The magic of this technique is that mechanically and reliably takes impossible tasks and makes them actionable. All that's required, you tell yourself, is 20 freaking minutes. I can do that. Anyone can do that.

What I usually find is that after the first session, I'm engaged enough to keep going. My emotions have caught up, my determination sets in, and now the desire and confidence to complete the task are strong enough that I rarely need to do more pomodoro sessions.