Pomodoro. Isn’t it tomato in Italian? Think twice, as the word Pomodoro comes from Pomo d’oro (the colour of the tomato before it becomes fully ripe) and it’s better known as a tomato-based sauce for Italian recipes.
So how did an almost-ripe vegetable become so popular among productivity gurus and the general public? A student developed the technique in Italy using a tomato-shaped timer (these are incredibly common in Italy and Europe) to measure 25 minutes of focus time followed by 5 minutes breaks.
Repeat the 25/5 sections four times. This means 100 minutes (1h40min) of focus time and 20 minutes of distractions!
The Pomodoro technique can help you be five times more focused! Check how to set a Pomodoro timer on Slack with DailyBot!
If you have a long list of pending to-do’s or a long project you haven’t been able to kickoff, the Pomodoro Technique can be beneficial for getting things done.
There are many free Pomodoro apps available, so how do you pick the right one for you?
The best part of the Pomodoro technique is its simplicity, so the best Pomodoro app must be simple to use yet more complex and thorough than a timer. A good Pomodoro app should smooth the process of switching from breaks to work and probably some project management features.
Price: Free
Focus Keeper is a productivity timer designed to avoid creative burnout. After finishing the four rounds of focus sessions, the app tells you to take a longer break (between 15-30 minutes).
Pros
- Task management integrations.
- User-friendly.
- Dark-mode available.
Con
- Only available on iOS.
Pro Tip: Employees spend up to 30 hours per month in meetings. Many of those are unnecessary and can be written instead. Teams using DailyBot feel happier and more productive, saving time on meetings that they can allocate for focus time 🍅
See how to improve team culture here.
Price: Free
Concentrate, grow and harvest is Plantie’s value proposition. This time management app goes beyond Pomodoros; it adds gamification elements, such as growing and harvesting fruits, so users can increase their productivity in the most relaxed way.
Pros
- The app makes time tracking fun. You can grow fruits while focusing on your to-dos.
- You can track your performance and get daily reports.
- There are badges and prizes to keep users motivated.
Con
- The time will be interrupted if users switch to other apps.
Price: Free
DailyBot is a chatbot that allows you to automate all kinds of work like an assistant. From tracking the mental health of the team, to automating daily standups and check-ins, or giving and receiving kudos to keep the spirits high. It also comes with some built-in productivity add-ons like Pomodoro besides the ones you can build for yourself. It’s available for Slack, Discord, Teams, Google Chat and soon Telegram.
Pros
- More effective than Pomodoro apps as you don’t have to monitor the app.
- It’s already integrated with your chat.
Con
- There’s the learning curve of giving commands to a chatbot.
Try Pomodoro and other add-ons directly from your chat with DailyBot.