PomodoroHow to handle interruptions during a pomodoro
You cannot stop interruptions from arriving. You can decide what happens in the ten seconds after one arrives.
Two kinds of interruption
An inside interruption starts in your own head. You are solving a sum and suddenly you want to check a message, look up a cricket score, order something, or you remember that a form is due on Friday. Nobody disturbed you; the urge came from within. An outside interruption comes from the world: someone speaks to you, the phone rings, a notification appears, the doorbell goes. The two need different handling.
Inside interruptions: write and return
Keep a sheet of paper next to you. When an urge or a thought arrives, do three things:
- Put a small mark on the sheet, so you can count these at the end of the day.
- Write the thought in three or four words: "pay electricity bill", "ask Ritu about notes".
- Go back to the task at once.
Writing it down is what lets you release it. The mind keeps repeating a thought it is afraid to lose; once it is on paper, it stops. In the break, look at the sheet. You will find that most items could easily wait, and a few were not worth doing at all. The urgent-feeling urge to check something usually fades within a minute if you do not obey it.
Outside interruptions: inform, agree, note, call back
When a person interrupts, you do not have to choose between rudeness and surrender. Use four short steps:
- Inform. "I am in the middle of something."
- Agree a time. "Can I come to you in fifteen minutes?" Offer a real time, not "later".
- Note it. Write the person and the matter on your sheet, so you do not forget.
- Call back. When the round ends, keep your word. This is what makes people trust the first three steps next time.
Most requests that begin with "do you have a minute?" are not harmed by a short wait. The few that are truly urgent are usually obvious, and for those you stop.
When you must stop
Some interruptions win: a child who needs you, a manager with a real problem, a call from home. Stop without irritation. The pomodoro is cancelled and gets no mark; that is the rule that a round cannot be divided. After the matter is settled, take a minute to settle yourself and start a fresh round. A cancelled round is information, not failure.
Cut interruptions before they happen
- Phone on silent and out of reach; notifications off on the computer for the length of the round.
- Close the tabs and applications the task does not need.
- Keep water, pen, charger and books at hand before you start, so that you have no reason to get up.
- Tell the people around you when you will next be free.
- Choose your hours: early morning and late evening have fewer callers.
Use the record
After a week, count the marks. If inside interruptions are high, the usual causes are a phone within reach, a task that is too vague, or tiredness. If outside interruptions are high, look at who and when: one colleague, one hour of the day, one chat group. Then change that one thing. The count should fall week by week, and watching it fall is encouraging in itself.
For the strongest inside interruption of all, see phone distraction.
Questions people ask
Does a notification count as an interruption?
If you only saw it and carried on, mark it and continue. If you opened it and read or replied, you left the task, and the honest choice is to cancel that round.
What if I get a good idea about another task?
Write it on the sheet in a few words and return to the present task. The idea will still be there in the break, and it will be easier to judge then.
How many interruptions are normal?
In the first days, ten or more inside urges in a single round is common. With practice the number drops sharply. Compare only with your own earlier count.
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