The coffee project and 3 pomodoros a day: shipping without burning out

I was building a system for a coffee chain without living in the repo full-time.

The rule

• Three pomodoros max per day (25 minutes of focus each).
• Roughly ~1.5 hours of product work total — morning, noon, or evening.

That’s Pomodoro plus Pareto: every day, do the 20% that actually moves the needle.

In practice

• One screen.
• One slice of logic.
• One scenario — not half the product at once.

Over a week it compounds — without the feeling that you must “finish everything today” or snap.

Why it matters for clients

When a team honestly limits WIP and ships small increments, the pace lasts longer and weekly demos are easier: there’s always something to show.

It’s not about working less — it’s about a sustainable rhythm.