lifestyle and culture

The first time I learned about the Pomodoro Technique, I was standing in my manager’s office as she was staring at a tomato. She was convinced it would help improve her focus and her productivity. I remember being very confused and asking myself, “How in the world will this tomato help her get work done more efficiently?” Turns out, she was onto something. Well, actually Francesco Cirillo was on to something first.
In the late 1980s, Cirillo developed the Pomodoro Technique while attending business school in Rome. How does the tomato timer come into play? “Pomodoro” in Italian means “tomato”, and Cirillo originally used a tomato timer when he first coined this productivity technique.
My manager isn’t the only person who’s been intrigued by the Pomodoro Technique. Since its creation over 30 years ago, more than 2 million people have used this method to increase their focus and productivity—but how does it actually work? Here’s everything you need to know.

So, what exactly is the Pomodoro Technique?
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method that breaks a large task, or series of tasks, into short, timed intervals of work. Francesco Cirillo used a kitchen timer to break his work into 25-minute intervals followed by short breaks. Each interval of work and break is called a Pomodoro. The Pomodoro Technique is meant to improve focus and increase productivity by reducing distractions and reducing complexity. Each Pomodoro helps create smaller, more manageable tasks and improve concentration.

How do I give the Pomodoro Technique a try?
There are six steps to the Pomodoro Technique. Let’s break them down.

Step 1: Select your task. This task can be big or small. It’s totally up to you! The most important thing to keep in mind is that it’s work that requires your full, undivided attention.
Step 2: Set a timer for 25 minutes. You can use a traditional timer like Cirillo did, or an online timer. You can even set a timer on your phone or download an app, but keep in mind that during this time you are committing to no interruptions. That means that you won’t pick up your phone to check social media, answer a text, or even respond to an email.
Step 3: Work on the task until the timer rings. As soon as you start your timer, your only objective is to immerse yourself in the task at hand. Remember, no distractions. But because it’s not uncommon for random thoughts to pop into your head (think that one item on your to-do list you totally spaced on), keep a piece of paper handy. If you have a thought that pops into your head, quickly write it down, and then get back to work.
Step 4: When the timer goes off, stop working. Metaphorical pencils down! Your 25 minutes are up, and it’s time for a break. At this time, put a checkmark on a piece of paper so you can keep track of how many Pomodoros you’ve completed.
Step 5: Take a short break. The key word is short. The break should only be 5-10 minutes long. Set a timer and do anything unrelated to work. Go for a quick walk. Refill your coffee cup. Grab some water. Do a few breathing exercises. Literally anything other than work.
Step 6: Lather, rinse, repeat. Congratulations! You’ve completed one Pomodoro. It’s time to get back to work. Once you’ve completed four Pomodoros (approximately two hours if you’re working for 25 minutes with a five-minute break), it’s time to take a longer break. This break should be around 20 minutes, but it can be up to 30 minutes. This time is used as a reset before you begin your next set of Pomodoros.

A few tips and tricks when implementing the Pomodoro Technique
The Pomodoro Technique is fairly simple, but staying focused, which is the reason you’re probably trying out this technique, is often easier said than done. But I promise, you’ll get the hang of it after a few tries, and it works! While you won’t find a tomato on my desk anytime soon, I can attest to the magic that is a Pomodoro.
As you’re working through your Pomodoros, here are a few things to keep in mind.

Working in intervals is meant to instill a sense of urgency. So while you might find your flow right before the timer sounds, the built-in breaks are there for a reason (i.e., to help reduce fatigue and burnout). It’s important to trust the process.
The Pomodoro Technique is a great way to take a larger, more complex project and break it into smaller, more digestible tasks. So just because you think a task will take longer than 25 minutes, doesn’t mean it’s not worthy of this technique.
If you finish a task in the middle of a Pomodoro, use any remaining time to review your work or take a look at your to-do list to identify what you’d like to work on next.
By keeping track of how many Pomodoros it takes for you to complete an item on your to-do list, you can begin to learn where your time is spent throughout the day to start to create efficiencies in your work week.

 
Can I use the Pomodoro Technique with others?
Yes! While the Pomodoro Technique was originally developed for solo work, there’s a benefit to adapting it to use with your colleagues and teams. For example, try scheduling time with a friend or co-worker to sync up your Pomodoros. Whether in person, over Zoom, or via text, holding each other accountable for knocking out your to-do list is a win-win scenario.
You can even try the Pomodoro Technique with teams. Say you need to brainstorm for an upcoming project, set a timer for 25 minutes, and let your minds run wild. When that timer is up, take a team walk or snack break before diving back in. Accountability is a powerful tool, and the Pomodoro Technique allows you to hold yourself and others accountable for achieving your goals.

5 Expert-Backed Productivity Tips That Will Actually Help You Get Things Done More

I’m a big believer that everything happens for a reason, especially when it comes to your career. Whether it’s taking a job just to pay the bills (been there!) or taking a role that is far from your dream job just to get your foot in the door (done that!), it can be easy to wonder if all of these random jobs will ever get you where you want to go. In a world where we regularly see people in our networks announcing a shiny new job offer or promotion on LinkedIn, it’s easy to feel down about working a less-than-stellar job. But all is not lost, because even if it’s not your dream role, making the most out of any opportunity can take you places you’d never expect.
I’ve been there a few times in my career, but one role, in particular, stands out. I knew I wanted to work in the content and editorial world, but it can be hard to break into the industry (gird your loins indeed!). After trying and failing to get a job in the fashion world, I took an entry-level position as a copy editor at a digital publication and bravely walked into the full-time working world. That role ended up being a lot of fun, helped me learn key skills that I still use today, and gave me my first steady paycheck, but those actually weren’t the best things I walked away with. I ended up meeting someone there who, unbeknownst to me at the time, would help me to grow my career to new heights in a number of ways in the coming years. Put in more basic terms, I learned the power of weak ties—how your acquaintances can actually be more helpful in some situations than your close friends and family—something which I definitely wasn’t taught in college.

My experience
I met this individual in the office one day when our desks were rearranged, and we found ourselves sitting close together. She was on a different team and from what I could tell, we didn’t have much in common. Her desk was full of DIYs she had made herself (I can barely color in a coloring book), she was older than me (which seemed very significant when I was only 22 and intimidated by anyone with a smidge of work experience), and she already had a strong network of connections in the office with whom she regularly hung out with. I figured we’d be friendly to each other and go about our business like regular coworkers, but we ended up connecting way beyond that.
Throughout the time that we sat together, she gave me a lot of industry tips, and we bonded over our adopted dogs. When I ended up leaving the company for a different role in an entirely new industry, she leveraged her connections to get me a meeting with the hiring director, and a few years later, she randomly invited me into a top-secret Slack group for marketers in our city (who even knew those existed?!) which is where I found my current role that I love. That, and I ended up tripling my salary over the course of four years as I changed jobs which is something I can tie directly back to my colleague (#blessed).
Here are some of the things I learned from this relationship that has helped me grow and build an authentic network and similar connections with other people.

Source: Social Squares

How To Create Meaningful Connections

Be open to connecting with anyone
As I mentioned, I didn’t think that this person was going to completely change my career trajectory. That was largely driven by the fact that I had no idea how networking worked, and I didn’t think there was much value in building connections with people outside of my direct department. Anyone who knows anything about networking will tell you that is totally backward, and I’m glad I learned sooner rather than later because the best connections expose you to people you otherwise wouldn’t probably know—AKA you need to know people outside of your department! By building up a genuine friendship with someone who I otherwise wouldn’t have gravitated toward, I exposed myself to a huge network of her connections which she leveraged when I was looking to make a job switch. I wouldn’t have had access to most of these people or resources had I not made the effort to be open to learning more about her and her role when we worked together many years ago.

Find common ground
It’s all well and good to be nice to random people in your office, but what if you have nothing to talk about?! There’s nothing worse than being forced to make small talk about the weather every day, so it’s important to find something in common and build a connection around that. Most people are happy to talk about things they are passionate about, you just need to do some detective work to figure out what that is. In my case, we both had adopted dogs and would swap stories of their antics, but for you, it could be that you share a love of craft breweries or wear similar clothing—seriously, I once became great friends with a VP in my department because I noticed her wearing a sweater I also owned and then figured out that we had the same style. I used to tell her about ongoing sales all the time. It’s easier to build a network when you have an “in” with each person outside of your direct working relationship.

Nurture your connections
Once you’ve found common ground, it’s important to nurture your relationships with these people, even if you don’t know if they can help you down the road. In my opinion, this is the hardest part of fostering authentic connections. With the person in my story, we’d stay in touch over text about industry news and occasionally grab lunch, slowly becoming more friends than colleagues. If there’s something I see that reminds me of a past colleague or connection, I take 30 seconds to send them a quick email. Most people love to receive genuine messages on LinkedIn along the lines of “thinking of you!” in a way that isn’t looking for something in return, so be that person. Sometimes one text or LinkedIn DM a year is all it takes for them to keep you top-of-mind.

Source: Color Joy Stock

Remember that it’s a two-way street
On that note, if you want your connections to hook you up with amazing networking and job opportunities, you need to be open to doing the same for them. One of the most annoying things is having a connection who only reaches out when they want something. Even if you stand to gain absolutely nothing, be the person who sends a job opportunity to someone who sounds like a perfect fit, offers to introduce them to a hiring manager if they decide to apply to a role at your company, or even just invites them to join an industry event you think they’ll like. All of that good karma is not just so that they’ll potentially help you down the road, it also helps you build a shining reputation as someone that everyone wants to know.

If it’s not working, don’t force it
As much as this strategy has a 95% chance of success (my own data, of course), there’s always a handful of people who you won’t mesh with no matter what. If you’ve tried the above strategies and aren’t seeing any traction in the form of replies to your messages or an equal showing of interest, it’s OK to just let it go. I’ve had this happen a handful of times, and while it’s not fun being left on read, I don’t sweat it. As long as you aren’t burning bridges or only reaching out to people because you need something, trust that the other connections you have will help you out when you need it. That person you never quite connected with might even circle back around years later for a random reason. This is where trusting things to play out as they should in your career is super valuable!

Play the long game
We all wish fostering weak ties was one of those one-and-done things, but it’s unfortunately not. Having friends and connections to lean on whenever you need them takes work, but it is SO worth it. Since I befriended my work colleague five years ago, she introduced me to a future manager at a cocktail party and then invited me into a Slack group where everyone shares the inside scoop on jobs and events before they’re public. Everyone knows that applying through a portal is the absolute last way that you want to apply for a role, so having these kinds of resources and a network that wants you to succeed is truly priceless. Remember that you never know where life will take you, so it’s important to be nice to everyone you meet along the way (ugh, mom is right again) and trust that everything in your career happens for a reason!

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