Kevin W. Gisi

The Pomodoro Technique, for those unfamiliar, is a method used to improve productivity throughout the day. I encourage you to visit the site to find out more about the process, but to oversimplify: you work in 25 minute cycles (called pomodoros), taking short breaks in between. After several of these, you take an extended break.

This sounds like a perfectly reasonable way to try and improve our productivity at work, and it’s seems in line with many newer techniques in the field of software development and human resource management. The number of pomodoros completed is the metric for successHowever, the Pomodoro Technique focuses on the completion of it’s own unit, the pomodoro, as the metric for success. While some struggle with productivity, often this stems from a lack of motivation – which can result in intentional, or even unconscious procrastination. Finally, what side effects can result from micro-management of our time?

Is Pomodoro Agile?

The Pomodoro Technique seems to fit quite nicely with Agile project management trends – Pomodoro creates a micro-form of the agile timebox, and treats that as an atomic piece of work.

Pomodoro also falls in line with Scrum practices – being honest about where time is being invested, catching issues early, and understanding that the rate of work is constant. You should never be inclined to “work a harder pomodoro”, but you should consider whether your goals are too ambitious for your available time.

However, there’s one key distinction – at the end of a pomodoro, you might not be done. You record that you completed 25 minutes of work, whether or not the task you were working on is complete. Pomodoro requires no deliverablesIn a traditional agile development, the goal is that there is a deliverable product each iteration. The client, and the programmer, can take a small pride in having fully completed a certain set of features. This is not always the case with the Pomodoro Technique – the focus is on boxing the time, not the product.

Is Pomodoro Motivating?

One of the reasons for implementing the Pomodoro Technique is that “excitement decreases when complexity is high.” This happens to come straight out of the Pomodoro Technique Illustrated. This seems like a strong argument for the Pomodoro Technique as a tool to help fix a motivation deficit.

Dan Pink, argues that “Rewards can deliver a short-term boost—just as a jolt of caffeine can keep you cranking for a few more hours. But the effect wears off—and, worse, can reduce a person’s longer-term motivation to continue the project” in his latest book on motivation, Drive.

The completion of the pomodoro is just such a reward – while completing one can provide a sense of satisfaction, it is an abstract concept that has no intrinsic value. We are intrinsically motivated to complete tasksWhat Pink discusses in his book is the concept that we are motivated to complete tasks, independent of artificial or substantial rewards – perhaps the Pomodoro Technique can do harm by overemphasizing the need for another abstract reward system. The accomplishment of tasks alone can be great motivation in the right environment.

What is the cost?

Andy Hunt, in his book Pragmatic Thinking & Learning, discusses the importance of right-brain thinking, especially with regard to increasingly creative fields like computer science. It’s no coincidence that so many successful developers in the perceived math-laden, algorithmic field are also accomplished musicians and artists. Because the right-brain is responsible for the creative solutions we so often need to perform our jobs, it is vital that we encourage creativity.

The Pomodoro Technique can threaten this need. Andy tell us “Answers and insights pop up independently of your conscious activities, and not always at a convenient time…you need to be ready to capture any insight or idea twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, no matter what else you might be involved in.”

While focusing on the task-at-hand is important, an exclusive focus can prohibit creative thinking. The Pomodoro Technique needs to be used with caution, so that it does not prevent the spontaneity and free-form nature of the creative process.

What To Apply

While the Pomodoro Technique might have some flaws, it does encourage some very good practices, namely:

• Really examine where you spend time
• Make sure to take honest breaks
• Record your time investments objectively
• Use trends to illustrate places to improve
• Spend your time deliberately (like your money)

Consider the usefulness of good time-management, but take caution not to allow it to limit your own process.

Note: I have a great deal of respect for Francesco Cirillo’s work, and highly recommend that you take a look over at http://www.pomodorotechnique.com. I also recommend examining Staffan Nöteberg’s Pragmatic Bookshelf release, Pomodoro Technique Illustrated for more information.