Twenty-five minutes against fear

Procrastination isn't a problem of laziness or time management: research describes it as a problem of emotional regulation. We avoid the task to avoid the discomfort it causes us, and the immediate relief reinforces the escape.

That's why something as simple as the Pomodoro technique works. Francesco Cirillo invented it as a student in the late eighties, with a tomato-shaped kitchen timer: twenty-five minutes of focus on a single thing, five of rest, and a long break every four rounds.

The trick isn't the tomato, it's the contract: you don't commit to finishing anything, only to being there for twenty-five minutes. Discomfort with an end in sight becomes bearable. And you almost always discover that the worst part was the minute before starting.

Source: Sirois and Pychyl, Social and Personality Psychology Compass (2013)