I will just say that I have been using the Pomodoro Technique for a couple of years, and they are probably the best and most productive years I have spent. I actually started using it in college and it just sort of stuck with me since then.
Here is what they say about it on Wkipedia:
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. The technique uses a timer to break down work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. These intervals are named pomodoros, the plural in English of the Italian word pomodoro (tomato), after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer that Cirillo used as a university student.
The idea is that the average attention span lasts up to 40 minutes and after that you have to force yourself to stay focused and you get tired faster.
You work until you hit that "peak", then stop before you start getting less productive. When you work, you stay away from all distractions and just focus on task at hand. When you are on break, relax and let everything you worked on digest.
Take a break, come back fresh and restart the cycle with another 25 minutes of freshness in front of you. If you went in for 50 minutes, then took a break of 10, you´d tire yourself out more despite having put the same amount of time into it, and chances are you´re less creative and attentive in those last 10-15 minutes I find it really helps me focus on the task at hand also.
There are a lot of great apps out there now that are designed just for the Pomo System I use the Pomodoro timer for iOS and it works great.
Simple, easy to use, and just customizable enough.
