# One Year of Pomodoros

_(Pomodoros have been [talked](/r/discussion/lw/ha3/unlimited_pomodoro_works_my_scheduling_system/) about a [bunch](/lw/gp4/the_power_of_pomodoros/) on LW. I, [like elharo](/lw/gxr/rationality_habits_i_learned_at_the_cfar_workshop/), first started using the technique after attending a CFAR workshop. __Cross-posted from my [blog](http://alexvermeer.com/one-year-of-pomodoros/ "One Year of Pomodoros").__)_

The [pomodoro technique](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique) is, in short, starting a timer and doing 25 minutes of **focused work on a single task without interruption**, followed by a five minute break. Choose a new task, restart the timer, and repeat.

Throughout 2013 I used pomodoros to execute on pretty much all of my life projects, organized into the following categories:

*   **work** – at [MIRI](http://intelligence.org)
*   **bizdev** – other income-generating projects
*   **growth** – personal development projects (e.g. reading books, taking notes, making Anki decks; monthly reviews)
*   **misc** – miscellaneous life maintenance projects (e.g. banking stuff, knocking off a bunch of small todo’s, house cleanup)
*   **health** – exercise projects (mostly climbing, some running, some misc other stuff)

The Result: 5,008 Pomodoros
---------------------------

The end result was 2,504 hours of recorded work—5,008 pomodoros in total: 

### Stacked Pomodoros by Week in 2013

[![2013pomodoros](http://alexvermeer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013pomodoros-600x342.gif)](http://alexvermeer.com/wp-content/uploads/2013pomodoros.gif)

A summary, by category (with hours in brackets):

*   **work** – 2,457 (1,228.5h) – 47.3 (23.7h) avg/week
*   **bizdev** – 700 (350h) – 13.5 (6.7h) avg/week
*   **growth** – 996 (498h) – 19.2 (9.6h) avg/week
*   **misc** – 448 (224h) – 8.6 (4.3h) avg/week
*   **health** – 407 (203.5h) – 7.8 (3.9h) avg/week

Grand Total: **5,008** (2,504h) – **96.3** (48.2h) avg/week

My version of the pomodoro technique
------------------------------------

To be clear, I didn’t use the pomodoro technique 100% faithfully. Certain things here, such as most Health (exercise) stuff, I never _actually_ ran a pomodoro timer. But since I had a system for tracking where and how I spent my time, and since “claiming” all that time helped motivate me e.g. to climb regularly, I included them.

Ways I deviate from the “true” pomodoro technique:

*   _I don’t always take breaks._ For example, if I do two pomodoros, get in the zone, and work for another two hours straight, I’d still record that as 6 pomodoros (3 hours) total.
*   _I don’t always use a timer_. Sometimes I just start working, remembering to take small intermittent breaks, and record the total time in pomodoros (4h of work = 8 pomodoros).
*   _I don’t record interruptions._ You’re supposed to track all internal and external interruptions, but I don’t bother with that. I merely try remain conscious of interruptions and eliminate/avoid them as much as possible.
*   _I don’t let interruptions cancel out pomodoros._ Let’s say I work for fifteen minutes and someone comes in to chat about something important that’s been on their mind. I know that “a pomodoro is indivisible”, but screw it, I chat, and when the conversation ends I count a pomodoro after ten more minutes of work. Pomodoro blasphemy? Maybe.
*   _I don’t always set targets._ I don’t constantly set detailed pomodoro targets and track how many pomodoros were actually required. I only do this occasionally if I think my estimating ability is getting really off. I _do_ set weekly pomodoro targets by category.

How did I track?
----------------

Near the end of 2012 I whipped up a simple web app that I use for tracking all of my pomodoros. Here’s a sample screenshot from a week from earlier this year:

![pomodoro-tracker](http://alexvermeer.com/wp-content/uploads/pomodoro-tracker-600x612.gif)

Every pomodoro added is given a description, project, major area, and count. This way I can view all pomodoros by project, area, over a given date range, etc. (I’m pretty sure there are other apps out there that let you do basically the same thing, but I haven’t taken much time to explore them.)

Why I think it’s worked really well for _me_
--------------------------------------------

Of all the productivity hacks I’ve tried over the last decade, the pomodoro technique was, _for me_, the hands-down most effective technique. My thoughts on why the pomodoro technique has worked so well for me:

*   _It helps you start_ – start the timer and then _just start working. _You’ve already decided _what_ to work on, so _just start already._
*   _It helps you focus on one thing at a time_ – work on only one thing and _ignore_ everything else.
*   _It helps you prioritize_ – look at your lists/projects/tasks/whatever, pick the most important thing to work on, and then _just start already._
*   _It helps create [success spirals](/lw/3w3/how_to_beat_procrastination/)_ – when you have 5 successful pomodoros under your belt, it’s motivation to keep going.

In summary, if you haven’t yet, I highly recommend giving the pomodoro technique a try.