Not my natural strength — I likely have ADHD traits. What saves me: Pomodoro.
Pomodoro (the “tomato” method)
Work 25 minutes, rest 5. Repeat 4 times, then take a 15‑minute break. The magic is the ratio — keep it exactly 25‑5‑15 for deep, sustainable focus.
Tips
- In each 25‑minute block, do only the task at hand. If you finish early, use the remaining minutes to peek at what’s next — but keep working until the timer ends.
- When the timer rings, stop immediately, even mid‑sentence. That slight frustration pulls you back energised for the next block.
- Don’t tweak the ratio. People bump it to 30–40 minutes and burn out. With 25‑5, you can stack many cycles (e.g., 8–12) and still feel good.
Tools: Flow on Mac/iPhone; Pomodoro Timer or Be Focused also work. I’ve used this for years — every time I stop, productivity collapses; when I return, output climbs without exhaustion.