Anti-Procrastination! Use the Pomodoro Technique to Become Great at Studying!

The Pomodoro technique is a psychological phenomena that has been observed to enhance studying and memorization techniques. If you are looking for efficiently finishing off your homework assignments, studying for tests, or learning loads of new information in short time periods, this is something that you should read up in educational psychology.

The Pomodoro technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in late 1980s.

There are six easy steps to follow according to the original technique:

1) Decide on the task to be done

2) Set the pomodoro timer (traditionally to 25 minutes)

3) Work on the task

4) End work when the timer rings and put a checkmark on a piece of paper

5) If you have fewer than four checkmarks, take a short break (3–5 minutes) and then return to step 2; otherwise continue to step 6.

6) After four pomodoros, take a longer break (15–30 minutes), reset your checkmark count to zero, then go to step 1.

I took these six steps from Wikipedia, since this is how they are originally written.

For our purposes, all you have to do is set the timer for 25 minutes, then take a 5 minute break. Repeat this for 4 cycles, and then you can take a longer break for about 20 minutes. These time intervals are called pomodoros.

Psychology studies show that the regular breaks aid in assimilation, which is another theory in educational psychology.

You can download the 30/30 app which sets up the timer for you. During the pomodoro task, set your phone to airplane mode during your 25 minutes of work time and this will help you concentrate better. You can also use this video if you don’t want to download the app.

Finally, this template should work for you. Decide if you want to lengthen study spaces of increase break spaces while your working, and if you need to skip a break once or twice, that’s good too. You should start the task by intending to just complete one cycle of 30 minutes, and if you find it productive you should keep going. This will help you build momentum so you can finish your 3-4 hour tasks in just 1-2 hours.

This idea might take some getting used to, but there’s loads of people who have found great success with it. Check out these videos on Pomodoro tasks:

Stay safe and have fun!

Naman