The Pomodoro Technique - Modified

You have a big project and you’re feeling so overwhelmed you can’t even motivate to begin.  The whole task feels so impossible you don’t even see the point in starting. What do you do?  For some of my clients, this is where they dig into their toolbox and pull out the Pomodoro Technique.

What is The Pomodoro Technique?

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management system designed by Fracesco Cirillo in the 1980s.  At its simplest it works like this:

“...the idea of breaking up work sessions into 25 minutes, makes tasks seem more manageable.  Most of us can wrap our head around 25 minutes of work and a five minute break is a nice palate cleanser”

• You have a task you need to get done. 

• You set a timer for 25 minutes and work on the task until those 25 minutes are done. 

• You take a break.  (While Cirillo’s website doesn’t list a specific time, I’ve always heard 5 minutes quoted for the length of the break.) 

• Repeat.  Another 25 minutes of work, then another break. 

• Once you’ve completed four pomodoros, you can take a longer break. 

• Repeat until done.

For a lot of people, the idea of breaking up work sessions into 25 minutes, makes tasks seem more manageable.  Most of us can wrap our head around 25 minutes of work and a five minute break is a nice palate cleanser that allows us to re-energize and prepare for another 25 minutes.

One thing I like about this technique is the idea that you can typically put anything aside for 25 minutes. You can wait 25 minutes to respond to a text or email without any serious ramifications.  This thinking can make it easier for some people to really focus without slipping down rabbit hole distractions.

Modifications for ADHD

That said, I find it rare that an ADHD client uses the Pomodoro Technique exactly as prescribed.  For most of my ADHD clients 25 minutes is either too long or too short.  I think this ties into the ADHD brain’s struggle to engage with a project and also its super power for hyperfocus.

A lot of ADHD adults struggle with a project if they can’t find a way to engage with it, but sometimes if they can just start, the engagement follows.  But asking an adult with ADHD to commit to 25 minutes of trying to engage and failing can sound like an eternity. The good news, I like to point out to my clients, is that Francesco Cirillo will not be sitting beside you as you use this technique.  He’ll never know if you don’t stick to 25 minutes. So what time frame seems like a tolerable amount of time to make an attempt with a project?  Most of my clients settle between 15-20 minutes.

“A lot of ADHD adults struggle with a project if they can’t find a way to engage with it, but sometimes if they can just start, the engagement follows.”

My clients will then set their time for 15 or 20 minutes and sit down with their project.  A lot of times that’s all my client needs to slip into a groove and start to get some powerful work done. 

What do they do then when they’ve found their groove and the timer goes off at 15 minutes?  This is where the ADHD brain’s ability to hyper focus needs to be taken into account.  This is when 25 minutes is far too short for a lot of my clients and can feel really frustrating.  It can often take a person with ADHD longer to find their groove with a project, but once they do they can stick with it for much longer than the rest of us. So this is where I talk to my clients about the top end of their limit.  Most of my clients know they can only hyperfocus for so long before it takes a toll on their body and mind.  Their super power may allow them to work on a project for two or three, sometimes five or six hours, but they know this isn’t healthy.  As the Pomodoro Technique acknowledges, we need breaks and often work better after a break.  So my clients and I will design a top end on the time, usually around an hour.  And at that point, they must take a break.  Then they can repeat this Modified Pomodoro Technique as many times as is useful.

But what if you don’t slip into a groove?  Well, again, my clients and I design different strategies.  Sometimes, they dig back into their toolbox for a different tool to motivate and focus them (go for a run, do some yoga, set up a focusmate session, find a body double, etc). Other times they do their 15 minutes, take a break, then try for another 15 minutes with the knowledge that a slow chipping away at a project is better than nothing.  The bigger message for my clients is that these are all just tools, meant to help them make their lives easier and more effective.  How they use the tools or adapt the tools to serve them best is all I care about, but The Pomodoro Technique - Modified can be a useful tool to have in the toolbox.

Give this modified Pomodoro Technique a try and then let me know how it goes in the comment section below.  Or if you already use The Pomodoro Technique, tell us about your experience. I would love to hear from you.