Be Twice As Productive With This Easy 4-Step Pomodoro Technique

You pick up your pen and start the workday scribbling a to-do list, remembering to include yesterday’s unfinished tasks. The workload ahead of you seems daunting, but you don’t fret. You simply start working from the top of your list, hoping to tick it all off by 5 PM.

Sounds impossible? Oh well, there’s always tomorrow. And the cycle goes on and on.

Does this story sound too familiar? We’ve all been there—starting the day feeling productive, planning to finish all the work ahead of us, but ending it realizing there’s still a lot left to do. Tax season, anyone?

But after learning about The 4-Step Pomodoro Technique, finishing work tasks—or any task—becomes quicker. This approach helps you make use of your time more efficiently, so you can do more in the same amount of time.

So, here’s how you could make this clever method work for you.

The 4-Step Pomodoro Technique

While in college, Francesco Cirillo was looking for a way of doing more work in less time. His pondering led him to develop The 4-Step Pomodoro Technique, now being used all around the world by people who, like him, simply want to be more productive. 

Now, we’re sharing with you how you could apply these 4 easy steps, and be on top of your work tasks.

Step 1: Choose One Task to Accomplish

Make a list of the things you need to do. As simple as that. Need to prepare an Alphalist? Put it in. Compute payroll for this upcoming payout? Include it. Write it on your planner or type it up in your task manager app. What’s important here is to compile everything that you need to finish in one place.

It’s even better if you could list these tasks in order of priority. That way, you’ll know which ones are urgent and which ones can be delegated, outsourced, or pushed back until later.

Now that you’re done prioritizing, you may have a pretty long list of tasks, but you know which ones need to be done first. Choose one from these high-priority tasks and move forward to step two.

Step 2: Work For 25 Minutes Straight

For step two, set up a timer for 25 minutes or use one of these Pomodoro timer apps. This will be your timeframe for working on the task you’ve chosen from step one. Remember, use your 25 minutes to focus on this task and this task only. No distractions. 

Why is this necessary? We bet everyone has experienced this: You’re working, focusing on your to-do’s, when all of a sudden, a colleague has to ask a simple question. You answer and get back to work. After a few minutes, you feel the need to use the bathroom. You do and get back to work. Oh, it’s time for lunch? Okay, you go and decide to get back to your task after. 

The next thing you know, it’s already 5 PM and you’ve only accomplished a handful of your tasks for the day. It’s because of all these little distractions continuously building up and keeping you from finishing the task at hand. 

If you’re easily distracted, try popping in your earphones and listening to instrumental music. If the office environment allows, you could even move someplace quiet—try the pantry outside lunch hour. This way, you can make sure to devote your whole 25 minutes to your task.

Step 3: Take a 5-Minute Break

The next step comes once your 25 minutes are up. Set another timer, now for 5 minutes, for a well-deserved break. This is step three. Regardless if you finished your task from step one, take this moment to rest your eyes, stretch your legs, and drink some water. You’ve been working non-stop for quite some time, so let your mind relax. 

Did you finish the task at hand? Congratulations! After the break, go back to your list, mark it as done, and choose the next task you’ll work on.

If not, no worries. Not all tasks can be finished in one round of Pomodoro.

Once your break time is up, make your way towards another 25 minutes of focused work.

Step 4: After 4 Pomodoros, Take a 25-Minute Break

This is probably everyone’s favorite Pomodoro step. Again, set a timer for 25 minutes. This time though, rather than working, treat yourself to a long break. You deserve a pat on the back for committing to four rounds of focused work with only quick breaks in between.

In the 4-Step Pomodoro Technique, what’s important is to balance work and productivity with relaxation. This enables you to do more in less time. Why? Because you’re getting trained to focus on the task at hand in set time frames. This allows your brain to only focus on one thing at a time.

At this point, you know how the 4-Step Pomodoro Technique works. We’ve shared with you this simple yet very effective time management method. It works wonders on us and hopefully, to you as well, as you take this learning and apply it to your work.