Pomodoro 2.0: How to outmaneuver resistance and maintain deep focus

In both sleeping and waking states, going deep takes time. We can’t get into deep sleep immediately after lying down. Similarly, we can’t get into deep focus right after sitting down.

One reason is our innate resistance to focus intensely. That resistance is highest during the first 15 minutes of a focus bout. During that time, concentrating intensely is especially hard and we get distracted easily. In short, getting started is the most difficult step on the way to focus and flow.

Francesco Cirillo’s Pomodoro Technique can help solve this conundrum. Its classic form includes working on a task for 25 minutes, taking a five-minute break, and repeating that cycle up to three times.

While the technique offers a good launch pad for focusing deeply, it’s certainly not ideal. Research shows that we can maintain intense focus for up to 90 minutes at a time. However, a five-minute break after 25 minutes prevents us from doing that.

That’s why I use an altered version of the Pomodoro technique. First, upon starting my focused bout, I set a timer to 30 minutes. Like the classic Pomodoro technique, this allows me to go beyond the initial resistance and get started. Second, when the initial 30 minutes are up, I decide whether to add another 15 to 60 more minutes – and reset the timer.

Nine out of ten times, I opt for extending my focus bout. And after 45 to 90 minutes, I am regularly amazed at how much one can get done in such a short amount of time.

Pro tip: Pomodoro is Italian for tomato. When Cirillo came up with the technique as a student, he used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer. And so do I. If your focus work environment permits, I recommend doing the same. The reason is that our brains quickly learn to associate the visual and auditory cues from that colored, ticking physical object with focused work, which improves our ability to get into flow quicker.

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Until next week,
Christian