It’s been a while since I started looking for a solution to my problems with time management, having a full time job and trying to study for a faculty degree. Everyone that I asked used a diferrent approach to time management and none of them seemed to work for me. I tried everything from GTD to 7 Habits and simple todo, trying to get as early as I can in the morning or staying up late and studying. I was not satisfied, because I always felt that I could do more in less time, and maybe also have some spare time only for myself. Recently, I heard about a popular agile time management technique called “Pomodoro” that everyone is tweeting about. The tweets were “Great”, “It Works”, “Amazing”, and that got my full attention. I just had to try it out! This is my first month with Pomodoro Technique, and I can tell you at the beginning of this text that I am very pleased. Here is the story…
The Technique
Simple, simple, simple, the whole point of life, time management and every other thing in this World is simplicity. My problem with other techniques was that they were very complicated for my daily tasks. Most of them proposed a new type thinking about tasks and roles in life, and that was just too much for me. The Pomodoro Technique is simple in its core, making you work at your own pace with clear mind and high concetration. Basically, it removes multitasking from your daily routine and makes you work on a single problem at a time. It really works! Why? Because we have just too many distractions in our daily life’s that we can’t focus on a single task, and even if we do, the anxiety that we must finish something on time is overwhelming. The Pomodoro Technique clearly makes things easier because it makes time work in your advantage. The concept is pretty simple: You work for 25 minutes (one pomodoro), and then you take a break for 5 or 15 minutes. Every time you finish a “pomodoro”, you make a check mark on paper so you can track your progress. Here is the official cheat sheet that you can use to get a glimpse on what is this technique all about:
PomodoroCheatSheet
How to get started
Another thing I love about this technique is that you can start using it without spending a dime. Here is the list:
All of this plus the original eBook can be found on the official page of the technique - www.pomodorotechnique.com
Conclusion
Pomodoro Technique is really a simple and fun tool to use on daily basis. My productivity rate has raised for about 30% and finally I am satisfied with results. More time means less stress and that’s good enough for me! I have used two pomodoros for writing this article and I must go now and work on something else. Hope you enjoyed reading it and maybe I have convinced you to try it 
