What are the best practices, which helps you follow "Pomodoro technique" and avoid wasting your time in general?

I tried pomodoro for a while but I was the only one in the team, so it didn't last.

nevertheless:

- use your first pomodoro of the day to plan your day.
- install a timer on your phone and put it in front of your screen.
- inform your co-workers of how you work.
- try to motivate other people to use pomodoro as well.

The main reason that it didn't work for me, was that I created a planning every day, but every day PM's came at my desk like "stop with what you're doing. Client X is yelling the hardest right now so you have to satisfy them".

But thanks, your post inspired me to try pomodoro again.

It only works if you can be firm with yourself and others. When you are working, no one can be allowed to disturb you. Otherwise you're just running a timer in addition to everything else you normally do.

I thought that the idea was that it was partly for discipline and partly for measuring productivity. Kind of like velocity in agile.

If you get interrupted, you just drop the pomodoro and start again right? For example I probably average about 8 on a good day.

Also, I think it's a tool to use when you're on a deadline so don't feel too bad about struggling to keep it up. I doubt anyone uses it day in day out.