It’s Pomodoro time! 

I’m thrilled to be taking on a new experiment in September: doing 100 Pomodoro sessions. If you’re new here, you may not know what a Pomodoro is, so allow me to share the basics. You can read more about how to use the Pomodoro Method to battle work doldrums here and to help you set boundaries around your tech use here.

Pomodoro is a pulse and pause method, meaning that you work for a predetermined amount of time (pulse) and then break for a predetermined amount of time (pause). You then repeat sets of the work/break system. This usually looks like four sets of 25 minutes working + 5 minutes break, and then the addition of a 15-30 minute longer break (another popular pulse and pause method is 52 minutes of working and then a 17 minutes break).

As I said in my blog post “The Recovering Workaholic’s Guide to Taking Breaks,” I love the pulse and pause technique because it provides external rules and trains me to step away from my work when a timer goes off. This lines up wonderfully with habit formation science, because it involves a cue, a routine, and a reward.

This September, I’m endeavoring to do 100 separate Pomodoro sessions—or 100 different 25-minute work sessions + 5-minute break sessions. I’m inviting you to join me, and to make this experiemnt even more fun, I’ve created a printable worksheet that I am going to be filling out every time I complete a Pomodoro. The word “pomodoro” means “tomato” in Italian, so I’ve created a document with 100 different tomatoes that you can color in. I’m planning on using red and green pens, but you can be as creative as you like!

If you end up joining me in this colorful experiment, please tag me on Instagram @thetendingyear to keep me updated on your progress! Good luck!

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