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A superior alternative to the Pomodoro technique

Why I dislike the Pomodoro technique, and the benefits of a method I call '70-20'.

I've used the Pomodoro technique for several years now, and I'm realizing now that I dislike it. I've discovered a better alternative using a chess clock. I call it 70-20.

How 70-20 Works

A mockup of different screens on a chess clock app

Download this chess clock app on the App Store[1]. Open the app, click the clock icon, and set the time to 70 minutes with no increment. Here's the explanation of how 70-20 works:

  1. One complete cycle of 70-20 takes 90 minutes.
  2. Whenever you are working, the clock on the left must be running.
  3. Whenever you are taking a break, the clock on the right must be running.
  4. If the right clock ever hits 50 minutes (20m elapsed), you must switch back to work until the left clock runs out of time.

The key to 70-20 is that you can split your work and break time however you like, as long as you end up completing 70 minutes of work and 20 minutes of break in each 90-minute cycle.

Why 70-20 > Pomodoro

This image summarizes the Pomodoro technique, if you're not familiar with it:

An image explaining the Pomodoro technique

Interestingly enough, my school uses Pomodoros, so every school day I get to experience the Pomodoro technique. I have two main problems with it:

  1. The breaks are frequently inconvenient. If I have to take a break, I'm much more satisfied with myself if I fully complete one of my tasks. For example, if I have a task that takes 28 min, I can't accomplish that whole task in one Pomodoro. That is incredibly infuriating to me.
  2. The Pomodoro schedule interrupts my natural flow state. I can focus for around 30-40 min before I feel my focus significantly waning. I could focus for longer, but the break doesn't let me do so. This, again, is very inconvenient, as the Pomodoro breaks simply aren't structured as I'd like.

70-20 solves both of these problems, because I can choose when to take my breaks. It also works well for me because I have a physical chess clock that is satisfying to use.

Conclusion

If the Pomodoro technique doesn't work well for you, try 70-20. It offers quite a bit more flexibility than the Pomodoro technique does.

  1. If you don't have an iPhone or prefer to use your computer, you can just use chessclock.org. ↩︎