I would like to share one good time management technique that is great for programmers and other IT specialists. It’s called the “Pomodoro technique” (variants are the Pomodoro technique, the Pomodoro technique, and so on), and I found it in the book “The Programmer’s Way.”
The author of this book, John Sonmez, spent many years selecting various techniques for increasing productivity, and it was the “Pomodoro Technique” that helped him. As Sonmez himself writes:
If I could recommend just one productivity habit to you, it would be the Pomodoro technique.
However, for this technique to be effective, you need to learn how to use it. Let's say Sonmez's first attempt was unsuccessful. He used it for a week, after which he abandoned it for a long time because he considered it ineffective. What is the Pomodoro technique? Why is it effective? The answers to these questions are below.
General information
Why is the technique called the Pomodoro Technique? In the original, the author of this technique used a kitchen timer in the shape of a tomato. Accordingly, the name came from there, as usual, everything ingenious is simple).
The Pomodoro technique was created by a man named Francesco Cirillo in the late 80s, but only gained popularity in the 90s. The technique is so simple (like all ingenious things) that you may give it up at first, as John Sonmez did.
The essence
So, first you need to plan in advance the specific things you are going to do during the day. Next, set the timer for 25 minutes and concentrate on the first planned task. It is important that other tasks and activities should not distract you. You are completely focused on the task at hand for the entire 25 minutes. To achieve this, it is better to switch your phone to airplane mode, put earplugs in your ears, log out of all social networks, and so on. When the 25 minutes are up, set a timer for 5 minutes and take a break during which you rest. This half hour is considered one “pomodoro”. After every four pomodoros there is a mandatory long break of 15 minutes. It is necessary so that the brain can restore strength. This is quite logical: imagine that you need to run as far as possible in a day. Which technique will help you with this: hard sprinting or running at a medium pace with rhythm support? If you finish a task early, you should spend the remaining time “memorizing.” So, if we are talking about learning to program, re-read paragraphs of the chapter you have completed, experiment with the code, cram a specific paragraph, and so on and so forth. So you keep working on the task, making small/big improvements and for us as programming students, repetition is a must .
Using the Pomodoro Technique Effectively
Now let's talk about how to use this technique correctly. I think everyone has guessed that technology helps to be concentrated for a long period of time). However, if you simply perform “pomodoros” throughout the day, and do not count how many pomodoros were spent on a particular task, the technique will not give much results. The true power of "pomodoros" is revealed the moment you begin to measure all the things you do during the day with them. Josh Earl (a friend of the author of the book, who revealed the true nature of tomatoes) tracked how many “pomodoros” he managed to make during the day. This reveals the full hidden potential of this technique: you can use it to evaluate the effectiveness of your work. If you track the number of tomatoes you make per day and mark their number, you can evaluate your productivity and diligence. Let me give you a specific example. On this resource, the question is very often asked: “in what period of time can one take a course/learn Java to the level of being hired for a job/internship.” A statistically acceptable answer is: “six months if you study 4 hours a day.” Well, now - basic arithmetic:
4 часа ==8 помидорок //два знака равно это попытка «профессионально» пошутить если что.
Полгода ==183 дня
183*8==1464
Then you just need to count how many “pomodoros” you have already collected. I advise you to do at least 7 “pomodoros” a week so that the brain does not begin to overwrite fragile knowledge that we have not accessed for a long time. These “tomatoes” include solving problems, giving lectures, and reading useful links from the professor (at least 95% in Russian). For myself, I decided to round the number of “tomatoes” to 1500, and just gradually fill the scale at the end of the day with 1/1500...100/1500...500/1500 ...and so on. Here's how I use this technique when learning Java. By analogy, it can be applied to achieve other goals. If you need to plan how many “pomodoros” it will take you to achieve a certain goal, spend 4 pomodoros on it, and roughly estimate how many percent were completed during this time. Well, then you just solve the problem using percentages - measure the time to achieve the goal in “tomatoes” =). I hope this approach will help someone :) You can even motivate yourself, for example: for every five tomatoes spent on learning Java, allocate one tomato for yourself for entertainment. A fair deal with yourself! A personal life hack for those who are worried about their vision: during 5 minutes of rest you can work on your eyes, exercise/massage your closed eyes, look out the window, etc. Additionally, I would like to post a list of Internet resources that will help in using this technique.
Resources for Using the Pomodoro Technique Effectively
Computer
If you sit at the computer a lot, especially with headphones, the tomato-timer website will be useful to you .
There are only three tabs on which the timer is already programmed for 25/5/15 minutes, respectively. After the time has passed, a timer sounds, everything is extremely simple, and even with a zero level of English, no problems will arise)
Initially, I mistook the red alarm clock pictures for pictures of tomatoes, and now I simply don’t perceive them any differently. You can make yourself a task and set the number of “pomodoros” for it and thus track your progress. The second application has a shorter name, which makes it more difficult to directly search for on request. Pomodoro timer for concentration and work
Here are real images of tomatoes as progress indicators. Plus, the to-do list here is measured in the usual way - in numbers. Both apps are very cool. Now I use them alternately, and have not yet decided which of them will be my final choice. For now I'm leaning towards the second option. PS: The number of my “tomatoes” at the time of writing this post (after opening this technique): 5/1500
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