontheToDoTodaySheet.TheaimofthePomodoroTechniqueistoensurethatthecurrentPomodoroisn’tinterruptedbytheseactivities.Instead,thefollowingoptionsareavailable:
TheycanbedoneduringthenextPomodoro(butstillmeasuredbyaPomodoro)inplaceofotheractivities.Theycanberescheduledduringthedayinplaceofotheractivities.TheycanbemovedfromPomodorotoPomodorotilltheendoftheday.Thishelpsusgraduallylearntorecognizewhat’sreallyurgent.
Ifandwhenunplannedurgentactivitiesaredoneduringtheday,therelativePomodorosaremarkeddownintheproperspace(Figure16).
FIGURE16:UNPLANNEDACTIVITYDONEDURINGTHEDAY
Inall thecasesdiscussedso far, the interruptionscanbeconsidered tohavebeen handled. Note that the mechanism for handling interruptions consists ofinverting the dependency on internal interruptions and consequently makingtheseinterruptionsdependonthePomodorosintowhichwedecidetoslotthem.
If you have to interrupt a Pomodoro because you give in to temptation orsomethingtrulyurgentcomesup,there’sonlyonethingtodo:VoidthecurrentPomodoroeven if it’sabout to ring. (Rule:APomodoro is indivisible.)Thenmark an apostrophe where Pomodoros are recorded to keep track of theinterrupted Pomodoro.Obviously, you can’tmark the unfinished Pomodoro—whichdidn’tactuallyring—withan“X,”sotakea5-minutebreakandstartwithanewPomodoro.ThenextPomodorowillgobetter.
The firstobjective incuttingdownon interruptions is tobeawareof thenumberand
typeofinternalinterruptions.Observethem,acceptthem,andschedulethemordelete
themasthecasemaybe.
EXTERNALINTERRUPTIONS
Peoplewhoworkinsocialenvironmentscanbeinterrupted:Yourstudypartnerasks you to explain a paragraph or suggests going to a movie after dinner, aphonecallisn’tfilteredbythesecretary,acolleagueasksyouhowtocompileareport, an e-mail program beeps every time a new message comes in. Whatshouldyoudo?External interruptions call for the ability to “protect” the tickingPomodoro.
Untilnowamajorefforthasbeenmadetoeliminateinternalinterruptions.Nowtheriskisthatsomeoneontheoutsidewillpreventyoufromhavingthepleasureofmarkingan“X”onyourToDoTodaySheet.Themain difference between internal and external interruptions is thatwith
thelatterweneedtointeractwithotherpeople:Weneedtocommunicate.Themechanismfordealingwithexternalinterruptionsisthesameasthatforinternalones:Invertthedependencyoninterruptionsandmaketheinterruptionsdependonus.Afewexampleswillclarifywhatweneedtodo.Incomingphonecallscanbe
takenby theansweringmachine, and themessagescanbe listened to later.E-mails can keep coming in without distracting our attention if you simplydeactivate the acoustic signals for incomingmessages. If a colleague or studypartnercomesover,youcanpolitelysayyou’rebusyandcan’tbe interrupted.
(Somepeopleusehumorbysaying,“I’minthemiddleofaPomodoro.”)Thentellthepersonthatyou’drathercallhimorherbackin25minutes,ina
fewhours,ortomorrow,dependingonhowurgentandimportantthematteris.Speakingfromexperience,trueemergenciesthatneedtobedealtwithinstantlyare rare in real life.A 25-minute or 2-hour delay (four Pomodoros) is almostalwayspossible foractivities thatarecommonlyconsideredurgent.Thisdelayisn’tusuallydetrimentaltothepersonwhowantstocommunicatewithyoubutgives you an enormous advantage in terms of making your mind workeffectively, finishing activities the way you want to, and rescheduling urgenttasks. With practice, you’ll come to realize how often apparently urgentactivities can even be postponed until the next day while still satisfying thepersonmakingtherequest.Thus,Protect thePomodoromeans informeffectively,negotiatequickly to
reschedule the interruption, and call back the person who interrupted you asagreed. The Inform, Negotiate, Call Back Strategy enables you to controlexternalinterruptionsbyreschedulingtheminalaterPomodorothesamedayoranotherdayaccording to thedegreeofurgency.Thedependency inversion forinterruptions lies in this mechanism: We’re no longer dependent oninterruptions; interruptions depend on us (i.e., the Pomodoros we allocate forcallingback).The feedback from people who start applying the Pomodoro Technique is
often the same: They discover that they can have 10 or even 15 externalinterruptions during a single Pomodoro (25 minutes). If the people doing theinterruptinglearnthatyou’llreallycallthembackandarenotjustputtingthemoff, itwon’t takelongtoseeourhabitual interruptersprotectingthePomodorotoo.Many peoplewhowork or studywith Pomodoro users say they have thefeeling that they’redealingwithpeoplewhoappreciate thevalueof theirowntime.Inoperationalterms,handlingthistypeofinterruptionislikedealingwithinternalinterruptions.Inthiscase,too,weworkontwofronts:
1. Maketheseinterruptionsclearlyvisible.EverytimesomeoneorsomethingtriestointerruptaPomodoro,putadash(–)onthesheetwhereyourecordyourPomodoros.
2. Makeadecisionaboutwhattodo.Youcanchoosetodooneofthefollowing:WritedownthenewactivityontheToDoTodaySheetunder
“Unplanned&Urgent”ifithastobedonetoday,addingthepromiseddeadlineinbracketsintheleft-handmargin.WriteitdownintheActivityInventory,markingitwitha“U”(unplanned);addadeadlineinbracketsifnecessary.IntensifyyourdeterminationtofinishthePomodoro.Onceyou’vemarkedthedash,continueworkingonthetaskuntilthePomodororings.
Thisway,you’llachieve theobjectiveof remembering thecommitmentyoumade,aswellasmeasuringdailyexternalinterruptions,withoutinterruptingthePomodoro. The following example shows two external interruptions thatwerehandled in different ways during the second Pomodoro of “Write an Articletitled‘HowtoLearnMusic’”(Figures17and18).
FIGURE17:ANUNPLANNEDURGENTACTIVITY
FIGURE18:ANUNPLANNEDACTIVITYWITHADEADLINE
IfaPomodoroabsolutelyhastobeinterruptedbecauseofhumanweaknessorforarealemergency, there’sonlyone thing todo:Void thecurrentPomodoroevenif it’sabout toring.(Rule:APomodorois indivisible.)ThenputadashwhereyourecordPomodorostokeeptrackofinterruptedPomodorosandrecordthe description and the deadline for the activity in the Unplanned & Urgentsection.ThenstartthefirstPomodorofortheurgentactivity.ThenextPomodorowillgobetter.
Thesecondobjectivetoachieveinordertocutdownoninterruptionsistobeawareof
the number and type of external interruptions.Negotiate them and reschedule them
dependingonthedegreeofurgency.
SYSTEMATICINTERRUPTIONS
InapplyingthePomodoroTechnique,thefirsttangibleconsequenceofhavingtodeal systematically with internal and external interruptions is that Pomodorosearmarked for organizational activities will emerge (e-mails, phone calls,meetings,etc.).ThemostnaturalandmostcommondecisionistosetasideonePomodoroaday(ormoreifnecessary)totakecareofurgentinterruptions.Thedependency inversion mechanism applied to protect the current Pomodoroactually serves to turn interruptions into Pomodoros dedicated to forms ofcommunication.We should emphasize here that Pomodoro users have the following
objectives:
TodelaythesePomodorosaslongaspossible,downgradingthedegreeofapparenturgencyandincreasingtheextenttowhichtheseactivitiescanbecontrolledandscheduledTocutdowngraduallyonthenumberofPomodorosusedfororganizingtheinterruptionsthatcomeupthroughouttheday
Peoplewho start applying the Pomodoro Technique are amazedwhen theymeasure the Pomodoros spent on work and study (without unhandled
interruptions) and those used for organizational activities (which in part comefromdealingwithinterruptions).Insometeams,membersstartoffwithnomorethan two to three Pomodoros dedicated to work per day per person; theremainingPomodorosarespentonmeetings,phonecalls,ande-mails.
RECORDING:QUALITATIVEESTIMATIONERRORSINPLANNINGLook at the activities recorded daily and marked with a “U” in the ActivityInventory and the ones marked “Unplanned & Urgent” on the To Do TodaySheet. Ifyoudo this,during theplanningphaseyoucanassessyourability toidentifythenumbersandtypesofactivitiesthataremosteffectiveinreachingaspecificobjective.Thegreaterthenumberofunplannedactivitiesinvolved,thegreater thequalitativeerror inyour initialestimate.Thus,youcanmeasure theunplanned activities done to attain a certain objective. Clearly, you also caninclude the total number of internal and external interruptions on theRecordsSheettoobservethemandtrytominimizethemovertime.
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OBJECTIVEIII:ESTIMATETHEEFFORTFORACTIVITIES
nceyou’vebeguntomasterthetechniqueandhaveachievedthefirsttwoobjectives, you can start working on quantitative estimates. The long-termobjectivehereistopredicttheeffortthatanactivityrequires.TheActivityInventorylistsalltheactivitiesthatneedtobedone.Thesetasks
comefromplanning,whichisneededtoidentifywaystoreachyourobjectives(e.g.,at thebeginningofaproject)anddealwithinterruptions.Someactivitieslosetheirpurposeovertime,andsotheycanbedeletedfromtheinventory.Atthe start of each day, estimate how many Pomodoros each activity in theinventorywilltake.Revisepreviousestimatesifnecessary.RecordtheestimatednumberofPomodorosontherelative line(Figure19).ThePomodoroestimateactually represents the number of Pomodoros needed for a certain number ofpeopletoaccomplishanactivity.Thus,thisisameasureofeffort.However,inthesimpleexamplesthatfollow,thenumberofPomodorosalwaysreferstooneperson.
FIGURE19:DAILYESTIMATE
EstimatesalwaysmustbebasedoncompletePomodoros,andsofiguressuchas 5½ Pomodoros aren’t allowed. In this case, count six Pomodoros. If anestimateisgreaterthanfivetosevenPomodoros,thismeansthattheactivityistoo complex. It’s better tobreak it down into several activities, estimate thoseactivities separately, and write them down on several lines in the ActivityInventory.Theruleis:IfittakesmorethanfivetosevenPomodoros,breakitdown. Ifyoudothis,notonlydosingleactivitiesbecomelesscomplex,butestimatesbecomemoreaccurate.Thiseffect ismagnifiedwhenthebreakdown
involves incremental activities, not simply smaller activities. (Incrementalactivities deliver a little value at a time.) If the estimate is less than onePomodoro (e.g., the time it takes to call Laura to invite her to thethermodynamics seminar or call Mark to ask him to give back the laptop),similaractivitiesshouldbecombinedtilltheyadduptoonePomodoroofeffort.Theruleis:IfittakeslessthanonePomodoro,additup.Thus,therearetwooptionsforactivitiesestimatedtolastlessthanonePomodoro:
FindandcombinesimilaractivitiesfromtheActivityInventoryuntiltheyadduptoonePomodoroofeffort(Figure20).Leavetheactivitywithoutanestimateandindicatethatyou’llcombineitwithanotheractivitywhenyoufillintheToDoTodaySheet.
In choosing a strategy, remember that one of the functions of the ActivityInventory is to facilitate the choice of activities To Do Today. Take the firstoptioniftheactivitiesinquestionareverysimilarorcomplementary;leavetheothertaskswithoutanestimateandcombinethemlater.Inanycase,thegreaterthenumberofusefulactivitiesyouhaveintheActivityInventory,thesimpleritwillbetochoosewhichstrategytouseandhowtocombinethevarioustasks.
FIGURE20:ACTIVITIESESTIMATEDATLESSTHANONEPOMODORO
AnychangestotheActivityInventorycanbemadewithagoodpencilandanexcellent
eraser.
AVAILABLEPOMODOROS
Nowthatyouhaveanestimateof thenumberofPomodoros foreachactivity,you can put together a set of activities that doesn’t exceed the number ofPomodorosavailableinaday.RecordtheseavailablePomodorosontheToDoTodaySheet;younormallywoulddothisbeforeactuallylistingthethingstodo.Figure21showsanexampleofeightPomodorosavailableonJuly12.Thenpickout the tasks to do for the day, combining activities if necessary. (Rule: If ittakeslessthanonePomodoro,additup.)Writetheactivitiesyou’vechoseninorder of priority on the To Do Today Sheet. For each one, every estimated
Pomodoroisrepresentedbyanemptybox(Figure21).
FIGURE21:ESTIMATEDPOMODOROS
There’s no point adding activities beyond the total estimate of eightPomodoros.IfthenumberofestimatedPomodorosishigherthanthenumberofPomodoros needed to complete the activities, the remaining number ofPomodoroscanbeconsideredonlyafteryou’re finished.Thenyoucanchoosetasksfromtheinventorytofillinthatextratime.
POSSIBLESCENARIOS
Setthetimerand,asalways,beginwiththefirstactivityonyourlist.EverytimethePomodororings,putan“X”inthefirstemptybox(Figure22).
FIGURE22:FIRSTPOMODOROESTIMATEDANDACCOMPLISHED
Ifyoufinish theactivity in theexactnumberofestimatedPomodoros,crossoutthedescriptionoftheactivity(Figure23).
FIGURE23:ACTIVITIESDONEINTHEEXACTNUMBEROFESTIMATEDPOMODOROS
If you finish the activity in fewer Pomodoros than you estimated
(overestimationerror),crossoutthedescriptionoftheactivity(Figure24).
FIGURE24:OVERESTIMATION
If you’ve used up the estimated Pomodoros and need more Pomodoros tofinish the taskyou’reworkingon (quantitativeunderestimationerror),youcandooneoftwothings:
ContinueandmarkdownthenextPomodoroswithouttakingintoaccountnewestimates.Figure25showsacaseinwhichanotherPomodoroisneededtocompleteanactivity.MakeanewestimateinPomodorosandmarkthesenewestimatedPomodorostotherightofthelastestimatedandcompletedPomodoro,usingadifferentcolororshape.Thiswayyoucanhighlighttheneedforsecondorthirdestimatesandverifyrelativeerrors(Figure26).
FIGURE25:UNDERESTIMATION
FIGURE26:SECONDESTIMATE
AsyoucanseeinFigure27,thesummarytookLucyfourPomodoros,threeofwhich were estimated originally (underestimation) and only one of the twowhichwasestimatedlater(overestimation).
FIGURE27:FINISHINGTHEACTIVITYWITHTHESECONDESTIMATE
Sincetasksnormallydon’tlastmorethansevenestimatedPomodoros(Rule:If it takes more than five to seven Pomodoros, break it down), there areusually no more than three estimates. All the activities that require a thirdestimatehavetobereconsideredcarefullytounderstandwhyestimatingwassocomplicated.
RECORDINGESTIMATES
Nowthatwe’veintroducedtheconceptofquantitativeestimates,theobjectivesofthereportingsystemcanbemoreambitious.Newobjectivescouldincludethefollowing:
Tomeasuretheaccuracyofestimates,analyzingthegapbetweenestimatedeffortandactualeffort(estimationerror)foreveryactivityToshowwheremoreestimateswereneeded(secondorthirdestimates)
NowtheRecordsSheethastobemodified.Dependingonthecase,thereportcould show estimates, actual effort, and related error. Two simple options for
visualizingthisinformationfollow(Figures28and29).
FIGURE28:FIRSTESTIMATEONLY
Therearemanypossiblewaystopresenttheresultsthatyou’retracking.Thecomplexity of the reporting objectives is not too high, and reports can beobtaineddirectly from theRecordsSheetwith just a fewcalculationsdonebyhand.Themorecomplexthecalculationsare,themoreyou’llwanttomakeuseof databases, spreadsheets, and ad hoc software applications. Remember:Alwaysmakerecordingactivityassimpleaspossible.
FIGURE29:FIRSTANDSECONDESTIMATES
Thefirstobjectiveofimprovingquantitativeestimatesistoeliminatethethirdestimate
and keep the overall margin of error small. The next objective is to eliminate the
secondestimate,againkeepingtheoverallmarginoferrorsmall.Thefinalobjectiveis
toreducethemarginoferrorinthefirstestimate.
MANAGINGEXPLORATION
Not every activity can be estimated. At the outset of a new project or studyactivity, it’s especially beneficial to spend time on exploration: Look for newsources,getanideaofthestructureofthetextsyouhavetostudyorconsult,anddefine your objectives more clearly. To guide exploration, it’s worthwhile toapply the concept of time-boxing. Decide on a number of Pomodoros forcompletingyour exploration.When thesePomodoros are finished, set upyour
real work plan or start on a specific activity or decide if you want to keepexploringandwhatdirectionyouwanttotake.
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OBJECTIVEIV:MAKETHEPOMODOROMOREEFFECTIVE
henyoucanusethePomodorosystematicallywithoutinterruptionsandyou start tomaster estimating, you can evolve the Pomodoro Technique evenfurther.
THESTRUCTUREOFTHEPOMODORO
ThefirstevolutionhastodowiththestructureofthePomodoro.Thefirst3to5minutes of each Pomodoro can be used to repeat brieflywhat you’ve learnedsince the beginning of the activity (not just the last Pomodoro) and then toimprintthisinyourmemory.Thelast3to5minutesofaPomodorocanbeusedtoreviewquicklywhatyou’vedone(ifpossible,withaneffect-causeprocedure,startingfromthelastactivitiesandgoingbacktoyourinitialmotivations).These changes don’t require variations in the length of the 25-minute
Pomodoro. The enhanced awareness of time you can achieve by using thePomodorowill enableyou to sensephysiologically the3-to5-minute intervalsmentionedabove.Ifyouhaveahardtimedoingthis,itmaybeasignthatyouhaven’tmasteredthebasictechnique.
The last fewminutesof thePomodoroallowyou to reviewwhat you’vedone. If you
wanttocheckthequalityandmethodsofyourworktopinpointpotentialimprovement,
youshouldplanoneortwoPomodorosforthistask.(Quickerobservationsaremade
dailyduringtherecordingPomodoro.)
THESTRUCTUREOFTHEPOMODOROSETThereisasecondevolutionthathastodowiththefour-Pomodoroset.Aswasdescribed above, the first Pomodoro in a set of four, or part of this firstPomodoro,canbeusedtorepeatwhatyou’vedonesofar.Similarly,allorpartofthelastPomodorointhesetcanbeusedtoreviewwhatyou’veaccomplished.Repetitionandrevisionactivitiesaremoreeffectiveifyoudothemaloudorbytalking with a partner or a member of your team. Systematic repetition andrevisionstimulatestheeffectsofoverlearning,facilitatingtheacquisitionofnewinformation.
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OBJECTIVEV:SETUPATIMETABLE
here are a number of reasons you should never underestimate theimportanceofdefiningandrespectingatimetable:
Atimetablesetsalimit.Limits(whenthey’retrulyunderstoodasinviolable)helpusbeconcrete,dothings.Theymotivateustodoourbesttocompletethetasksbeforeuswithinasetperiod.ThesamethinghappenswhenthePomodororings.Atimetabledelineatestheseparationbetweenworktimeandfreetime;thelatterisbestdefinedastimesetasidefornon-goal-orientedorunplannedactivities.Thisleisuretimeisfuelforourminds.Withoutit,creativity,interest,andcuriosityarelostandwerunourselvesdownuntilourenergyisdepleted.Withoutgas,theenginewon’trun.Atimetablemeasurestheresultsoftheday.Oncewe’vewrittenuptheToDoTodaySheet,ourgoalistocarryouttheactivitieslistedonitwiththehighestpossiblequalitywithinthesettimeframe.Iftimerunsoutandtheseactivitiesaren’tdone,wetrytounderstandwhatwentwrong.Inthemeantime,wehaveaninvaluablepieceofinformation:howmanyPomodoroswemanagedtoworkthatday.
With thePomodoroTechnique, figuring out howmuch time iswasted isn’timportant; howmany Pomodoros we’ve accomplished is. The next day, keepthatnumberinmindwhenyouaredecidinghowmanyPomodorosareavailableandwritedownactivitiestofillonlythosePomodoros.
Themain riskwith the timetable isunderestimatinghowimportant it is; it’seasy to fall into the trapofnot respecting it.Forexample, let’ssay it’s3p.m.You’velosttimeduringtheday,andyouknowyouhaven’tproducedasmuchas you could have or as much as you expected. Therefore, you tell yourself:“TodayI’llworklatetomakeupforlosttime.”Acombinationofheroismandguilt makes you breach the limit set by the timetable; as a result, yourperformanceisineffectivetonight,thentomorrownight,andthenthenightafterthat. Themore the timetable is systematically prolonged, themore the overallresults will diminish. Guilt intensifies. Why? Isn’t playing the hero enough?Don’tthehourssacrificedinthenameofworkassuagetheguilt?Actually, what emerges is a dangerous vicious circle: The timetable is
protracted, fatigue increases, productivity drops, and the timetable again isprotracted. First and foremost, an effective timetable must be respected. Atimetablecanbemadeupofaseriesoftimeslots,eachdedicatedtoadifferenttypeofactivity.RespectingatimetablemeansdevelopingimmunitytotheFiveMoreMinutes Syndrome.When a time slot ends, just aswhen the Pomodororings,allactivitystops.NomatterhowmuchtimeisstillleftonyourPomodoro,the same rule applies: The Timetable Always Overrides the Pomodoro.Second, an effective timetable has to allow for the free time that you need torecuperate.
Itmayhappen that an important deadline comesupand you find yourself having to
work longer hours. This overtime can be factored into your timetable to increase
productivitymomentarily.Typically,toachievepositiveresultsandavoidtheriskofthe
viciouscirclementionedabove,youshouldn’tworkovertimeformorethanfivedaysin
arow.Establishanadhoctimetableforthisperiodandsetasidearecoveryperiodto
dealwiththedropinproductivitythatinevitablywillfollow.
THEBEST-CASESCENARIOLet’susethefollowingtimetableasanexample:8:30–1:00,2:00–5:30.It’s8:30.AlbertwindsupthefirstPomodorooftheday.HemightusethisPomodorotolook over all the things he did the day before and to skim over the ActivityInventory and fill in the To Do Today Sheet, which also will include thisplanning activity. In this same organizational Pomodoro, Albert checks thateverything on his desk is in place and ready and tidies it if it’s not. The
Pomodororings,“X,”break.AnotherPomodorobegins:thefirstoperationalPomodoro.Andsoitgoesfor
two more Pomodoros. The four-Pomodoro set is over, followed by a longerbreak.Despite thefact thathewants tokeepworking,Albertdecides to takeabit more downtime in anticipation of the intense workday ahead. Instead oftakingonlytheminimum15-minutebreak,hetakes20minutes.HethenwindsupanewPomodoro.HecontinuesforatotaloffourPomodorosandthencheckshiswatch.It’s12:53.Hehasjustenoughtimetotidyhisdeskagain,putawayanypapersthatneedtobefiled,andcheckthattheToDoTodaySheetisfilledoutclearlyandproperlybeforehegoestolunch.By2:00Albertisathisdeskagain.HewindsupthePomodoroandgetsback
towork.Hedoesn’ttakemuchofabreakbetweenonePomodoroandthenext.Butafterfourringshestartsfeelingtired.HestillhasafewmorePomodoros
togo.Hewantstogetagoodrest,andhetriestodisconnectasbesthecanbytakingawalk.Thirtyminuteslater,AlbertwindsupanewPomodoro.Itrings,“X,”break.Albertsetsaside the lastPomodoro to lookoverwhatheachievedduringtheday,fillintheRecordsSheet,jotdownsomecommentsonareasforimprovement,makenotesontheToDoTodaySheetforthenextday,andtidyhisdesk.ThePomodororings.Quickbreak.Albertlooksathiswatch.It’s5:27.He straightens any papers that are out of place and puts the activity sheets inorder.At5:30freetimebegins.Twocommentsonthisscenario:
TheoperationalPomodorosnevercoincidewiththenumberofwork/studyhours.Witheighthoursofwork/study,2Pomodorosareearmarkedfororganizationalactivities(onehour)and12(sixhours)foroperationalactivities.ThetimethatgoesbyisalwaysasecondaryfactorwiththePomodoroTechnique.Iftherearenounhandledinterruptions,theendofthemorningorafternoonwillbedeterminedsimplybythesuccessionofPomodoros.ThetimetableisreinforcedbysetsofPomodoros.Itdoesn’tmatterwhattimeitis,becauseourguideisthesequenceofPomodoroswiththeirrespectivebreaks.Intermsofthetimetableinthisexample,wehave[1+3],[4]:[4],[1+1].
ASCENARIOWITHINTERRUPTIONS
Let’ssay it’s thesecondPomodoro in thesecondsetof thescenariodescribedabove.Albertgetsinterruptedandcan’tdealwiththeinterruption.Thatcanhappen.
The Pomodoro is void. Finally, Albert is free to get back to work again. Hechecksthetime.It’s12:20.Inafewsecondshereorganizesthelastsession;atthis point there’s only one Pomodoro left to do. He still takes a quick breakbeforegoingontothenextPomodoro.Infact,hedecidestotakeabitmoretimetotrytofindhisfocus.Whenhefeelsready,AlbertwindsupthePomodoroandstarts the second Pomodoro in the set. (The first one was interrupted.) In theafternoon, at the end of the third set of four Pomodoros, Albert feels that heneedsmore than a 3-to 5-minute break. He decides to take a half-hour walk.Before going out, he quickly modifies the last set, which was originally twoPomodoroslong,tojustoneorganizationalPomodoro.Ifthere’sextratime,he’lltidyhisdeskandcheckhisincominge-mails.Albertgetsbackfromhiswalkat4:47.HewindsupthePomodoro,itrings,“X,”break.Freetime.
OPTIMIZINGYOURTIMETABLE
AworkdaycontainsseveralPomodoros.Howshouldyouorganizethemtomakethe day more effective? Optimizing your work schedule is the result of acontinualprocessofobservationandfeedback.Theobjectiveistoreinforcetheconceptofaregularsuccessionofactivityasmuchaspossible.For people who have an entire day to study, an initial timetable might be
8:30–12:30, 1:30–5:30. This consists of two sets made up of four and threePomodoros, respectively, in the morning and two sets consisting of four andthree Pomodoros, respectively, in the afternoon: [4],[3]:[4],[3]. The setsdeterminewhentotakebreaks.ThePomodoroswithineachsetcanbeorganizedevenfurther.Forexample,
youcouldearmark the firstPomodoro in the first session forplanning thedayand the following three for studying new topics, along with the next twoPomodoros from thesecondset.The lastPomodoro in thesecondgroup is setaside for checking and answering e-mails, listening to voicemail, and callingclassmates if necessary. This is a way to respond effectively to possibleinterruptionsinterceptedduringthemorning.ThefirstPomodoroofthethirdsetisforlookingoverwhatyoudidinthemorning.ThenextthreePomodorosareto spend on studying. The first two Pomodoros of the fourth set are used to
revisewhatyou’velearnedtodayandinthelastfewdays.ThelastPomodoroofthe day is used for tracking and analyzing data. Thus, your timetable lookssomethinglikethis:[1+3],[2+1]:[1+3],[2+1].The basic assumptions with this study schedule are that people are usually
moreproductiveinthemorningandthatworkdoneintheafternoonhoursjustafterlunchisnotveryeffective.Clearly,theseassumptionsaresubjective.Whydowe refer to an initial timetable?Because by gathering information on howtheywork/howthey’reworking,inotherwordsbytrackingmetricsofcompletedPomodorosandotherindicatorseveryday,studentscanlearntopinpointwhichset of Pomodoros ismost productive for studying, revising, or being creative.Knowingthis,theycanconsciouslymodifytheirstudyschedule,startingearlieror later, extending certain sets and reducing others, and learning to knowthemselvesbetter.Here’sthekeytoorganizingatimetable:Makeconsciousdecisionsabouthow
tosetitup.Uptothispoint,setsoffourPomodoroshavebeenusedbecausethisamountusuallyisconsideredthemosteffective.Butyoualsocanuselongerorshortersetslasting,say,threeorfivePomodoros.Attheendofthesetcomesa15-to30-minutebreak.Tobeeffective,atimetableshouldbedestinedtochangeover time, and it can bemade up of sets of differing numbers of Pomodoros,givingpreferencetothosethatlastfourPomodoros.
Experience teaches you that when the seasons change, your timetable needs to
changetoo.
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OBJECTIVEVI:DEFINEYOUROWNPERSONALIMPROVEMENT
OBJECTIVE
p to this point, this book has described the basic Pomodoro Technique.Untilnow,bymeansof simple trackingand recordingactivitiesandwithverylittleprocessing,we’vecomeupwithusefulreportsoneffortperactivityandonerrorsinqualitativeorquantitativeestimates.Naturally,ifwewanttoimprove,thereportingobjectiveswillchangeovertime.Ofcourse,itwouldn’tbeusefulto trackand recordeverypossiblemetric;weshoulddo thatonly for theonesthatenableustoobservewhatwewanttoconsolidateorimprove.ThePomodoroTechniquewas conceived to be flexible in the face of these
kindsofchanges.Tomaketrackingandrecordingnewmetricspossible,wehavetomodify the different sheets, as was shown in the previous chapters.Whilemakingthesealterations,it’sessentialtokeepinmindsomekeycriteriathatwillpreservetheadaptivecapabilityofthetechnique.Inorderofimportance:
1. Alwaysrememberthatusingtechnologyentailsanincreaseincomplexityasaresultoftherelativelearningcurveandlessflexibilitycomparedwithpaper,pencil,anderaser.
2. Keeptrackingatthelowestpossiblelevelofcomplexity(evendelegatingsmalltaskstorecording).Choosesimpletoolsforthisactivity:Usingpaper,pencil,anderaserservesasausefulmentalexercise.
3. Keeptherecordingsimplebyusingthetoolsbestsuitedtothecomplexity
youhavetomanage.Beforeturningtoaspreadsheetoradatabase,seeifthere’samoreeffectivewaytodorecordingwithpaper,pencil,anderaser.Beforeusingadhocsoftware,seeifthere’samoreeffectivewaytodorecordingwithaspreadsheetoradatabase.
4. Ifprocessingandvisualizingbecomedifficult,complex,andrepetitive,youhavetoaskyourselfifallthemetricsyou’reobservingarereallynecessary.Ifthatturnsouttobethecase,youshouldconsiderusingspreadsheets,adatabase,oranadhocsoftwareprogram.AsimpleExcelsheetcanreadilyhandleoperationssuchasreclassifyingactivitiesbytype,filteringactivitiesbyword,grouping,andapplyingcalculationstoselectedactivities.
5. Imaginationisthemostpowerfultoolforpreventingcomplexityfromgrowing.
Forexample,earlierinthebookwelookedatacasewithasingleobjective:writing an article titled “How to LearnMusic.” This objective is achieved bymeans of a series of tasks. But youmight find yourself having to consider anumber of objectives to achieve simultaneously. How do you distinguishbetweenthem?Depending on the circumstances, you can change the way you write the
descriptionsothatyoucanhighlighttheobjective(Figure30).Anotheroptionistoincludeanewboxlabeled“Objectives”intheActivityInventory,ontheToDo Today Sheet, and on the Records Sheet where you can write down adescription of the objective or an abbreviation or code that stands for it. Tocalculate the totaleffortexpended toachieveaparticularobjective,addup theeffortittooktodotherelatedactivities.
FIGURE30:TODOTODAYSHEET
Youmightwant tocalculatehowlong it takes toreachcertainobjectivesorperformparticularactivities.Todothis,yousimplymeasurethetimefromthedateofcompletionbacktothedatewhenyouwroteinorassignedtheactivity.Sinceyoualreadyhavethecompletiondatefortheactivity(ontheToDoTodaySheet),inthefirstcaseyou’llneedtotrackthedateyouslottedthatactivityintotheActivityInventory;inthesecondcase,you’lltrackthedateyouwroteontheToDoTodaySheet.On theRecordsSheetyoucan trackPomodorosofeffortoverseveraldaysforthesameactivity.
Inanycase,choosingwhichmetricstotrackandrecordhastobesubordinatetothe
choice of improvement objectives. In this case, the metrics system will grow
incrementallyonthebasisofrealneed,keepingtrackingcomplexitytoaminimum.
S
APPLYINGTHEPOMODOROTECHNIQUEONATEAM
cientific evidence suggests that ancient humans started hunting formeattwomillionyearsago.Iwonderaboutthedaythefirstancienthumanputasidetheirprideandaskedotherpeople forhelp.After all, largeanimals tend tobefierceanddifficultpreytohuntonyourown.Most of thegoalswewant to reachnowadays aredifficult or impossible to
achieve on our own too.We need somebody else’s help to be successful. Forinstance,ourpartners,ourfamilies,ourteamsatwork,peoplewehaveworkedwithforyears,orpeopleweworkwithonlyonoccasion.Workingonateamhasallowed us to evolve and acquire the knowledge needed to explore distantplanetsorunderstandourownDNA.I try to imagine that team of ancient humans’ first attempts to hunt a large
animal. They would not have been successful right away. I can picture themstanding in a circle around the prey, each person attacking it individually—violentattemptstokillthebeast,whichappearhaphazardandbadlycoordinated.Iimaginetheprey’smockingsneerwhenitrealizesithasresolvedtheproblemoflunch.
ALLTOOOFTEN,TEAMSBECOMEPREYTOTHEIRGOALSWhenweworkonateam,goalstendtobemorecomplicatedtoreach.Themore
complicatedthegoals,themoreunexpectedandurgenttherelatedactivitieswillbe, and, in turn, the more destructive the delays and the interruptions willbecome.Asthecomplexityofthegoalincreases,sodoestheneedtocoordinatewith
more people. And the more people who are involved in the process—teammembers,externalconsultants,andproviders—themoreinterruptionsanddelaystherewillbe.Ifweas a team lacka time-management strategy—astrategy thathelpsour
teambehaveeffectivelywhen timebecomesan issuewehave tomanage—theteammemberswillendupfeelinganxiousandafraid.Let’ssayyouneedtodeliverasalesreporttoyourmanagerbytheendofthe
day.All themembersofyour teamare responsible for completingone relatedactivity:Angelaisinchargeofanalyzingdata—averytime-consumingactivity—andMarcisinchargeofgettingfeedbackfromyourbestcustomers.Youandyour team planned everything. The goal is feasible. But something is notworkingasexpected.Angelaisnotatherdesk.Someonecalledherandshewasnotabletomanagetheinterruption.Marcishavingdifficultiescontactingsomeclientsbuthedoesnotletyouknow.Insteadheworksharder.Thisreportwasreallyimportantandyoutrustedyourteamtodeliver.Howdo
you thinkyouwill react at 5:00whenAngela andMarc explainwhy they areunable todeliverwhat theyhadagreedon?Will you trust them in the future?WhatmakesthissituationmoreunfortunateisthatbothAngelaandMarcactedingood faith; they justdidnothaveaneffective time-management strategy inplace.Situations like these create frustration. Anxiety contaminates the team’s
mood.Feelingsofresentmentcanarise.Trustbetweenteammemberscanstartto break down asmembers blame one another. Conflicts emerge.We end upmovingincirclesaroundourgoal,accusinganddistrustingothers,untilweburnout,envelopedinanatmosphereoftension,anxiety,andfrustration.Whenourteamgetstothispoint,weareofficiallyfoodonourprey’splate.
HOWCANTHEPOMODOROTECHNIQUEHELPATEAMREACHITSGOALS?By using the Pomodoro Technique, we want to be able to deliver that salesreport by 5:00 with no stress, with no friction, and to the satisfaction of the
wholeteam.There are several benefits to applying a time-management strategy like the
PomodoroTechniquetoyourteam.Itcan:
ReducefrictionbetweenteammembersReducetheneedforunnecessarymeetings
ProtecttheteamfrominterruptionsHelptheteamcompleteitsgoalsandactivitiesontime
Inthefollowingchaptersinthissectionofthebook,wewilllearnhowateamcangetthebenefitsofferedbythePomodoroTechnique.Todothat,wewillhavetoadaptandexpandthetoolsandtheprocessofthe
technique.Thetimerandthevarioussheetsarethetools.Usingthetimerandthesheetstoreachagoaldefinestheprocess.Aprocessanswersthequestion“Whatdowe do,when?” For instance,what dowe dowhen the Pomodoro rings orwhenthereisaninterruption?Rulessuchas“IfittakesmorethanfivetosevenPomodoros, break it down” or practices such as the “Inform, Negotiate, CallBackStrategy”supporttheprocess.Wewillstartbyconsideringhowtoadaptthetoolsofthetechniquetoateam.
Thenwewill focus on new rules and practices for improving productivity byapplyingthetechnique.Ready,set,go!
T
ADAPTINGTHETOOLSOFTHETECHNIQUETOATEAM
hePomodoroTechniquehassixobjectives:
1. Findouthowmucheffortanactivityrequires2. Cutdownoninterruptions3. Estimatetheeffortrequiredforactivities4. MakethePomodoromoreeffective5. Setupatimetable6. Defineyourownpersonalimprovementobjective
In theReachingYour IndividualGoals section, Ihavedemonstratedhow toachieve these objectiveswhileworking alone. But I often visit teams that areinterestedinimprovingtheirproductivitytoo.Manypeoplehaveaskedmehowtheycanapply thePomodoroTechnique to fit their teams’needs.Howdo thetoolsofthetechniqueneedtobeadapted?Iampleasedtobepartofyourteamnowandtobeabletoansweryourquestions.Let’sbegin.
DOESEACHMEMBEROFTHETEAMHAVETHEIROWNPOMODORO,ORISTHEREAPOMODOROFORTHEWHOLETEAM?
Each microteam has and manages its own Pomodoro. The rule is OneMicroteam,OnePomodoro.
WHATISAMICROTEAM?Amicroteamisanynumberofpeopleworkingonanactivityatacertaintime.Forexample,a teammadeupof threepeopleneeds to reachagoal.Atany
particularmoment, twopeoplemightworkonacertainactivity togetherwhilethethirdteammemberworksonanotheractivity.Duringthattime,theteamisorganizedintotwomicroteams(Figure31).
FIGURE31:MICROTEAMS
Inallthesediagrams,theunderlinednameindicatesthepersonresponsibleforthe team reaching a specific goal. The bold names indicate the personresponsibleforcompletingacertainactivity.Thispersonisalsoinchargeofthemicroteamworkingon that activity.Thedouble-headeddotted arrow indicatesinteractionbetweenpeople.Each activity is carriedout by amicroteam.Amicroteamcan range in size
fromonepersontoallthemembersoftheteam.Onepersononthemicroteamisalwaysresponsibleforthatactivityandinchargeofthemicroteamworkingonit.
FIGURE32:GOALSANDMICROTEAMS
Figure32showsthenumberofPomodorosateamofeightisusingatagivenpoint in the day. The team is working on two goals. The first goal has threepeopleworkingon it:onemicroteamof twopeopleandonemicroteamofoneperson.The secondgoalhas fivepeopleworkingon it: onemicroteamof twopeople and another of three people. In accordance with theOneMicroteam,OnePomodoro rule,eachof theactivities thatamicroteamisworkingonhasitsownPomodoro.
WHYNOTHAVEONEPOMODOROFORALLTHEMEMBERSOF
THETEAM?Breaks are one of themost vital elements of the Pomodoro Technique. Theyallowourmindsthetimetoprocesstheinformationthathasbeenacquiredandencourage solutions. Breaks become even more important when working onteams.Effectiveinteractionsamongteammembersrequirepeopletobeopen,tolisten, and to focus. A failure to take adequate breaks can mean that teammembersfeelmorestressedandarelessabletoengageineffectiveinteractionswiththerestoftheteam.It is not possible to assign a fixed time for the breaks, either between
Pomodoros or betweenblocksof fourPomodoros.At the endof aPomodoro,one microteam may feel ready to start the next one after just two minutes.Meanwhile,anothermicroteammightneedafive-minutebreak.Each microteam must be free to decide how long the break will be. Each
microteamhas adifferent rhythm,performs adifferent typeof activity, and ismadeupofdifferentkindsofpeople,andthemembersofeachteaminteractindifferentways.Only themicroteam’smembersknowhowmuch time theyneedinordertofeelreadytobeginthenextPomodoro.The “synchronized Pomodoro”—one timer for the entire team, one per
microteam,oroneperpersonstartedatthesametime,asifinaproductionline—doesnotalloweachindividualtotakethetimetheyneedtobeabletointeracteffectivelywiththeirteammembers.Anyattemptsbyteamstoworkinlockstepforcepeopletoignoretheirindividualneeds.
Anotherreasontoadviseagainstthe“synchronizedPomodoro”istheneedtomanage
interruptions effectively. If Microteam #3 is interrupted by an urgent phone call and
cannotsuccessfullymanage thebreak, itwouldmakenosense tostopall theother
microteamsandvoidtheentireteam’sPomodoro.
HOWCANWEARRANGEFOREVERYONETOATTENDAMEETING?Theteamtimetablemakesitpossibletoplaneventsthatinvolvethewholeteam:meetingsandsharedbreaks.Eachmicroteamdecideswhen to start its ownPomodoro and how long the
breaks will be. However, regardless of how many minutes are left on each
microteam’sPomodoro, it isuseful to apply this rule:TheTimetableAlwaysOverridesthePomodoro.Theneedforsharedbreaksormeetingsattendedbytheentireteamcanbemet
byassigningtheseactivitiestotimeslotsintheteamtimetable:
Everydayfrom11:30a.m.to11:45a.m.:TeamBreakinthesecondfloorkitchenEveryFridayfrom3p.m.to5p.m.:TeamMeetinginroom#401
Whoshoulddrawupandupdate the teamtimetable?This is theresponsibilityof the
teammembers.
WHOSETSTHEPOMODORO?WHOMAKESTHEESTIMATES?WHORECORDSTHEPOMODOROS?Thepersoninchargeofthemicroteamisresponsibleforaseriesofactionsanddecisions:
SettingthePomodoro—thispersonwillphysicallystartthePomodoroDecidinghowtoorganizethestructureofthePomodoro—howtousethefirstorthelast5minutesofthePomodoroPuttingan“X”ontheToDoTodaysheetforeachcompletedPomodoroDecidinghowtomanageinterruptionswhentheyoccurDecidinghowlongbreakswilllast,keepinginmindtheneedsofthemicroteammembersRecordingthePomodoroscarriedoutinthecourseofthedaybythemicroteamtheyareinchargeof
Alltheseactionsanddecisionsstrengthenthatperson’ssenseofresponsibilitywithregardtotheactivitytobecompleted.
DOWENEEDTOMODIFYTHEPOMODOROTECHNIQUESHEETS?Let’slook,onebyone,athowandwhytoadaptthevarioussheetsrelatedtothePomodoroTechniquewhenworkingonateam.
ADAPTINGTHETODOTODAYSHEETTheonlychangeyouneedtomakewhenyouareinchargeofamicroteamistoaddthenameofthepersonorpeoplewhoareworkingwithyou.
FIGURE33:TODOTODAYSHEET
Figure33showsMarco’sToDoTodaysheet.Marcoisworkingondeliveringthemonthlysalesreport:thisishisgoalfortheweek.Fromhisrecords,weseethatMarcohascompleted theactivity“Collect thedatafor thesales report” inonePomodoro;togetherwithStephan,hecompletedtheactivity“Checkthedatafor thesales report” in twoPomodoros.Finally,heworkedwithAnnalenaandKatrinontheactivity“Preparethesalesreport,”whichtookonePomodoro.
ADAPTINGTHERECORDSSHEET
Whenworkinginteams,theRecordsSheetexplicitlyshowstheestimatedeffortandtheactualeffortexpendedintermsofpersonPomodoros:
FIGURE34:RECORDSSHEET
Forexample,theRecordsSheetinFigure34showsustwothings.Marcohadestimatedthattheworktocarryouttheactivity“Preparethesalesreport”wouldrequire twoPomodoros for amicroteamof three people (2P 3p).We also seethatinfactthatmicroteamrequiredfivePomodorostocompletetheactivity.There is only one Records Sheet. The same sheet is shared by all team
members.At theendof theday,eachteammemberresponsibleforanactivitywillfillindatarelatedtotheirmicroteam’sworkthatday.
ADAPTINGTHEACTIVITYINVENTORY
The Activity Inventory requires some simple modifications when working inteams:
AddingacolumnwiththepersonresponsiblefortheactivityRecordingintheestimatecolumnthenumberofPomodorosthataparticularnumberofpeopleinamicroteamwillrequiretocompleteaparticularactivity
Thepersonresponsiblefortheactivityisalsoinchargeoftheestimatefortheactivity.
FIGURE35:ACTIVITYINVENTORY
In the example shown in Figure 35, Katrin is responsible for the activity“Prepare the slides to present the new product,” and estimates that fourPomodorosoftwopeoplewillbeneeded.
I
SIMPLEPRACTICESTOGETYOURTEAMSTARTED
n the previous chapter we saw how to adapt the tools of the PomodoroTechnique—the timers and the various sheets—to work in a team. When itcomes to working in a team, we need new rules and practices to adapt thePomodoroTechniqueprocessaswell.If I were asked what I’d suggest to a team that is starting to apply the
PomodoroTechnique, Iwould recommend the following twosimplepractices,whichcanbeappliedimmediately.
POMODOROROTATIONS
Thispracticegoesback to thefirstapplicationsof thePomodoroTechnique toteams in the late1990s:Withadefined frequency—usuallyeveryone, two,orfourPomodoros—oneofthemembersofyourmicroteamswitchesplaceswithamember of another microteam. The people leading the activities are the onlyones who cannot switch places. One by one, each of the members of amicroteamswitchesplaceswithamemberofothermicroteams.Iknowthatpeopletendtoresistswitchingfromamicroteamtheyareusedto.
“Isn’t it an interruption during work? How do we coordinate so that we cansmoothlyswitchmicroteammembers?Won’tittakeuslongertofinish?Won’t
it interrupt theflow?”Itmightseemcounterintuitive,butrotatingthemembersof your microteam systematically can help you complete your activity moreeffectively.Eachpersonwhocomes into themicroteammightbringnewideasanddifferentsolutions.Whenappliedroutinely,thispracticemakesitpossibleto:
ShareknowledgeShareandimprovetheteam’sskillsIncreasetheinterchangeabilityofteammembersKeeptheteamuptodatewiththecurrentstatusofthegoalsandavoidneedlessmeetings
A little common sense will enable the team members to rotate smoothlybetweenmicroteams,evenasfrequentlyaseveryPomodoro.ThePomodoroofMicroteam#1has justrung.Katrin isresponsiblefor theactivityandexpectedStephan fromMicroteam#2 to rotatewithMarco,whom she has justworkedwith.Microteam#2isinthemiddleoftheirPomodoro.ButMicroteam#3istwominutes away from taking their break. Katrin can choose to wait and askStephaniefromMicroteam#3torotateinsteadofStephan.Itisnotnecessarytosynchronize the timers to implement the rotations. Communication and theability to adapt will turn what seem like impediments to rotations intoopportunitiestoshareknowledgeandimproveskills.
Thispracticemustbechosenbytheteammembers.Forcingorimposingrotationscanbefrustratingforthosewhoaresubjectedtoit.
SNAPYOURPOMODORO
Wehave been implementing this practice onmy team for a number of years.WhenthePomodororings,wetakeaphoto.Ofwhat?Ofsomethingthatshowsexactly what our microteam has done during that Pomodoro. One photo perPomodoro. We often snap things that we did not understand or manage toresolveinthatPomodoro.Orwetakeaphotoofaresultthatwehaveachieved.At the endof thedaywehavea timelinewith aphoto for everyPomodoro
completed by each microteam. This is not just helpful for simplifying and
reducing recording time. It isparticularlyhelpfulbecause it letsus reconstructweeks of work in just a fewminutes; having a visual overview helps to findsolutions.
I
WHYTEAMSNEEDMOREADVANCEDPRACTICES
started applying the Pomodoro Technique to teams as a coach in the late1990s. This came about quite by chance. The team consisted of roughly tensoftware developers from a bank based inMilan.At that time, Iworked as aconsultant for companies with teams that wanted to improve their softwaredevelopmentprocess.Mytaskwastoenableteammemberstofindsolutionstoproblemsontheirown.Todothis,Iassignedtheteammembersalotofmaterialtostudy.Soon,though,aproblememerged:WhenshouldIstudy?HowdoIdoiteffectively? And without fear and anxiety? I knew those questions well, andduringabreakIcasuallymentionedhowIhadresolvedthem:withthetimer,25minutes, theToDoTodayand theActivity Inventorysheets,andsoon.Somequestions followed,and thenwewentback towork.But the followingmonth,theteammembersaskedmeaquestionthatIdidn’tknowhowtoanswer:HowcanweapplythePomodorotoourteam?Avarietyofanxietiesandfearslaybehindthatquestion.Theteamwasalways
lateindeliveringsoftwarefeatures.Onaverage,theirestimateswereoffby400percent—a feature estimated to take one month to deliver actually took five.Unsurprisingly, theirmanager had stopped trusting them.Thepressureon thatteamwashigh.Andworkingundertheseconditionsledtomistakes,orbugsaswe say in the softwareworld.Often themanagerwouldbarge into the team’s
openspace,tellthemtostopallactivitiesimmediately,andorderthemtocorrectabugthathadbeennoticedbyaninternaluserorabankcustomer.Thewholeteamwould thendrop everything to correct thebug. Itwasoftennecessary toworkovertimeandevenonweekends.Havingtodealwithbugsmeantthatnoonemanagedtoworkonthegoalssetfortheweek,whichledtonewdelaysandmore inaccurate estimates, new frustrations, and even more pressure foreveryone.Thanks to that teaminMilan,youcannowread thisbook.Themembersof
that teamshared their successatconferencesand inblogposts.Theywere theoneswhostartedtheviralprocessofspreadingthistechniquethathasovertimebeenpassedontothousandsofotherteamsaroundtheworldandthattodayhasnowreachedyou.Althoughtheexperienceofthat teaminMilanseemsextreme,workingona
team often leads to difficulties delivering on time, big estimation errors,momentsofunbearablestress,anda lackof trust frommanagementorclients.Sometimesanactivityissocomplexthatthemicroteamsimplycannotcompleteit.Often interruptions from colleagues and clients overwhelm the team.Othertimes, a microteam cannot complete an activity because of a bottleneck—forinstance,whentheyhavetostandbyandwaitforanothermicroteamtocompletean activity before they can resume their own work. All this can happen, andmuchmore.Frustratingandstressfulsituationssuchastheseoftencontaminateateam’smood,loweringproductivityandbringingthewholeteamtoastandstill.
HOWCANTHEPOMODOROTECHNIQUEHELPATEAMMANAGECOMPLEXITY,INTERRUPTIONS,ANDBOTTLENECKS?In the following chapters you will find my “best practices” for using thePomodoroTechniquewithateamtoresolveandavoidthefrustratingsituationsIhavedescribed.Asacoach,myexperiencewiththeteaminMilanpromptedmeto start collecting, evolving, and structuring successful practices that could berepeatedbyotherteams.Ihavedevelopedandtestedanumberofthesepracticesoveralmost20years. Ihaveapplied themwith teamsofdifferentsizes, skills,andlevelsofexperience.Forme,eachofthesepracticesislinkedtoaparticularteam—toitsanxietiesandfearsandtoitsachievements.IhopeyoufindthemasusefulasIhave.
M
THEPRACTICEOFTHECOUNTER
yheroes here inBerlin are the guys at theNotebookLounge.They fixcomputers.Theirshopissurprisinglysmall.Whenyouwalkin,youseealoungewith comfy couches to your left. In front of you there is a bar. Behind thecounter, there is a team member who is ready to deal with your emergency.Behindhimorherisablackcurtain.Youcannotseewhatisbeyond,butthatiswheretheyaresavingyourcomputer’slife.Interruptionsareoneofthemostcommonandexpensiveproblemsforteams.
Givingintoonesingleinterruptioncanholduptheworkofthewholeteam.ThePracticeof theCountershowshowthePomodoroanda timetablecanhelp theteamtomanageinterruptions.Themostfascinatinglessonofthispracticeisthatinterruptions can be turned into an opportunity to share knowledge and workmore effectively. The day I entered my heroes’ shop, I recognized severalsimilarities to thepracticeIhaveappliedmany times in thepastand that Iamnowgoingtodescribe.
PROBLEM
A team isworking on their goals but is overwhelmed by requests for supportfrom various stakeholders: colleagues, clients, consultants, managers, andsuppliers. All want immediate answers. Team members repeatedly give in to
interruptions,whichaffectstheproductivityofthewholeteam.
SOLUTION
ThePracticeoftheCounterenablestheteamtoprotectitselffromahighnumberofexternalinterruptionsandtoshareknowledgeamongteammembers.To show how this practice can be applied, let us imagine the teamwe are
coaching is made up of eight people. They could organize themselves in thefollowingway:
Createaphysicalbarrier,orcounter,torestrictaccesstotheareawherethemicroteamsareatwork.Thisteamshouldnotbevisibletothepeoplerequestingsupport.Ihaveneverusedarealcurtain,buttheeffectyouwanttocreateisthesame.Toemphasizethiseffect,fromhereforwardIwillcallthisteamthe“teambehindthecurtain.”Createthe“teamatthecounter”—oneormoremicroteamswhoseroleistodealwithpeoplewhoneedsupportandmanagetheirrequests.Inmyexperience,withaneight-personteam,theperfectmicroteamsizeistwopeople.IntheexampleshowninFigure36,KatrinandMarcoformonemicroteamtoworkatthecounter.
Supportingacustomer’srequestisusuallyseenasanactivityforoneperson.Inorder
toprovideabetterunderstandingoftherequestforsupportandtoavoiderrors,Iwould
recommendthattheworkatthecounterbedoneinpairs.
FIGURE36:PRACTICEOFTHECOUNTER
Setascheduledeterminingwhenpeopleneedingsupportcanfreelyaccessthecounterandwhentheteamatthecountercanworkonansweringtheirrequests.Forinstance,intheexampleshowninFigure36,peopleinneedofsupportcanaccessthecounterandrequestsupportfromKatrinandMarcofrom10:00to12:00andfrom2:00to4:00.Nobodycanaccessthecounterfrom9:00to10:00,from1:00to2:00,orfrom4:00to5:00.Inthosetimeslots,KatrinandMarcowillworktocollecttheinformationneededtoprocesstherequests.Setaschedulespecifyingwhentheteambehindthecurtainwillsupporttheteamatthecounter.IntheexampleshowninFigure36,the“teamatwork”—Carla,Stephan,Nik,Annalena,andAndrew—willworkonsupportingtheteamatthecounter—MarcoandKatrin.Theywillprocessthequeueofrequestsforsupportthattheteamatthecounterwasnotabletodealwith.
Theschedulesofthetwoteamsshouldenabletheteambehindthecurtaintoconsult
theteamatthecounteriftheyneedtoclarifysomeaspectsoftherequestsforsupport
theyreceived.InFigure36,suchcollaborationcantakeplacefrom1:00to2:00.
SetthefrequencyofthePomodoroRotations.Asusual,thepeopleresponsiblefortheactivitiesstayputandcoworkersfromthemicroteamsintheteambehindthecurtainrotatewithcoworkersfromthemicroteamsintheteamatthecounter.ThefrequencyofthePomodoroRotationsbetweenthesetwoteamsisusuallyeveryfouroreightPomodoros,oronadailybasis.ThemoreinterchangeabletheteammembersareandthemoreexperiencetheyhavewiththepracticeofPomodoroRotations,themorefrequentlytherotationscanoccur.
Whenpeoplecomeuptothecountertomakerequests,oneofthreescenariosispossible:
1. Theteamatthecounterknowshowtodealwiththeperson’srequestandcanimmediatelysupportthem.InFigure36,thishappensfrom10:00to12:00andfrom2:00to4:00.
2. Theteamatthecounterknowshowtodealwiththeperson’srequestbutneedssometimetoprovidetheanswer.Inthiscase,theteamatthecounterwritesdowntherequest,estimatesthetimeandeffortneededtodealwithit,andschedulesatimethepersonneedingsupportwillreceivetheirresponse.InFigure36,thishappensfrom9:00to10:00,1:00to2:00,and4:00to5:00.
3. Theteamatthecounterisunabletomakeanestimateordoesnotknowhowtodealwiththerequest.Inthiscase,theteamatthecounterwritesdowntherequestforsupportandaddsittoaqueueofrequeststhattheteambehindthecurtainwilldealwithduringascheduledtimeslot.InFigure36,thisisfrom1:00to2:00.
This practice can be misunderstood. I have often seen new people be hired by
companiesandassignedsolelytomanagingthecounter.Thisdecisionmakessensein
that it puts team members back “behind the curtain,” working continuously on that
team’sgoals.However,thedownsideisthat,moreoftenthannot,theteamlosesthe
usefulexperiencegainedbytheteamworkingatthecounterinidentifyingopportunities
to improve theprocessor theproduct.For this reason, Iwould recommend that the
teamatthecounterbemadeupofatleastoneteammemberfrombehindthecurtain.
PROSANDCONS
TheadvantagesofthePracticeoftheCounterare:
WIN-WINSOLUTIONS.Youkeepyourclientsandcolleagueshappywhileensuringtherestoftheteamworkstoreachthedefinedgoalswithoutdistractionsandinterruptions.SHARINGKNOW-HOW.Solvingproblemsandrespondingtorealrequestsisoneofthebestwaystogettoknowthesystemortheproductyouareworkingon.IDENTIFYINGFLAWSINTHEPROCESSORPRODUCT.Exposuretocolleagues’orclients’requestsovertimerevealsopportunitiestoimprovetheteam’sprocess.
The only disadvantage of this practice is that the team behind the curtainmighttakelongertoreachitsgoals.Thisisbecausewemovedpeoplefromthatteambehindthecurtaintotheteamatthecounter.
Inmyexperience,theteambehindthecurtainoftentakeslesstimetoreachitsgoals.
Thecapacitylostwhenteammembersleavetheteambehindthecurtaincanbemore
thancompensated forby the timesavedmanaging interruptions. Inotherwords, the
timeandeffortneededtoreachthegoalwithsixpeoplewithno interruptionscanbe
lessthanthetimeneededbyeightpeoplewithinterruptions.
W
THEPRACTICEOFTHEPOMODOROHACKATHON
hateveryourage,ifyouenjoychallenges,IrecommendyoutakepartinaHackathononeday.Theterm“Hackathon”wascoinedinthe1990s,acuriouscombinationof “hack” and “marathon.”The “hack” inHackathondoesnot somuch refer to hacking unauthorized access to data in a computer system as itdoestofindingaworkingsolutiontoaproblembyhammeringawayat it.Thesolutionsyouendupwithmightnotbeelegant fromadesignperspective,buttheyshouldbeeffective.Hackathonscanlasthoursordaysandareusuallyheldon weekends. They always involve a challenge, such as inventing agroundbreakingvideogame,pushingthelimitsoftechnologytoimprovehealthand safety atwork, or finding innovativeways to improvemobility in a city.Youcantakepartasanindividualoraspartofateam(butitisobviouslymuchmore fun ina team).Thebest solutionnormallywinsaprize. Iamnot sure ifpeople use the PomodoroTechnique atHackathons, but I named this practiceaftertheirpassionateparticipants.
PROBLEM
Amicroteamstrugglestocompleteoneparticularactivity.Itcouldbeanactivityrequiringagreatdealofresearchoranactivitycharacterizedbyahighdegreeof
complexityoruncertainty.Ifnotcompletedontime,thisactivitycanbecomeabottleneckthatstopstherestoftheteamfrommovingforward.
SOLUTION
For unusual, complex, or risky activities, the Practice of the PomodoroHackathonenablestheteamtoconsiderandchoosefromseveralsolutionsintheleastamountoftimepossible.Toshowhowthispracticecanbeapplied,letusimagineyouaretheorganizer
of a Pomodoro Hackathon. These are the steps involved in setting up aHackathon:
1. InviteallorsomeofthemembersoftheteamtoparticipateinthePomodoroHackathon.Onebigroomisusuallythebestenvironmentforthiskindofevent.
2. NominatetheJury.UsuallytheJuryisthemicroteamwhoishavingtroublecompletingthecriticalactivity.ThemembersofthatmicroteamcouldalsoparticipateinthePomodoroHackathon.Atothertimes,theJuryisexternaltotheteam:customers,users,ormanagers.SometimestheJuryismadeupofthewholeteam.
3. SetatimeboxofacertainnumberofPomodoros.FourPomodorosismyusualchoiceandinmyexperienceisnormallyenoughtogetusefulsolutions.Inanycase,thelengthofthePomodoroHackathonmayvary:itdependsonthecomplexityandtheurgencyoftheproblemtosolve.OnePomodoroshouldbeconsideredtheminimum.Whenyoucommunicatethelengthofthetimeboxset,youmustmakeitclearthatthefinaldeadlinefordeliveringthesolutionisbinding.IfyousetfourPomodoros,thenafterfourPomodorostheHackathonends.
4. AsktheparticipantsintheHackathontoorganizethemselvesintomicroteamsandchoosethepersonresponsiblefortheactivity.Thedecisionaboutthesizeofthemicroteamsdependsonthetypeandcomplexityofthechallenge.Iamabigfanofmicroteamsmadeupoftwopeople.Pairsaresmallandeffective.Theinterchangeabilityofteammembersisanotherfactorthatcaninfluencethedecisionaboutthesizeofmicroteams.Forinstance,ifthethemeoftheHackathonis“Let’sfindanewlayoutforourblogposts,”andifyourteamischaracterizedbyahigh
degreeofspecialization,youmightwanttohaveteamsmadeupofonebusinessanalyst,onegraphicdesigner,andonecopywriter.Ifspecializationisnotanissueinyourteam,thenyouhavemorefreedominformingmicroteams.
Iusuallyprefertolettheteammembersformmicroteamsspontaneously,andIalways
favorthecreationof“unusual”microteams:microteamsmadeupofpeoplewhodonot
usuallywork together. I know it is reassuring toworkwith someoneweare used to
workingwith,butbreakingthishabitcanleadtosurprisinglyinnovativeresults.
FIGURE37:POMODOROHACKATHON—FOURPOMODOROS,FOURMICROTEAMS,ONEACTIVITY
5. Givethesamechallenge—theactivityyouneedasolutionfor—tothemicroteamsparticipatingintheHackathon.Allmicroteamswillworkonthesameactivityforthelengthofthetimeboxyouchose.
6. WindupthetimerforallthemicroteamsparticipatingintheHackathon.ForeachPomodoro,youwillannouncewhenthefirst5minuteshavepassed,whenhalfaPomodoroisover,andwhenthereareonly5minutesremaining.
Yes,Iknow,thisisthefirsttimeIhaveusedonetimerforalltheteams.Infact,thisis
the only situation in which I would recommend synchronizing the Pomodoro when
workinginateam.Why?BecauseIwanttoprotectthePomodorobreaksinacontext
characterized by challenge, complexity, and urgency. People like challenges and,
especiallyat their firstPomodoroHackathon,might think that theycanwork through
fourPomodorosormorewithnobreaks.Yourroleistoremindthemofthepurposeof
the Pomodoro breaks. “The challenge is okay, but we don’t want to feel exhausted
after fourPomodoros!Wewant to feel in control and lucid during everyPomodoro.”
Youwanttohelpthem.“Forcing”themtotakerealbreaksinthiskindofchallengeis
helpful.
7. Announcethewinner.AttheendofthetimeboxyouassignedfortheHackathon,theJuryassesseseverymicroteam’ssolution,andselectsthebestone.IusuallysetonePomodorofortheJurytoassessthesolutionsandonePomodoroforthemtoshowthewinningsolutiontotheparticipants.ButmyfavoritescenarioistheonewheretheJurycomprisesalltheHackathon’sparticipants.Inthiscase,inthefirstPomodoro,eachmicroteamcanquicklypresenttheirsolution,andinthesecondPomodorothemicroteamsassessandvoteforthebestsolution.WhydoIlikethisscenario?First,becauseallparticipantsintheHackathoncanhaveasharedknowledgeofthesolutiontobeimplemented,andsecond,becausemoreoftenthannotthisisthemomentwhennewideasemergethatimproveonthesolutionthatwasfound.
Of course success is not guaranteed.What if no effective solution has beenfoundinthetimeboxyousetforyourPomodoroHackathon?Thiscanhappen.Youcanthensimplyorganizeanotherround.Ifthisisthecase,though,givetheteamsalongerbreak.For the first round of the Hackathon, I would not recommend rotating
coworkersbetweenmicroteams.However,inanysubsequentrounds,itisagoodideatoswapmembers.Inmyexperience,itisoftenthemicroteamsthatdonotlooklikeagoodmatchonpaperthatendupproducingthemostcreativeresults.
PROSANDCONS
TheadvantageoforganizingaPomodoroHackathon is that teamscanquicklygeneratemany solutions to a critical activity.Whenyour team feels stuck andneeds an immediate, innovative solution to an often complex problem, being
abletohaveandcompareseveralsolutionsisincrediblyvaluable.The disadvantage is that all the microteams involved in the Pomodoro
Hackathonareunabletoworkontheircurrentactivities.
T
THEPRACTICEOFTHERAM
he Assyrians are credited with inventing the battering ram back in theeighthcenturyB.C.Irememberreadingthedescriptionofthis,thesimplestwarmachine, by the Roman architect and writer Vitruvius in his work OnArchitecture.Thebatteringramwassimpleanddestructive:alogwithabronzecapatitsendshapedlikearam.InRomantimes,almostnofortificationcouldwithstand it. If a copy ofOn Architecture should ever come your way, it isdefinitelywortharead.Today, the “walls” we face are the seemingly impenetrable problems that
preventusfromreachingourgoals.Ourbatteringramisourabilitytogenerateandapplyavarietyofsolutions.Everynewideawetestontheproblemislikeablow of the ram hitting the wall. When you feel stuck in front of that wall,encountering another person’s perspective increases the chances of coming upwithanewidea.Themoretimeswecanrepeatthisprocesswithnewpeople,themorelikelyitisthatthewallwillbeunabletowithstandourblowsandwewillreachourgoal.
PROBLEM
Let us imagine we have a team composed of four microteams of two peopleeach.Eachofthefourpairsisworkingonadifferentactivity.Ineachpair,one
memberisresponsiblefortheactivity(Figure38).
FIGURE38:THETEAM
Activity #1 has proved to bemore complex than predicted. Themicroteamworking on it is struggling and has no idea how to proceed. Completing thisactivity isessential if thewhole teamis toreachitsgoals. Ifnotcompletedontime,thisactivitybecomesabottleneckfortheothermicroteams(Figure39).
FIGURE39:MICROTEAM#1ISUNABLETOCOMPLETEITSACTIVITY
Theothermicroteamsareworkinghardtocompleteactivitiesthatareneededtoreachtheteam’sgoals.Theirworkcannotbeinterrupted.Microteam #1 has tried repeatedly, but unsuccessfully, to complete the
activity.Itseemsnecessarytofindawaytoapplythecollectiveintelligenceandproblemsolvingabilitiesofthewholeteamtothisproblem.
SOLUTION
The Practice of the Ram enables teams to complete an activity by using theexperienceofalltheirmemberswhilemaintainingtheirflow.Suchapracticeisparticularly useful to complete activities on time in order to avoid creatingbottlenecksfortherestoftheteam.HereishowthispracticecanhelpMicroteam#1tocompletetheiractivity:
1. ThepersonresponsibleforMicroteam#1—themicroteaminthegripofcrisis—askstherestoftheteamforhelpandbrieflyexplainstheproblem.
FIGURE40:HELP!
2. Fortheothermicroteams,thisisanexternalinterruption(Figure40).Nowalertedtothecriticalsituation,eachpersonresponsiblefortheothermicroteamsagreestoswaphisorhercoworkerwithoneofthecoworkersonMicroteam#1.Microteams#2and#3canswapfromthenextPomodoro,whereasMicroteam#4preferstoswapaftertwoPomodoros.
3. Basedonthecomplexityoftheproblem,andtheavailabilityofthedifferentmicroteams,Katrin,thepersonresponsibleforActivity#1,quicklydrawsuparoster(Figure41)withthenamesoftherotatingcoworkers:themembersofthemicroteamswhowillworkwithher.
FIGURE41:THEROSTER
4. Thisrosteristhensharedwiththeothermicroteams.Allthemicroteamswillmaintainthesamenumberofpeople,two,butonepersonwillbeswappedinandoutofMicroteam#1.AteachPomodorotherewillbeanewcoworker.AteachPomodoro,theramwillhitharderandharder,batteringdowntheproblemthatneedssolving.
FIGURE42:THEFIRSTPOMODORO
5. AtthestartofthenewPomodoro(Figure42),thepersonresponsiblefortheactivityinMicroteam#1continuestoworkontheirtaskbutwithadifferentcoworkeruntiltheendofthePomodoro.InthefirstfiveminutesofthePomodoro,KatrinfromMicroteam#1explainsthedifficultytheyarefacingtothenewcoworker.Inthefinal5minutesofthePomodoro,Katrinwillaskhercoworkerforfeedback.
ThepersonresponsibleforActivities#2,#3,and#4goesthroughthesameprocessof
taking5minutes toget thenewcoworkerup tospeedand the last5minutes toget
feedbackfromthem.
IfafterthefirstPomodorotheproblemhasstillnotbeenresolved,thepersonresponsible for the activity remains and the next rotation shown in the rostertakesplace.KatrincontinuesworkingonActivity#1.AnnalenareplacesStephanand starts working with Katrin. Stephan joins Nik working on Activity #3.Simply, the person responsible for the activity stays put and the other peoplerotatearound.
Inmicroteamsmadeupofmorethantwopeople,itisadvisabletorotatenomorethan
onepersonatatime.
In this example, Katrin drew up a roster based on three Pomodoros.Whathappens if this is not enough to solve the problem? If necessary, the personresponsiblefortheactivitycanapplythePracticeoftheRamagain.Inthebestscenario,thecryforhelpandtheinterruptionitleadstoismanaged
efficiently:Thepersonresponsiblefortheactivitywheretheproblemhasarisenis able to explain the issue to the teammembers and,with their help, quicklycomeupwitharoster.Inthiscase,thePomodorosunderwayineachmicroteamkeepticking.Iftheinterruptionhasnotbeenmanagedandtherosterisnotreadywithin 30 seconds, the people responsible for the activities must void theirPomodoros.
Thirtysecondsmightseemtooshort tomanage theprocessofexplainingaproblem
anddrawinguparoster.Practicemakesitpossible.Herearesomesimpleguidelines
tospeeduptheprocess:Thepersonwhoasksforhelponlyinterruptswhentheyare
sure theycandescribe theproblem inonesentence.Ata request forhelp, theother
microteamsimmediatelyinterrupttheirworkandfocusonthatrequest.Thecoworkers
workingintheothermicroteamswhothinktheycanhelpwiththeproblemimmediately
conveytheirwillingnesstovolunteer.
PROSANDCONS
TheadvantagesofapplyingthePracticeoftheRamare:
Theproblemfacedbyonemicroteam—Microteam#1inFigure40—issharedwiththeteamasawhole,andthepersonresponsiblefortherelatedactivitybenefitsfromtheskillsandexperienceofdifferentteammembers.Theothermicroteams—Microteams#2,#3,and#4inFigure40—cancontinueworkingontheiractivities.Thepeopleinchargeofthosemicroteamscanbenefitfromswappingcoworkers,becausethiscanleadtothesharingofknowledge.
Thedisadvantageof this practice is that it requires interrupting all the teammembersinthevariousmicroteams.
T
OBSERVATIONS
hePomodoroTechniquehasbeenappliedsuccessfullytovarioustypesofactivities: organizing work and study habits, writing books, drafting technicalreports, preparing presentations, and managing projects, meetings, events,conferences,andtrainingcourses.Herearesomeobservationsthathaveemergedfromtheexperienceofpeople
andteamsthathaveappliedthePomodoroTechnique.
LEARNINGTIME
IttakesnotimeatalltoapplythePomodoroTechnique.Masteringthetechniquetakes from 7 to 20 days of constant application.When it is used by pairs orteams,it’seasiertoimplementthetechniqueconsistently.
Experience shows that applying the technique in teams or organizing work in pairs
resultsinashorterlearningtimeandmoreconsistentresults.Inthesecases,eachpair
workswithitsownPomodoro.
THELENGTHOFTHEPOMODORO
IntermsofhowlongaPomodorolasts,twoforceshavetobekeptinbalancetomaximizeeffectiveness:
ThePomodorohastorepresentaneffectiveatomicmeasureofwork.Inotherwords,thePomodorohastomeasureequalunitsofcontinuouseffort;inthisform,theseunitsarecomparablewithothers.Theproblemisthat,aseveryoneknows,alltimeisnotequalintermsoftheoutputofeffort.Allmonthsaren’tequal:Decemberisshorterintermsofthenumberofproductivedays,andsoisAugustinMediterraneancountries.Similarly,alltheweeksinamontharen’tequal:Wedon’tmakethesameeffortineveryweek.Allthedaysinaweekaren’tequal:Onsomedaysyoucanwork8hours,onothersonly5(especiallyifyouneedtogosomewhere),andonstillothersyoumaywork10to12hours(lessoften,Ihope).Evenallthehoursinadayaren’tequal:Noteveryhourproducesthesameamountofeffort,mostlybecauseofinterruptions.Asaunitofmeasure,muchsmallertimeintervalssuchas10minutesmaynotbeinterrupted,buttheydon’tallowustoachieveappreciableresults,andtrackingbecomestoointrusive.Thus,asfarasthisfirstforceisconcerned,halfanhourseemstobeideal.ThePomodorohastoencourageconsciousness,concentration,andclear-mindedthinking.It’sbeenprovedthat20-to45-minutetimeintervalscanmaximizeaperson’sattentionandmentalactivityiftheyarefollowedbyashortbreak.
Inthelightofthesetwoforces,we’vecometoconsidertheidealPomodorotobe 20 to 35minutes long, 40minutes at themost. Experience shows that thePomodoroTechniqueworksbestwith30-minuteperiods.
InvariousworkgroupsthatexperimentedwiththePomodoroTechniqueinmentoring
activities, each teamwas allowed to choose the length of its ownPomodoro on the
condition that that choice be based on observations of effectiveness.Generally, the
teams started off with hour-long Pomodoros (25minutes seemed too short at first),
thenmovedto2hours,thenwentdownto45minutes,thento10,tilltheyfinallysettled
on30minutes.
VARYINGTHELENGTHOFBREAKS
Thelengthofbreaksdependsonhowtiredyoufeel.Breaksat theendofasetshould last from15 to 30minutes. For example, if you’ve kept up an intenserhythmthroughouttheday,attheendofthenexttolastsetofPomodorosyourbreakwill naturally last 25minutes. If you have to solve a very complicatedproblem, you’ll need a 25-minute break between the sets. If you’re especiallytired,it’spossibleandevenbeneficialtolengthenthebreaksbetweensetseverysooften.Butbreaksthatconsistentlyexceed30minutescaninterrupttherhythmbetweensetsofPomodoros.Moreimportant,thissetsoffanalarmsignalingtheneedforrestandfreetime.It would be a serious mistake to take shorter breaks between sets because
you’re under pressure.Yourmindneeds time to integrate old information andget ready to receive new information to solve the problems in the nextPomodoro. Taking a shorter break because you’re in a rush could lead to amentalblockinfindingsolutions.
Forbeginners,oncethelastPomodorointhesetoffourisup,it’sagoodideatoset
thetimerfor25minutesandstartthebreak.Theaimhereisn’ttoimpose25minutes
rigidlybut toensure thatyoudon’tgoover30minutesofbreak time.Thisshouldbe
done only at the beginning. In time, you’ll realize how tired you are and understand
whenyou’rerefreshedandreadytostartagain.
ThesamecanbesaidforbreaksbetweenPomodoros,whichshouldbenolessthan3to5minutes.Whenyou’reespeciallytired,youcanstopworkingforupto 10 minutes. Remember, though, that downtime between Pomodoros thatconsistently lasts more than 5 to 10 minutes can break the rhythm betweenPomodoros. It would be better to finish the current set and take a 15-to 30-minutebreak.Thebestway tomanageyour resources is toworkstrategically,first by increasing the breaks between sets and then by extending the breaksbetweenPomodorosifnecessary.Themost fittingmetaphor formanagingbreaks is long-distance runners.At
thestartofthemarathon,theyknowtheyhavetheenergytorunfaster,buttheyalso know their limits and the difficulty of the challenge ahead.Theymanagetheirresourcestoachievethebestresultatthefinishline.
ADIFFERENTPERCEPTIONOFTIME
The first benefit that comes fromapplying thePomodoroTechnique,which isapparentinthefirstfewdays,isthesharperfocusandconcentrationthatcomesfromadifferentperceptionoftime.Thisnewperceptionofpassingtimeseemstoelicitthefollowingsensations:
1. Thefirst25-minutePomodorosseemtopassmoreslowly.2. AfterafewdaysofconstantapplicationofthePomodoro,userssaythey
canfeelthemidwaypointofthe25minutes.3. BytheendofthefirstweekofconstantapplicationofthePomodoro,users
saytheycanfeelwhen5minutesareleftonthePomodoro.Infact,manypeoplereporthavingasenseoffatigueduringthosefinalminutes.
We can stimulate the ability to feel time in a different way bymeans of aseriesofexercisesthatenhanceconsciousnessofpassingtimeamongPomodorousers.ThisdifferentawarenessofthepassageoftimeseemstoleadPomodorouserstoahigherlevelofconcentrationinperformingtheactivityathand.
SOUNDSOFTHEPOMODORO
The Pomodoro emits two sounds: It ticks, and it rings (after 25 minutes). Inregard to these sounds, there are several things to consider from twodifferentperspectives: Pomodoro users and people sharing the same work space withPomodorousers.
PEOPLEWHOUSETHEPOMODORO
WhenPomodorousersstartapplyingthePomodoroTechnique, thetickingandringing canbe annoying.There arevariousways tomake these sounds softer,but experience shows that in time (even with just a few days of constantapplication)twothingshappen:
Thetickingbecomesacalmingsound.“It’sticking,andI’mworkingandeverything’sfine.”Afterawhile,usersdon’tevenheartheringbecausetheirlevelofconcentrationissohigh.Infact,nothearingthePomodororingbecomesarealprobleminsomecases.
Clearly,thedifferentsensationsthatareelicitedbythesamesoundsaresignsofaprofoundchangeinaperson’sperceptionofpassingtime.
PEOPLEWHOARESUBJECTTOTHEPOMODORONowconsiderpeoplewhohave to“putupwith” thePomodoro.This situationmayarisewhenthetechniqueisusedinasharedspace;forexample,studyhallsatauniversityoranopen-spaceworkenvironment.To respect the people who don’t use the Pomodoro, a number of solutions
havebeen tested. Inorderofeffectiveness, theseare:watches thatcountdown25minutesandthenflashorbeepsoftly,cellphoneswithsoftwareapplicationsthatvibrateormakethedisplayflash,andkitchentimerswithmutedrings.ThetickingandringingofseveralPomodorosinanenvironmentwhereateam
isusingthePomodoroTechniqueisn’tconsideredbothersome.
SHAPESOFTHEPOMODORO
Obviously, thekitchen timeryouusedoesn’thave tobe shaped likea tomato.Apples,pears,oranges,toasters,cooks,spheres,UFOs—themarketfortimersisasvariedasitisupbeat.ChoosingyourownPomodoro(weshouldsay“timer”)makesthetechniquemoreenjoyableandaccessible.
RINGANXIETY
Whenoneislearningthetechnique,theremaybesomeanxietyduringthefirstfew Pomodoros from the feeling of being controlled by the Pomodoro.Experienceshowsthatthisfeelingemergesmostfrequentlyintwocases:
Amongpeoplewhoarenotusedtoself-disciplineAmongpeoplewhoareveryorientedtowardachievingresults
Inbothcases,itwillprovedifficulttoconcentrateontheprimaryobjectiveofthe technique: empowering each person to improve his or her work or studyprocessthroughself-observation.For people who aren’t used to self-discipline, ring anxiety generally arises
from the fear that the Pomodoro Technique might be used to monitor theirprogressexternally.It’simportanttostressthattheaimofthetechniqueisnottocarryoutanysortofexternalanalysisorcontrol.WiththePomodoroTechnique,thereisnoinspectorwhomonitorsworkers’hoursandmethodsinanoppressivefashion.ThePomodoroTechniquemustnotbemisconstruedasa formof thiskind of external control. Instead, the technique was created to satisfy thepersonalneedtoimprove,andithastobeappliedspontaneously.Casesofresults-orientedpeoplearemorecommon.Ifeverytickseemslikean
invitation toworkquickly and if every tock repeats thequestion “Am Igoingfast enough?” these are signs of full immersion in what we might call theBecomingSyndrome.Today this isquitecommon.Theunderlying fearpeoplehavehere is usually the inability to demonstrate their effectiveness as fully asthey’d like to others and to themselves. The Pomodoro is a method forcomparison,ifnotwithothersthenatleastwiththemselves,andeverytickandtockseemstorevealtheirlackofability.Underpressurefromtimethatpasses,they look for shortcuts, but this isn’t the way to go faster; shortcuts lead todefectsandinterruptionsthatfeedintotheirfearoftimeinaviciouscircle.Howcantheyhearthetickingasacalmingsound?Theideaorthesolutionmightbejustaroundthecornerwiththenexttick,butthey’llmissitiftheykeepthinkingabouthowquicklytimeispassing.ThefirstthingtolearnwiththePomodoroTechniqueisthatseemingfastisn’t
important;reachingthepointofactuallybeingfastis.Youdothisbylearningtomeasureyourself,observehowyouwork,anddevelop thevalueofcontinuity.This is why the first objective to achieve with the Pomodoro Technique issimplytomarkdownthePomodorosyou’vecompleted.If it takes four Pomodoros to draft a simple two-page review, it’s not
importantthatyouexpectedtofinishintwoPomodorosorthatyouwanttoshoweveryonethatyoucanfinishintwo.What’simportantis tofindouthowtogofromfourtotwo.The initial challenge is knowing how to analyze the way you work on the
basis of test measurements collected every 30 minutes and not havingexpectations about the result. Simply work, track, observe, and change toimprove if you need to. Once this is understood, the ticking starts to have adifferentsound.Youneedtoconcentratetobefast.The next step is to estimate and—why not?—even challenge yourself to
succeedincompletingaparticularactivitywithintheestimatedtime.Thisisone
oftherulesofthegameforthePomodoroTechnique,butnevertakeshortcuts!TheXsmarkingcompletedPomodorosarefrustratingwhentheygetcloserandclosertothelastestimatedPomodorobox.Butyouhavetobebraveandkeeponworking,stayingcalmandconcentrating,tobesuccessful.Stimulatingthevalueofcontinuityleadstoproductivityandcreativity.EverytickofthePomodoro,ifyouhearit,isaninvitationtostayfocusedandalertandtocontinue.
At first, even getting through a single Pomodoro a day without interruptions is an
excellent result, because it allows you to observe your process. The next day your
effort will be focused on completing at least one Pomodoro with no interruptions,
possibly twoormore.With thePomodoroTechnique, thenumberofPomodorosyou
finish doesn’t matter so much as the pathway to consistently achieving more
Pomodoros.This same incrementalapproachshouldbeusedwhenyou takeup the
PomodoroTechniqueagainafter youhaven’t used it for awhile (for example,when
yougetback fromavacation). In this case, it takespatienceandabit of training to
reach10to12Pomodorosadayconsistently.
CONSTANTINTERNALINTERRUPTIONS
When you perceive internal interruptions as things that can’t be postponed, itbecomesdifficulttocompleteevenasinglePomodoroinawholeday.Inthesecases,wesuggestthatyousetthePomodorofor25minutesandforceyourself,PomodoroafterPomodoro, toincrease(and,moreimportant,neverreduce)thetime you work nonstop. The final objective is to get to the 25-minute markhaving worked continuously, with no interruptions: “In this Pomodoro I’vemanaged to work for ten minutes without interruptions; in the next one I’mgoing to work no less than ten minutes, maybe even just one minute more.”ResultscomePomodoroafterPomodoro.
THENEXTPOMODOROWILLGOBETTERThe feeling of having time to do things and not using it well is oftenincapacitating.Yourmindstartswanderingfromthepasttothefuture:“IfonlyI’ddonethatresearchontheInternetyesterday,andifonlyI’dsentthate-maillastweek.HowamIgoingtodeliverthereportbynextweek?”Thisprovokes
feelingsofguiltandcreatesanxiety-filledsituations.The Pomodoro Technique allows you to keep your focus on the current
Pomodoroor,oncethat’sdone,thenextPomodoro.Yourattentionisonthehereandnow, emphasizing the search for a concreteway to stimulate the value ofcontinuityandcarryoutactivitiesinthemostreasonableorder.Whenyoufeel lost,aPomodorocanbededicated toexploration togetyour
prioritiesstraightandlayoutanewplan.Ifyourideasareclearbutsomething’smissing—maybe determination, maybe a bit of courage—don’t sit aroundwaiting.WindupthePomodoroandstartworking.Peoplewho have the habit of procrastinating say that they benefit from the
fact that the Pomodoro enables them to concentrate and achieve little things(activities that take five to seven Pomodoros’ worth of effort at the most),withouthavingtoworryabouteverything.OnePomodoroatatime,oneactivityatatime,oneobjectiveatatime.Forpersonalitytypeswithastrongtendencytoprocrastinate, it’s important to realize that the initial objective is to finish onePomodoro—25minutesofworkonaparticularactivity—withoutinterruptions.
WHATTYPEOFTIMERWORKSBEST?What kind of Pomodoro is most effective: a mechanical timer or a piece ofsoftware?Speakingfromexperience,themosteffectivePomodoroisalwaysthekitchen timer. Inanycase, toguarantee thegreatestpossibleeffectiveness, thePomodorohastomeetanumberofrequirements:
Youhavetobeabletowinditup.TheactofwindingupthePomodoroisadeclarationofyourdeterminationtostartworkingontheactivityathand.Ithastoshowclearlyhowmuchtimeisleft,anditshouldmakeatickingsoundastimepasses.Thisisawaytopracticefeelingtimeandstayfocused.Itshouldmakeanaudible,easilyidentifiedsoundtosignalthattime’sup.
What’s more, to mark the end of a Pomodoro or to eliminate a finishedactivityfromtheToDoTodaySheet,Pomodoropractitionersshoulduseexplicitgestures.Forthisreason,it’sbetterifthosegesturesaren’tautomated.
IMPROVINGESTIMATES
One of the more tangible results that can be attained with the PomodoroTechnique involves improving theability toestimate.Thisdevelopsalong twopathways:
IMPROVEMENTOFQUANTITATIVEESTIMATESbyreducingtheerrorbetweenestimatedPomodorosandactualPomodoros.Inotherwords,whenoneisplanningtheday’stasks,theeffortneededtocompleteaspecificactivitycanbepredictedaccurately.Self-observationand30-minutemeasurementsarethebasisformoreexactestimates.Experienceshowsthatapositivesignofimprovementinestimationoccurswhenthenumberofcasesofunderestimationisequaltothenumberofcasesofoverestimation.Astrategyorientedtowardsystematicoverestimationorunderestimationdoesnotleadtoquantitativeimprovement.Learningtoestimateisessentialtobeingeffective.IMPROVEMENTOFQUALITATIVEESTIMATESbyreducingthenumberofactivitiesthatwerenotincludedintheplanningphase.Inotherwords,whileoneisplanningtheday’stasks,thenumbersandtypesofactivitiesthatactuallyhavetobedonecanbepinpointed(weakversion)or,evenbetter,thespecificsetofactivitiesthatservetoachievethegivenobjectivewiththeleastpossibleeffortcanbeidentified(strongversion).Overallunderestimationhappenswhenwedon’tcorrectlyidentifytheactivitiesthathavetobedoneordon’trealizethattheactivitieswehaveidentifiedaren’tthemosteffective.WiththePomodoroTechnique,unplannedactivitiesaretrackedwhentheyemerge.ObservingandunderstandingthenatureoftheseactivitiesallowsPomodorouserstohonetheirforecastingandorganizingskills.
WhydoesthePomodoroTechniqueimprovebothaspectsofestimation?Oneof the common causes of quantitative and qualitative improvement is that theactivitieswemeasurearecontinuallydividedupaccordingtothefollowingrule:IfittakesmorethanfivetosevenPomodoros,breakitdown.Smalleractivitiesaremoreunderstandableandeasier toestimate,andso the
margin of error shrinks. Smaller activities (but not too small) enable us torecognizesimplersolutions.Infact,theaimofbreakingdownactivitiesshouldnever be simply to divide them up as far as possible. Instead, the point is toidentifyincrementalpathsthathavetheleastpossiblecomplexity.
MOTIVATIONANDTHEPOMODORO
With the Pomodoro Technique, three factors contribute to boosting personalmotivation:
Completingseveralactivitiesadaythataren’ttoosimpleortoocomplex(Rule:IfittakesmorethanfivetosevenPomodoros,breakitdown)andthathelpyoureachyourobjectiveDirectlyinfluencingpersonalimprovementonaday-to-daybasisBeingawareofhowyouwork/howyou’reworkingthankstocontinualobservationandmeasurement
ANDIFEVERYTHINGGOESCOMPLETELYWRONG?Whatshouldyoudoifyougetcaughtupinarushorhaveacaseofnervesorapanic attack? If you start feeling the anxiety of becoming and the deadline isgettingcloserbythesecond?Whatshouldyoudointhecaseoftotalparalysis?Thatcanhappen.It’sonlyhuman.ThePomodoroTechniqueisextremelyusefulinthesecircumstances.First,takealookatthesituation.Trytounderstandwhatwentwrongduring
thelastPomodoro.Ifnecessary,reorganizeactivities;beopentonewthingstoinclude and innovative strategies for pinpointing essential tasks. Focus on thenext Pomodoro. Keep on working. Concentration and consciousness lead tospeed,onePomodoroatatime.If you’re especially tired, you need to organize shorter sets (e.g., three
Pomodoros)andtakelongerbreaksbetweensets.Themoretiredyouareorthemore behind or panic-stricken you feel, themore important it is to repeat andreviewratherthanforgeaheadatallcosts.Thekeyobjectiveisnevertorecoverlosttimebutinsteadtobefocusedontakingthenextsteponyourchosenpath,whichyouoften—consciously—change.
THEPOMODOROHASALIMIT
Themaindisadvantageof thePomodoroTechnique is that to reachyourgoalseffectively, you need to accept help from a little mechanical object.
Discontinuing theuseof thePomodoroTechniqueactuallydiminishesmostofthepositiveeffectsdescribedabove.Thoughyouretaintheabilitytobreakdownactivitiesincrementallyandmaykeeptakingshortbreaks,thedisciplineensuredby the Pomodoro seems to be the key to maintaining a high level ofeffectiveness.
WHENNOTTOUSETHEPOMODOROThePomodoroTechnique shouldn’t be used for activities you do in your freetime. In fact, use of thePomodorowouldmake these activities scheduled andgoal-oriented.That’snolongerfreetime.Ifyoudecidetoreadabooksimplyforpleasure,youshouldn’tuse thePomodoroTechnique.This isunscheduledfreetime.
I
MASTERINGTHETECHNIQUE
nactualfact,thepositiveeffectsofthePomodoroTechniqueonindividualorteam productivity come from a number of different factors. Those factors aresummarizedbelow.
INVERTINGTHEDEPENDENCYONTIME
ThePomodoro representsanabstractionof time,abox thatcanholdand limitbecomingandonwhichtimedependsintheend.It’spreciselybybreakingandinvertingourdependencyonbecoming thatadifferentvisionof timeemerges.Bymeasuringourselvesagainstafiniteabstractionoftime—thePomodoro—wecansucceedinbreakingourdirectdependencyontheconceptofbecoming.Specifically, the time-boxing concept and the typical Pomodorian notion of
time running backward (from 25 minutes to 0) generate positive tension(eustress) thatcanfacilitate thedecision-makingprocess.Ingeneral terms, thisstimulates the vital contact you need to assert yourself and at the same timeaccomplishactivities.Thepassageoftimeisperceivednolongerasnegativebutaspositive.Every
Pomodoro represents the opportunity to improve or, in crisis situations, toreorganizerapidly.Themoretimepasses,thebetterthechancetoimproveyourprocess.Themore timepasses, themoreeasilyactivitiescanbeestimatedand
scheduled.Themore timepasses, themore the feelingof anxiety is assuaged,and in its place come enhanced consciousness, sharper focus on the here andnow, and a clearermind in deciding on your nextmove. The result is higherproductivity.Moreover, the same dependency inversion mechanism is applied in the
Pomodoro Technique to reduce and eliminate interruptions. This increasesconcentration and continuity in work, and here, too, there is a considerablecorrelatedriseinproductivity.
REGULATINGCOMPLEXITY
We can maximize our motivation by accomplishing several challengingactivitieseverydaythatareneithertoocomplexnortooeasysimplybyapplyingthefollowingrules:
IfittakesmorethanfivetosevenPomodoros,breakitdown.IfittakeslessthanonePomodoro,additup.
Less complex activities are usually easier to estimate, and so quantitativeestimates improve. Breaking down activities so that they deliver incrementalvaluealsobolstersourdeterminationtoattainourobjectives.
DETACHMENT
Frequent breaks with the Pomodoro are essential to achieving more lucid,conscious, and effective mental capacity with a resulting increase inproductivity. It is important to note that in many environments there is anaversion to breaks, as if they were a sign of weakness. Common wisdom inmanycompaniesseemstobe“Realmanagersstartthemeetingat9a.m.andendat 10 p.m. and never leave their office.”This extreme behavior atwork oftenlays a solid foundation for frustration, poor concentration, and, consequently,ineffectiveness.ByapplyingthePomodoroTechnique,manypeoplehavebeguntounderstand
thevalueandeffectivenessofdetachment.Abreakevery25minutesletsyouseethings from a different perspective and enables you to comeupwith different
solutions; you often find mistakes to correct, and your creative processes arestimulated.Detachmentenhancesthevalueofcontinuity.Butthebreakreallyhastobeabreak.Itdoesnotconsistsimplyofstopping
an activity when the 25-minute buzzer rings or when a set is finished andcontinuing to think about that task during the break. With the PomodoroTechnique, you get used to stopping and disengaging from continuous worksituations that don’t improve individual or team effectiveness. Stopping,detaching,andobservingyourself from theoutsideenhanceawarenessofyourbehavior.Stoppingbecomessynonymouswithstrength,notweakness.
OBSERVATIONANDCONTINUALFEEDBACK
ThePomodoroTechniquerepresentsamethodofcomparisonevery25minutes.The first and last 5minutesof aPomodoro,which serve to reviewand repeatwhat you’ve done, enable you to realizewhether a certain course of action iseffective. Pair work magnifies this positive phenomenon more than doesindividual or group work. In the most critical cases, it’s possible to changedirectionfromtheverynextPomodoro,reschedulingtheactivities thatneedtobedone.Recording data at least once a day,with tracking every 30minutes, lets us
assesstheeffectivenessofourmodusoperandionthebasisofobjectivemetrics.By observingwhat you’ve recorded, you canmake a decision tomodify yourprocess, improving the content of activities, defining clearer objectives orbreakingdownactivities,identifyingandeliminatingduplicatedorunnecessaryactivity or phases, and testing alternative strategies for assembling activitieswhilereducingerrorinqualitativeestimates.Thechancetoaffectyourworkorstudyprocessdirectlybysteeringittoward
improvement stimulates your personal interest in accomplishing activities byassertingyourself.
SUSTAINABLEPACE
Respectingthetimetableforworkandbreakscontributestotheachievementofcontinuity.Infact,toguaranteeconsistentlyhighproductivity,itisnoteffectivetomakeyourselfworkor studynonstop frommorning tillnight.An industrial
machinecertainlyproducesmore if itworksa long timewithout stopping,buthumanbeingsdon’tfunctionlikeindustrialmachines.ByrespectingthescheduleforbreaksbetweensinglePomodorosandsetsof
Pomodoros, you canwork and studywhilemaintaining your pace.You’ll gettired,whichisonlynatural,butyouwon’tbecomeexhausted.Inotherwords,byconsciously managing breaks and the complexity of content, in time, anyonewhousesthePomodoroTechniquecancometoknowhisorhersustainablepaceorphysiologicalrhythm.
RTHENEXTSTEP
eady to go? Already have a timer? Downloaded the templates andworksheetsfromthePomodoroTechniquewebsite?Thenlet’sgetstarted.
Apathofimprovementliesbeforeyouthatinvolvesdiscipline,observation,andfun.Setting the timerandworkingwith thePomodoroTechniquewillprovideyou with positive results even before you have reached the first of thetechnique’ssixobjectives.Whatcouldhelpyoutakethenextstep?Hereareafewtipsandsuggestionsto
keepyouonthepathofstep-by-stepimprovement:
EACHANDEVERYPOMODOROISIMPORTANT.Theobjectiveoftheentiretechniqueistodeveloppersonalawarenessoftime;thatis,tobecomeawareofeachofyournextsteps.Witheachstep,yousupportthedevelopmentofthisawareness.Observationrequireseffortanddiscipline,andsoyouneedtocollectinformationabouthowyouwork—andyouneedtodoitinasystematicway.It’sgreattoamazeourselveswithourimprovementsandtoridourselvesofillusionsalongtheway.YOUDON’THAVETOCOMPETEWITHTIME.WiththePomodoroTechnique,timeisatoolthatpromotesyourworkifitisusedinaconsciousway.Awarenessistheobjective,andtimeisthetool.Wouldyoucompetewithahammer?There’snopoint.Insomecases,youmayfeelthedesiretoprevailovertime;forexample,whenyoufeeltheneedtocompleteahighnumberofPomodorosbytheendofthedaytobeatsomerecord.Indoingso,however,youalreadyhavelost,forasBaudelairesaid:“Timeisagreedyplayerwhowinswithoutcheating,everyround.”1Anyformof
competitionwithtimeisdestinedtofail.Supposethatduringoneofthesecompetitionsyousuddenlyrealizewhatyouaredoing.Thenwhat?Whatshouldyoudo?StopthePomodoroandtakeadeepbreath.Remember:ThenextPomodorowillgobetter.TAKEBREAKS.ThebreakisthemostimportantstructuralelementofthePomodoroTechnique.Breaksallowyoutostepawayforamoment,recognizefatigue,anddecidewhethertostoporcontinue.BytakingabreakyouwillbeginthenextPomodorowithgreaterclarityandwillingnesstowork.Breaksmakeusmoreproductive,andtheydon’tinvolveanywork.ACHIEVEONEOBJECTIVEATATIME.ThePomodoroTechniqueisdividedintoaseriesofincrementalobjectives.Successinreachingeachobjectiveisfosteredbyconsciousapplicationandsuccesswithpreviousobjectives.Todeterminewhetheryouhavetrulyachievedanobjectiveandtoavoiddeceivingyourself,itcanbeusefultoformulatetheexpectedimprovementsthatshouldbeobtainedfromthevariousobjectivesbyaskingquestionstowhichyoucanansweryesorno:
HaveIbeenmorealertandclearheadedusingthefirstandlastfewminutesofthePomodorotoreviewwhatIhavedone?HaveIfoundthatrevisingandrepeatingactivitiesismoreeffectiveifitisdonealoud?HaveIfoundthatrevisingandrepeatingactivitiesismoreeffectivewhenitisdonewithapartner?
Ifyounoticethatyoukeepansweringnoandcannoteasilyachieveacertainobjective, ask yourself if you have applied the previous objectives fully andconsciously. In any case, hold off onworking on an objective until you haveachievedthepreviousones.
THEREISNONEEDTORUSH.YourobjectiveisnottoreachalltheobjectivesofthePomodoroTechniqueinaslittletimeaspossible;thatwouldjustbeanotherwayofcompetingwithtime.Yes,slowdown.There’snoreasontorush.Takeyourtime.Enjoythewayinwhichyouachievethecurrentobjective.Pleasuredoesnotcomefromhurryingonnervouslytothenextobjectivebutfromconsciouslyexperiencingthecurrentone.
Enoughsaid.Nowit’sPomodoroTime.Letthefunbegin!
1CharlesBaudelaire,FlowersofEvil,OxfordUniversityPress,2008.
RULES
APomodoroconsistsof25minutesplusa5-minutebreak(thispage).
AftereveryfourPomodoros,takea15-to30-minutebreak(thispage).
ThePomodoroisindivisible.TherearenohalforquarterPomodoros(thispage,thispage,thispage).
IfaPomodorobegins,ithastoring(thispage).
IfaPomodoroisinterrupteddefinitively,it’svoid(thispage).
IfyoucompleteanactivityduringaPomodoro,reviewyourworkuntilthePomodororings(thispage).
ProtectthePomodoro.Informeffectively,negotiatequicklytorescheduletheinterruption,andgetbacktothepersonwhointerruptedyou,asagreed(thispage).
IfittakesmorethanfivetosevenPomodoros,breakitdown.Complexactivitiesshouldbedividedintoseveralactivities(thispage,thispage,thispage,thispage,thispage).
IfittakeslessthanonePomodoro,additup.Simpletaskscanbecombined(thispage,thispage,thispage).
ResultsareachievedPomodoroafterPomodoro(thispage).
TheTimetableAlwaysOverridesthePomodoro(thispage,thispage).
OneMicroteam,OnePomodoro.EachmicroteamhasandmanagesitsownPomodoro(thispage,thispage).
ThenextPomodorowillgobetter(thispage,thispage,thispage,thispage).
GLOSSARY
POMODORO.Akitchentimerusedtomeasure25-minuteintervals.Thenameofthetechniquecomesfromthefirst timerused,whichwasshapedlikeatomato(pomodoroinItalian).
TIME-BOXING.Withthistechnique,onceaseriesofactivitieshasbeenassignedtoa specific time interval, the delivery date for those activities should neverchange.Ifnecessary,theunfinishedactivitiescanbereassignedtothenexttimeinterval.
QUALITATIVEESTIMATIONERROR.Thiserroroccurswhenalltheactivitiesneededtoreachacertaingoalhavenotbeenidentified.
QUANTITATIVE ESTIMATION ERROR. This error occurs when the estimation of asingle activity (or set of activities) is higher (overestimation) or lower(underestimation)thantheactualeffort.
GETTOWORK
THEOFFICIALWEBSITE
FrancescoCirillo.com/pages/pomodorotechnique
THEOFFICIALBOOKSITE
FrancescoCirillo.com/products/the-pomodoro-technique
THEPUBLICCOURSE
FrancescoCirillo.com/products/pomodorotechnique-public-course
LearndirectlyfromFrancescoCirillo,creatorofthePomodoroTechnique,withthishands-ontrainingcourse.
THEONLINECOURSE
FrancescoCirillo.com/products/pomodorotechnique-online-course
LearndirectlyfromFrancescoCirillo,creatorofthePomodoroTechnique,withthisonlinecourse.
CERTIFICATION
FrancescoCirillo.com/products/certified-pomodoro-technique-practitioner
Become a Certified Pomodoro Technique Practitioner with this self-guidedcertificationprogramthatyoucandofromanywhere.
EVENTSANDMEETUPS
FrancescoCirillo.com/pages/calendar
Conferences and fun get-togethers where you can meet other PomodoroTechniqueusers,FrancescoCirillo,andmembersofthePomodoroTeam.
Facebook.com/francescocirilloconsulting
Twitter.com/pomodorotech
BIBLIOGRAPHY
CharlesBaudelaire,FlowersofEvil(OxfordUniversityPress,2008),ISBN978-0199535583.
HenriBergson,CreativeEvolution(BookJungle,2009),ISBN978-1438528175.
JeromeBruner,TheProcessofEducation(HarvardUniversityPress,1977),ISBN978-0674710016.
JaneB.BurkaandLenoraM.Yuen,Procrastination:WhyYouDoIt,WhattoDoAboutItNow(DaCapoLifelongBooks,2008),ISBN978-0738211701.
TonyBuzan,TheBrainUser’sGuide(Plume,1983),ISBN978-0525480457.
Hans-GeorgGadamer,TruthandMethod(Continuum,2004),ISBN978-0826405852.
TomGilb,PrinciplesofSoftwareEngineeringManagement(Addison-Wesley,1996),ISBN978-0201192469.
AbrahamH.Maslow,TowardaPsychologyofBeing(Wiley,1998),ISBN978-0471293095.
EugèneMinkowski,LivedTime(NorthwesternUniversityPress,1970),ISBN978-0810103221.
FACKNOWLEDGMENTS
irstandforemost,IwanttothankmyfriendandmentorGiovanniCaputo,forhavingaccompaniedmeyetagainonthisadventure.Thanks also go to everyonewho encouragedme to write and improve this
book: Katrin Rampf, Marco Isella, Crawford McCubbin, Katharina Martina,Carlo Garatti, Lucy Vauclair, Michelle Ogata, Mick McGovern, PiergiulianoBossi, Claudia Sandu, Meihua Su, Daniela Faggion, and Alessandra DelVecchio,tonameafew.Thanks to all those who learned the Pomodoro Technique through my
workshops;theirfeedbackenabledmetoobservethetechniqueandimproveit.Inparticular:AnnWilson,LeeSullivan,KatieGeddes,SimoneGenini,BrunoBossola, Giannandrea Castaldi, Roberto Crivelli, Ernesto Di Blasio, AlbertoQuario, Loris Ugolini, Alberico Gualfetti, Marco Dani, Luigi Mengoni,LeonardoMarinangeli,FedericoDeFelici,andNicolaCanalini.
ABOUTTHEAUTHOR
FRANCESCO CIRILLO is the inventor of the PomodoroTechnique.Aninnovatorinprocess-improvementmethods,aswellas an entrepreneur, software designer, mentor, and instructor,Francesco has trained thousands of people around the world. Hecurrently teaches at the Berlin School of Economics and Law.Francesco also runs Cirillo Consulting, where he develops newtoolsandtechniquestoimproveindividualandteamproductivity.
TolearnmoreaboutFrancescoandCirilloConsultingvisitwww.FrancescoCirillo.com.
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