If you need a productivity boost, there are many tricks and tips out there that can help you, but one of the most effective has to be the Pomodoro Technique.

Long story short for those who aren't familiar, the Pomodoro Technique calls for alternating cycles of "work" and "rest" -- such as 20 minutes of work followed by 10 minutes of rest, repeated indefinitely. It works by forcing you to focus on one task at a time (because multitasking is actually counterproductive).

While there are apps specifically designed to aid with Pomodoro time-keeping, the technique can be done with any regular timer or stopwatch. But an even better method is to use pre-built music playlists in lieu of timers: work while the music plays and rest when it ends.

How is this effective? Studies have shown that music -- as long as it's smooth, soft, and without any lyrics -- can help with concentration. The benefit of that is obvious, but a music playlist also makes it easy to know how far into a Pomodoro you are. No need to check the timer and break your concentration in the process.

As for making musical playlists, YouTube works well enough if you can handle the bandwidth of videos, but overall we prefer Spotify. Lastly, when you take Pomodoro breaks, remember to take productivity-enhancing breaks!

Do you use the Pomodoro Technique? If so, would you rather use timers or music playlists? Got any tips for staying focused during work? Share with us in the comments below!

Image Credit: Workstation Illustration by Ramcreativ via Shutterstock