Building a Commitment Device

In every Personal Kanban class we teach, we cover Pomodoro. Like Personal Kanban, the Pomodoro Technique is very simple to learn, but its impacts are deep.

The short form:

1. Define the task you want to focus on

2. Create a space where you can focus on that task for 25 minutes

3. Work for the 25 minutes focused only on that task

4. At the end of the 25 minutes take a 5 minute break, let your brain catch up, and relax a bit.

When we work this way, alone or together, we get a tremendous amount done because we are momentarily limiting our work in progress to one single task, we are closing out external interruptions, and we are achieving both flow and deep work.

It’s all sorts of goodness. In the little TikTok video above, I show how to create space in your Personal Kanban for your Pomodoro. Why? Because when you make physical space for something you create a system and are more likely to do it. When you look at your board you will always ask yourself if something should go into that column.

The Pomodoro column helps us not just focus, but it is a commitment device, something that we set up to specifically visualize and promote a way we would rather live. A way we would rather work. A way we would rather be.

It is so easy to think “I should do more Pomodoros”. Pomodori?

But it is another thing to actually do it. When we build our Personal Kanban, it’s not enough to just think “I’ll just focus on that one ticket in my In-Progress column.” We need to focus on the behaviors we want to promote. The behaviors we want to achieve.

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