Using Pomodoro Technique for Focused Work

This one got me through university. Ironically, it was also invented by a university student. In the 1980s, Francesco Cirillo used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer to create the Pomodoro Technique. - He set the timer and worked for 25 minutes. - When the timer rang, he took a 5-minute break.  - He completed four of these 30-minute sets in a row, then took a longer 20 to 30-minute break, using the timer to stay on task. That’s the Pomodoro Technique. There are four keys to making this approach work: 1. Plan the Pomodoro Planning and maintaining a prioritized to-do list is critical for this approach. A Pomodoro is not for figuring out what work needs to be done; it’s for getting work done that you’ve already identified!  2. Protect the Pomodoro For this to work and help you get into a flow state, DON'T let distractions creep in. Close your email, and put your phone on airplane mode. Focus. If you finish the task before the timer goes off, take the additional time to review your work or work ahead. This is critical to maximizing this approach's effectiveness. Protect the Pomodoro! 3. Make the BREAK a BREAK. When it is time to break, take a break! Stand up. Walk around. Change locations. (When at university, I would grab my laptop and books and move to a different spot in the library).  Then, get back to work. 4. Go Low-Tech.  Cirillo recommends using an actual, mechanical kitchen timer — that's why it's called the Pomodoro Technique! (Pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato, a reference to that tomato-shaped kitchen timer.) Going analogy/mechanical keeps the distractions on your phone at bay. If you use your phone as a timer, at least keep it in airplane mode! The physical setting of the timer helps trigger the habit of focused work.  The Pomodoro Technique is a simple and effective way to get into a habit of daily, focused work and get things done. *** #productivity #mindset #leadership #growth #FocusAndFlow

I Was Drowning In Busy Season! (Then I Found This Mental Hack) Ever felt your brain was being pulled in 8 different directions at once? That was me a few months back. 4 different clients. Long hours workweeks. 1 auditor - Me. And the problem wasn't the amount of work. It was something far more dangerous. My mind was constantly shifting: From Task A to Task B. From Client 1 to Client 3. From urgent email to random ping. Each switch felt like it drained a little more of my mental battery. Until one week, I hit empty. Know that feeling of heaviness in your head? When your thoughts feel like they're wading through mud? That's where I was. But I refused to accept this as "just part of the job." There had to be a better way. And after weeks of experimenting, I found 3 mental hacks that saved my sanity. These aren't your typical productivity tips. These are survival techniques for anyone juggling multiple clients. Here's what worked for me: 1. Your Brain is Not a Storage Device Your mind wasn't designed to remember things. It was designed to GET THINGS DONE. So stop forcing it to be your to-do list. Every time a manager pinged me with a request, I immediately wrote it down in OneNote. Not tomorrow. Not "when I have time." IMMEDIATELY. Then I'd mentally release it. Think of your brain like your smartphone – when too many apps are running in the background, everything slows down. Close those background apps. 2. Treat Client-Facing Tasks Like Hot Potatoes When juggling multiple clients, everything seems urgent. But here's the truth: Not all urgent tasks are created equal. My breakthrough came when I realized this simple rule: Anything that goes directly to a client takes absolute priority. Emails. Deliverables. Meeting preparations. Think of them as hot potatoes – get them off your plate FIRST. Everything else? It can wait for 25 minutes. 3. The 25-Minute Forcefield I started using the Pomodoro Technique – 25 minutes of intense focus, followed by a 5-minute break. During those 25 minutes, I created a mental forcefield around myself. No emails. No Slack pings. No team check-ins. Just me and ONE task. Unless you're in a live client meeting, NOTHING is so urgent it can't wait 25 minutes. The most surprising benefit? This practice didn't just save my work life – it saved my personal life too. Before, even when talking with my parents, my mind would wander to pending tasks. Now, I'm fully present wherever I am. If you're in a client-facing role juggling multiple projects, these techniques aren't optional – they're essential for your mental health. Are you constantly task-switching? What techniques have worked for you? If you enjoyed reading this, it's a snippet from my FREE weekly newsletter where I share everything about my audit lessons and concepts. #audit #productivity #mentalhealth #consulting #clientmanagement

As I age, the tug of meetings, social media, and distraction has grown exponentially. I can feel my focus deteriorating. Gone are the days of holing up in the library and churning out hours of focused work. And yet: I need deep work. It is impossible to, say, draft a brief (and all attendant documents) without blocks to intensely focus. It isn't just about finding that time anymore. It is about creating it. Yesterday, I did just that. ✍ I made space on my calendar (no meetings, a miracle). ✍ I took care of small, quick tasks first thing in the morning--clearing the decks. ✍ I closed Outlook. ✍ I began the Pomodoro Method--using a timer, I worked undistracted for 25 minutes, took a 5 minute break, and repeated for four cycles. ✍ On the breaks, I peaked at email, or took a bio break, or let myself check socials. But: I stuck to the time constraints. ✍ After four cycles, I took a longer break (a walk to get lunch). ✍ Then I repeated the 25/5 cycles again. Sometimes I hit pause as the 5-minute break started, riding the momentum of drafting until I came to a more natural stopping point. At least once, my break was less than 5 minutes. Another time, it was longer. Towards the end of the day, my brain got tired, so 25 minutes became 15 minutes, or I took care of some administrative or quicker tasks. These days feel like a privilege lately, and yet they are necessity to get the real work done. I don't get them often, but when I do, I hope to truly take advantage. Keeping my distractions in check can be full time job. I have to be super mindful of it, as I am prone to doom scroll, disassociate, and reach for the dopamine hit incessantly. There's so much to do and so much to be distracted by. The modern world tugs at us in a million directions. It is hard work to keep that in check, but it is not impossible. Timers help me tremendously. What tools do you use? #mindfullyemily #emilylitigates #biglaw #professionalwomen #lawyerwellbeing

How 250 Tomatoes Helped Me Top My Semester And Land a Google Internship! Have you ever felt that you’ve been giving your 100% to something and still aren’t able to get the results you hoped for? I’m pretty sure the answer is YES. ❇️ At some point, all of us have been there — where we’re doing everything we can, and yet things just don’t click. For me, this happened during my undergrad. Despite putting in hours of hard work, I kept messing up my viva exams. The breaking point came during my Java Programming viva, where I performed so badly that the examiner literally told me to “get lost” and gave me bad grades. It was a moment of sheer embarrassment. But instead of sulking, I decided it was time to change how I approached my preparation. ❇️ Enter: The Pomodoro Technique I came across the Pomodoro Technique, a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s where he used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer. It’s simple but powerful: you work in timed intervals of 25 minutes followed by short breaks. The goal is to improve focus, avoid burnout, and build momentum through consistent effort. With 20 days left before my written exams, I made a plan: 14 Pomodoros a day Finish them before 8 PM And reward myself with guilt-free relaxation in the evenings Each day started at 9 AM, split across morning, afternoon, and evening Pomodoros. I tracked every session — by the end of the 20 days, I had clocked 250 Pomodoros, or more than 100 hours of focused study. That structure, that rhythm — it changed everything for me. The result? I topped my department that semester. My grades, which were below average until then, saw a massive boost. But more than that, I finally felt in control of my time and effort. ❇️ Years later, as I began preparing for my Google Software Engineering Internship interview, I found myself revisiting the same technique. So I mapped out a prep schedule and the Pomos kept stacking up. I used Pomos for everything: -> Solving LeetCode problems -> Mock interviews -> Reflecting on feedback and refining weak areas The Pomodoro method didn’t just help me stay consistent — it gave structure to the chaos. It turned my preparation into something measurable and by the end of my preparation I had completed almost 250 pomos. That was a confidence booster and helped me land the internship . ❇️ I have consistently used the Pomodoro technique as a time management tool for completing my tasks. I simply allocate certain pomos to each task and then start them one by one. But I also realized that they were not the only factor that contributed to my performance improvement. Things like: -> Planning your steps in advance -> Having a well-defined deadline for tasks -> Habits >> Motivation -> Quantifying your performance(e.g. Number of pomos done) -> Rewarding yourself for a task well done etc helped too. Have you ever used the Pomodoro Technique for something big? Would love to hear your story. Thank You! #Google #SWE #InterviewPreparation