How to Use the Pomodoro Technique, and How to Apply It to Tidying Up
OBARA Hiroki · Developer
The Pomodoro Technique is known as a way of working in 25-minute blocks separated by short breaks. Most people have heard the name, but the details vary a lot depending on who is explaining it. In this post I go through the basic steps as the technique’s creator describes them, and then share how I think about using it for tidying up. At the end I show how to set it up in TidyTimer, the tidying timer I make.
Where it comes from
The Pomodoro Technique was created by Francesco Cirillo in Italy. According to the official site, he began developing it in the 1980s while preparing for a university exam. He challenged himself to concentrate for just two minutes, using a tomato-shaped kitchen timer. “Pomodoro” is Italian for tomato. Through observation and practice, that small experiment grew into a complete method for dealing with time.
The basic steps
In a 2012 guest post on the Atlassian blog, Cirillo laid out the basic steps like this:
- Choose a task.
- Set the timer for 25 minutes.
- Work on the task until the timer rings.
- Take a short break. That completes one Pomodoro.
- Every four Pomodoros, take a longer break.
The same post says a Pomodoro is 25 minutes long, followed by a 3 to 5 minute break, with a longer break of about 15 to 30 minutes every four Pomodoros.
That much is simple. But on the official site, Cirillo describes the technique as much more than a sequence of 25-minute sessions. It uses an Activity Inventory to collect possible work, a To Do Today sheet to choose what to do that day, and a Records Sheet to log the effort actually spent. Together they cover planning, estimating, handling interruptions and reviewing how things went.
What helps you keep going
One idea comes up again and again on the official site: be gentle with yourself. Breaks are described as part of the practice, not a reward for doing more. The aim is not to force yourself to get more done, but to understand how you work and gradually build a healthier relationship with time.
I think this is the best part of the method. When the timer rings, stop, even if it feels like a bad moment. During the break, don’t start the next task. Keeping to just these two rules goes a long way toward avoiding the kind of long, unbroken stretch that leaves you exhausted.
When something interrupts you. You will remember something else mid-task, or someone will talk to you. The official site suggests recording interruptions and comparing what you planned with what actually happened. Write the thought on paper and go back to the task. Often that alone is enough to get it out of your head.
When 25 minutes feels too long
At first, 25 minutes may feel long. The official site talks about trying small adjustments, learning from their effects, and gradually building a rhythm that suits your circumstances. Cirillo himself started with two minutes.
So I don’t think starting with 15 or even 10 minutes goes against the spirit of the method. What matters is doing only that one task for the time you set, and taking the break. As it gets easier, stretch the time little by little toward 25 minutes. For work you can sink deeply into, you may want longer sessions. Even then, I would keep the breaks.
Using it for tidying up
The Pomodoro Technique is usually presented as a method for study or office work, but I think it suits tidying very well. There are a few differences from desk work, though.
Your body gets tired, not just your mind. Tidying means standing, crouching and carrying things. Physical fatigue can arrive before mental fatigue. During the break, sit down and have some water so your body actually rests.
Things spread out. While tidying, there is a stage where everything is on the floor. When the 25 minutes are up, the room may be messier than when you started. My suggestion is to cut the job down to something that fits in one Pomodoro. Not “the closet” but “the top shelf of the closet”. Not “the kitchen” but “one drawer”. With a small enough area, things never spread so far that you can’t put them back when the timer rings.
It is good estimating practice. Cirillo’s method includes recording how much effort tasks take and gradually making your estimates more realistic. With tidying, noting things like “this drawer took one Pomodoro” or “the bookshelf took three” makes the next round much easier to plan.
You can see the result. The nice thing about tidying is that progress is visible right away. Looking at a cleared space during your break is a good way to get ready for the next 25 minutes.
Setting it up in TidyTimer
TidyTimer is a free tidying timer that runs in your browser, with nothing to install and no account. It works in browsers on phones, tablets and computers. The screen has a timer and a task list of up to five items.
Setting the time. Open the settings sheet from the settings icon at the top right and pick a duration from the dropdown. There are eight choices: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 60 and 90 minutes. For a Pomodoro, choose 25. The default is 5 minutes, and whatever you choose is saved as the default for next time.
Timing the breaks. To time a short break in TidyTimer, switch to 5 minutes in the settings sheet. If you change the time while the timer is stopped, the display updates right away. When the break is over, switch back to 25. For a long break you can choose 15, 20 or 30 minutes. If switching every time feels fiddly, a kitchen timer or your phone’s clock can handle the breaks.
The task list. In place of a To Do Today sheet, you can write down up to five places to tidy that day and tick them off as you finish. I think five is a good limit for not overloading a day.
When time is up. The timer plays one short electronic beep, and on phones and tablets it also tries to vibrate (iPhone Safari does not vibrate). On a computer, if you have allowed notifications, a browser notification appears instead. Phones don’t use notifications. The beep is not a repeating alarm, so you might miss it from another room. Also, I can’t promise it will sound while the screen is asleep or while you are using another app, so the safest setup is to keep the page open and the device nearby.
Getting Started with TidyTimer walks through a first session, and TidyTimer Tips has ideas for everyday routines.