Books I Have Read

Everything that is in the book can be googled. Google "Pomodoro Technique". Pomodoro means tomato in Italian. The author (originator of the idea) found that breaking work up into predefined time periods and having a timer (a kitchen timer shaped like a tomato) and taking regular breaks increased their productivity.

Does the technique work? YES. I use 20 minute timers for most tasks. I get interrupted alot by phone calls, emails and instant messages. By setting a timer to focus on things that need to be done I can push those emails and calls back by twenty minutes and deal with them afterwards. (Does an email need to responded to right away or can it wait twenty minutes? It can wait.)

Should you buy this book? The whole idea is setting a goal you can complete in a short time frame (20 minutes) doing it (have a timer that goes off and stop working), then taking a five minute break. If you aren't done start another timer and continue.

That is it. I believe you can learn more by googling "Pomodoro Technique" than reading this book. The book does have an interesting section about how our brains work, but in the context of the title it feels like filler.

This is the timer I use. The timer comes in handy for limiting times on calls. I am bad about going over on call times. And TIME KILLS CALLS. Having a timer helps a lot. It is easy to lose track of time and having a simple timer seriously helps me focus on what I am trying to do and execute my tasks in a timely fashion.