Pomodoro technique: how a tomato gives you more time

    I used to sit in my office from 8 am to 11 pm, sometimes even staying overnight. You may think I am a hard-working researcher, but it is not true: I did not get my work done, even though I spent more than 12 hours!

   As a result, I always appeared with tired eyes, a sleepless face, and half-done work to be reported in every meeting. I gradually realized something needs to be fixed with my working method. I found there are people surrounding me - who come and leave the office "on time" - still can finish their work in that "short" amount of time. I realized that throughout the years of my study, I wasted almost 80% of my time on the internet and social media,... I was procrastination.

  Then, of course, I decided to change. But how to change? 

  I first went through websites, youtube channels of successful people - who are famous for their efficient working methods. From that, I found almost all of them using the time-management method called 'Pomodoro'.

    Pomodoro is an Italian word, that means 'tomato' in English. That method is introduced by Francesco Cirillo, in the 1980s. It helps you focus on your task, in a short amount of time (which I called a 'fake deadline'). By giving yourself an amount of time and specifying exactly which task needs to be done within that chunk of time, you are clearer in what you need to do, and then, finish it quicker.

  If you feel exactly like I did - that you wasted so much time but did not get your work done yet, and you are stuck there day by day, this method is for you. Don't be scared, it is easy than you think. And there are steps for you if you want to start with the Pomodoro technique:

Step 1: Define your tasks

     You have tons of work to do. All of them overwhelm your mind and you don't know what to do or where to start, so this is the first step: sit down and grab a piece of paper and pencil, write down all the works you need to finish. It no needs to be in order, in detail,... just write down everything in your mind.

    After writing down everything, you will have a general look at what you need to do. From that, pick the most priority task and move to step 2. In case you do not know how to prioritize your task, please come to this post on time management, which shows you how to organize your tasks.

Step 2: Break it into small pieces

   Once you get your priority task, the next thing to do is to break it into smaller steps that for each you think you can complete in 25 minutes. To do that, just simply ask yourself: what should I do to get the result?

  The answer is the small 'baby' tasks that need to be done. For example, I would like to finish my statement of purpose for application to PhD program at a university. That statement, of course, could not write itself. Also, I could not sit in front of my computer and start to write without knowing anything. I first ask myself: what should I do to have a statement of purpose (SOP)? Then I come up with this: 

- My 'baby task' 1: finding out what they need for an SOP. Do they require the length? Some school requires it to be in 1-page only, but others do allow a 2-page long SOP. Is there any question they ask/expect you to answer on that SOP? Usually, schools will expect to see your academic performance in SOP, and how your experience matches their faculties. They also want to know you 'as a person': your personality, your hobbies,...

- My 'baby task' 2: studying the information from the university's website: which contains the research areas that the school focuses on, the researchers/professors there and what they are working on, their research environment, do they support students on research, which funding they have, the graduate students and their research, the study program... 

- My 'baby task' 3: preparing what I have: find whether my background and research interests match the faculties there in that school, and how I can contribute to that school with my research background, what I can gain from their program,...

- My 'baby task' 4: deciding how many paragraphs I need. I usually go with this structure: an opening paragraph (with an eye-catching sentence), a paragraph explaining my research interest and why I am a suitable candidate for it, one paragraph on my experience, and the last one to confirm my point and plan/commitment to the future. Then, write the topic sentences for each paragraph. 

- My 'baby task' 5: completing the whole with the information I already prepared. I found this 'baby task' usually takes more time than the other, so I always give it more than two Pomodoro to finish.

- My 'baby task' 6: reading and revising the SOP. I could also contact friends/supervisors and ask them to take a look and give me comments on it.

Now we have all the material, let's wrap up and jump to step 3!

Step 3: Pomodoro it!

  Finally, you have what you need TO DO! Now you can just assign each task to one (or more) Pomodoro period, time it, and do the work! 

P/s: Promise yourself to keep concentration on and only on your task during Pomodoro. After finishing one, you could have a break for 5 minutes (or more, but should not be too looooong, or you will fall back into the relaxing mode!). 

Now, have fun and enjoy your work, folks!

and Be Brave!