# The Pomodoro Technique  ## About - Author: Todoist - Title: The Pomodoro Technique - Tags: #articles - URL: https://todoist.com/productivity-methods/pomodoro-technique ## Highlights When planning out our future projects, most of us fall victim to the [planning fallacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planning_fallacy) — our tendency to vastly underestimate the time needed to complete future tasks, even when we know similar tasks have taken longer in the past. Your present self imagines [your future self](https://blog.doist.com/present-self-vs-future-self/?itm_campaign=pomodoro&itm_medium=referral&itm_source=productivity_methods_guides) operating under entirely different circumstances and time restraints. The Pomodoro technique can be a valuable weapon against the planning fallacy. When you start working in short, timed sessions, time is no longer an abstract concept but a concrete event. It becomes a pomodoro — a unit of both time and effort. Distinct from the idea of 25 minutes of general "work," the pomodoro is an event that measures focus on a single task (or several simple tasks). --- The Pomodoro technique is approachable because it is more about consistency than perfection. Each session is a fresh start to reevaluate your goals, challenge yourself to focus, and limit distractions. You can make the system work for you. --- While an 8-hour workday technically leaves room for sixteen pomodoros, it's best to build in a buffer of 2-4 "overflow" pomodoros, just in case. Use your overflow pomodoros for tasks that take longer than you planned or for unexpected tasks that come up during the day. If you don't end up needing them, use the extra pomodoros for learning or lower priority tasks that always get pushed to the end of your to-do list. It's much less stressful to end the day with pomodoros to spare than to overschedule yourself and get behind. Over time, you'll get a better sense of how many high-quality pomodoros you're actually capable of completing in a day. It's ok if it's not a full sixteen. The vast majority of people aren't actually productive for the full 8 hours of a workday, and those who think they are probably haven't been paying close enough attention. When it comes to pomodoros, challenge yourself, but keep the focus on quality over quantity. --- Humans are fallible. No matter how motivated you are at the start of the day, it's really hard to actually stick to your pomodoros. Hold yourself accountable with a break reminder app. The best ones let you customize how long your work sessions are, how obtrusive you want your reminders to be, and how strictly you want your breaks enforced. Some will lock you out of your computer for the duration of your breaks. We recommend [Big Stretch for Windows](https://monkeymatt.com/bigstretch/) and [BreakTime for Mac](https://breaktimeapp.com/). --- If you have more than 12-14 pomodoros (remember that buffer!), [postpone some of your tasks](https://get.todoist.help/hc/en-us/articles/211827469-Postpone-a-task?itm_campaign=pomodoro&itm_medium=referral&itm_source=productivity_methods_guides) to the next day or later in the week. If you have 10 tasks you want to do in a day, you may find it helpful to only schedule half of the list and to assign an "@on_deck" [label](https://blog.todoist.com/user-stories/9-ways-to-use-todoist-labels-filters/?utm_source=doist_blog&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=Make_Time_Your_Friend_with_The_Pomodoro_Technique_%26_Todoist) to indicate the tasks you'll get to if you have time. ---