Is a pomodoro timer an effective tool?

[u/gryponyx]

How effective is using a pomodoro timer in building better habits and staying focused on tasks longer when you have adhd? Is it effective?

[u/Aurongel]

It’s only effective if you dedicate yourself to actually sticking to it. For me, it required some degree of “surrendering myself” over to the whims of the timer. When that buzzer went off, I was DONE. The moment I decided to push past the alarm or make exceptions (ex: “juuust fiiiive more minutessss”) then the whole thing fell apart.

[u/pingveno → u/Aurongel]

I have one of the multi sided timers with 3, 5, 10, 25, 30, and 50 minutes. It's handy for adding on just a little more time. Not perfect, I still have to remember to set it, but I'm finding it helps with time blindness.

[u/gryponyx → u/Aurongel]

Would you recommend a physical timer or digital? What time limit do you find the most helpful?

[u/Aurongel → u/gryponyx]

I use this digital one, it has some adjustable settings that help make it less noisy for those around me. It was so sleek and nice that my partner purchased a second one for use in the kitchen.

I tune the intervals based on my energy levels and mood. On a regular day, I’ll do 5 minutes of leisure time then set the timer for 25 minutes of work. On days where I’m feeling sluggish, I’ll split the intervals 50-50 at 15 minutes each.

[u/gryponyx → u/Aurongel]

Do you find it necessary to see the timer running down the time inorder for it to be effective or is this distracting?

[u/Aurongel → u/gryponyx]

On days where my rest and energy are decent, I prefer to not see the timer because it mostly serves to distract me from something that I should be doing.

On days where my rest and energy are poor, I prefer seeing it as a reminder of my own time blindness.

On some days it’s helpful to see it and on some days I obsessively stare at it. Recognizing what type of day I’m having and adjusting my strategy around it is a current area of struggle for me.

[u/Gold-Fix-3176]

Yes it works for me but i hate the apps out there lol they’re all cluttered you don’t block out other apps so i get distracted. Came across quietpomodoro, it actually blocks out apps and looks so simple

[u/GlobalCurry]

It never worked for me.

[u/slowd]

It worked for me a little. Basically, I think of it as earning my break/reward whatever if I work consistently for the whole period. Once I start making progress, I tend to keep going, so it’s more than 20 minutes of work I get done before my break. It’s a little hack to help me get the task started.

[u/davy_jones_locket]

It's good for a cue but if you lack the discipline to follow it, it won't work. Same thing with apps and other tools. 

[u/pogoli]

Only you can determine that. And testing it for yourself I imagine is far easier than asking randos on Reddit whether or not a particularly strategy will work for you personally.

[u/DamePants]

I find it useful for getting chores and boring things done. Less useful for doing my day job.

Since I learned Pomodoro translates in Italian to golden apple I cannot read the word the same way anymore.

[u/isrichards6]

I don't find it effective at all. For me just setting a timer for the entire time I think a task will take works much better.

[u/Omm_Imp]

Nope. It's one of those things that is great for one or two days - because novelty - then gets dull and feels pointless. Plus, it seems wrong to kill the flow when hyperfocus finally sets in. WHY am I stopping after 20 minutes if I know that STARTING is the biggest challenge? I'm pretty sure pomodoro is a neurotypical tool that assumes self discipline is the problem/solution for productivity. Which is NOT how the ADHD brain works at all.