The Pomodoro technique

The Pomodoro technique is a timer and a promise: for twenty-five minutes you do one thing, then you stop for five, whatever state it is in. Four of those make a set, and the set earns a longer break. It works because starting is the hard part, and twenty-five minutes is small enough to start.

Why it works

Big tasks are vague and vagueness breeds delay. A pomodoro is never vague: it is the next twenty-five minutes on this task. The breaks matter as much as the work; they keep the fourth burst as sharp as the first.

Set it up in OpenTodo

1. Give tasks an estimate in pomodoros. Select a task and press e, then type 25 or 50; in quick add, write +25m. The estimate shows on the row. Estimate how long a task takes
2. Break anything over two pomodoros into subtasks, each small enough for one burst. The parent shows your progress, like 2/5. Break a task into subtasks
3. Plan the sets on the Day calendar. Press s on a task and place it; the block is as tall as the estimate, so four pomodoros and their breaks fill a visible two hours. Place a task on the calendar
4. Fill the gaps with Quick wins. Above most lists, Quick wins shows only tasks of 15 minutes or less, right for the odd ten minutes before a meeting. Narrow a list by duration

OpenTodo has no built-in timer. Any kitchen timer or phone timer does the job, and keeping the timer separate from the list is part of the point: the list says what, the timer says how long.

Make it stick

• Read the day’s header before you start: if it says more than your day holds, cut a set rather than skip the breaks. See whether the day fits
• Note interruptions as tasks in the Inbox with q instead of acting on them; they wait until the break. Add a task
• The study plan template is built from fixed blocks with estimates, a ready-made set of pomodoros on the Week calendar.