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Get More Done With the Pomodoro Technique

This simple time management strategy blocks out time to complete tasks

By

Staying Sharp

Updated March 27, 2024

Updated March 27, 2024

A close-up view of a red tomato timer on a wooden desk

MirageC/Getty Images

Quick Win

Scheduling a chunk of time to focus on one thing — with a short break after — helps with focus and productivity.

Try This Today

25 Minutes: Choose one task to work on. Set a timer for 25 minutes. Focus only on the task at hand until the timer goes off.
5 Minutes: Give yourself a 5-minute break, ideally away from your work area. Step outside for a moment, stretch, take some deep breaths, grab a snack — whatever helps you decompress and reset.
Repeat: Continue with the 25/5 cycle until you’ve accomplished what you need to get done.

Why

People who followed a similar schedule, taking 5-minute breaks after every 20 minutes of work, completed more tasks than those who worked without scheduled breaks, according to a study of 16 undergraduate students published in 2023 in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. The National Institutes of Health highlighted the effectiveness of the Pomodoro technique in 2020, explaining that “the idea is to break bigger tasks into smaller ones with uninterrupted focused work, followed by breaks to relax your mind.”

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Legal Disclaimer: Staying Sharp, including all content and features, is offered for informational purposes and to educate users on brain health care and medical issues that may affect their daily lives. Staying Sharp is based on a holistic, lifestyle approach to brain health that encourages users to incorporate into their daily lives activities that are associated with general wellness. Nothing in the service should be considered, or used as a substitute for, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Features including the Cognitive Assessment and Lifestyle Check-Ins, Additional Tests, exercises, and challenges assess performance at a particular moment in time on certain discrete cognitive tasks. Staying Sharp games are intended for entertainment and recreational purposes only. Various factors may affect performance, including sleep, tiredness, focus, and other social, environmental, or emotional factors. Performance is not indicative of cognitive health and not predictive of future performance or medical conditions.

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