Productivity

How to Use The Pomodoro Technique for Studying

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When it comes to studying or even working, two of the biggest hurdles I face are actually starting and then avoiding distractions. Starting something can seem daunting or even seem boring if you are watching a really funny episode of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. This would just lead to more procrastination until it is the end of time and it’s just you, Jake Peralta, and Captain Holt. Once you do start, it is possible that your phone would vibrate or you would open new tabs on your browser leading you down a whole other rabbit hole. When you are taking an online course at home after work or just reading to better yourself, it can be challenging with these hurdles in your way. I find these cases just need the right tool to get things in order. One of those tools you can use is The Pomodoro Technique for studying.

How to Use The Pomodoro Technique for Studying: Quick Look

Pomodoro Technique: The Basics

The Pomodoro Technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo. As a college student, he used a kitchen timer shaped like a Pomodoro (tomato in Italian). Here are the basic steps of the Pomodoro Technique:

1. Pick one task from your study list

You probably have a whole list of things to do to study for a test or if you are doing an assignment. Pick one thing to focus on first.

2. Set a timer for 25 minutes

These 25 minutes have to be distraction-free and uninterrupted. So before you do this, design your study space accordingly. Set your phone to airplane mode or Do Not Disturb. Use something like Freedom to block some websites on your laptop. Make sure people around you are just as dedicated to doing Pomodoro sessions as you are. You can use an app or a Pomodoro timer to set the timer.

3. Work on the task and note down distractions

It is natural to have random thoughts pop into your head during these 25 minutes. Here is where your piece of paper would be useful. Write down all the thoughts that pop into your head. I would suggest not using your note-taking app like EverNote or even Google Docs/Microsoft Word. Opening an app on your phone or another tab on your laptop can open you up to distractions.

4. Take a 5-minute break

At the end of the 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break. Check out a list of study break ideas for your 5-minute breaks.

5. Repeat for 4 sessions and take a 15-30 minute break

Repeat the steps above and take 5-minute breaks after every Pomodoro session. Take a longer 15-30 minute break after 4 Pomodoro study sessions. These study break ideas can help you to help you unwind.

Is the Pomodoro Technique Effective for Studying?

Francesco Cirillo in his book, The Pomodoro Technique, talks about the following positive effects.

Breaking down bigger tasks

The Pomodoro Technique forces you to break down your tasks into 25-minute chunks. I have had days when I have started working on something in the morning. This has progressively proceeded into the night with hardly any breaks. This just wore me down. And somewhere it also puts you off a little from what you are doing. During these long sessions, I have gone beyond “flow” into another realm of just frustration. During these times and with such time-consuming tasks, it really helps to break down the task into 25-minute chunks. This also gives you a lot more clarity on what you are dealing with exactly and also an opportunity to rearrange your tasks.

Focusing on a single task and not multi-tasking

When done right, you tune out distractions around you during a Pomodoro session and you focus on only one single task. Multi-tasking is shown to reduce productivity and it also slows you down. Switching from one task to another involves a time loss while switching. Time loss is higher with increasing unfamiliarity of tasks. By focusing on just one task at a time your efficiency does not take a hit leading to better assimilation of the material you are studying.

Timeboxing and Constant Improvement

The act of timeboxing by breaking the tasks down can help in decision-making. Cirillo talks about positive tension in The Pomodoro Technique:

“The time-boxing concept together with the typical Pomodororian notion of time running backwards (from 25 minutes to 0) generate positive tension (eustress) which is capable of facilitating the decision-making process. In more general terms, this stimulates the vital contact you need to assert yourself and at the same time accomplish activities. The passage of time is no longer perceived as negative, but positive.”

The fact that you work in 25-minute chunks also helps you analyze your previous study session or even compare study sessions. This helps you better your process through tiny, iterative steps taken with every study session. So keeping up with the process would make the process better.

Detaching and Observing

Every 25-minute study session is followed by a 5-minute break. And every 4 Pomodoro sessions is followed by a 15-30 minute break. The study breaks are another opportunity to better your next Pomodoro study session. As mentioned in the post on study break ideas, taking brief study breaks help you stay focused as per a study by the University of Urbana-Champaign.

How to Use The Pomodoro Technique to Optimize Studying

If you have read everything above you now know the basics of the Pomodoro technique but you can add your own tweaks to optimize it for studying. I find these tweaks useful particularly because they can help you overcome your “starting problem”. A lot of the time, starting a task is a bigger obstacle than the task itself. Of course, the methods mentioned above like creating a distraction-free space and having a piece of paper still apply.

Experiment with different study/break ratios

Sometimes studying for 25 minutes can seem inadequate. In these cases, increasing the 25 minutes to 30-45 minute chunks can be useful. To decide on a good study to break ratio, you can use the following recommendations by experts as a starting point.

• Author of Deep Work and How to Become a Straight-A Student, Cal Newport, suggests studying in 50-minute chunks followed by 10-minute breaks. Read the summary of How To Become A Straight-A Student here to get actionable strategies on how to learn better.
• The Draugeim Group, which owns the productivity app Desktime, studied its employees’ work to break times. The most productive employees seemed to work for 52 minutes followed by a 17-minute break.
• Tony Wong, during his interview by Inc., recommended working in 60 to 90-minute intervals.
• Robert Pozen, the author of Extreme Productivity, suggests taking a break every 75 to 90 minutes

Once you start experimenting with the above recommendations to find your optimum point, you can switch your newfound optimal point for your Pomodoro sessions. The study to break ratio is highly subjective and would require tiny tweaks even after you decide on a ratio.

Break down study modules/chapters into digestible chunks

This also depends on the subject you are studying. Some topics are really heavy and need smaller chunks to understand things better. It is always a good idea to look at your assignment or individual chapters in chunks. This is the point where you need to constantly optimize to analyze yourself better. If you are just starting out you may find it a little tough to estimate how much you can get done in the first Pomodoro session. But because the Pomodoro technique involves a study-break dynamic, you can analyze the previous Pomodoro session to course correct. With time you can make better estimations of how much you can get done in every Pomodoro session.

Go past the first 25 minutes

As mentioned earlier, setting the first 25-minute timer can be really effective in getting you started. A lot of the time, this hurdle is tough to overcome. So when the first Pomodoro study session is coming to an end, you could decide to extend it without taking the first break. This is also another way to determine your optimal study to break ratio. But overdoing this can lead to burnout or aversion to the subject of study. So it is still a good practice to set another timer after the first 25-minute timer has gone off. This helps you keep yourself in check by constantly assessing if you can study a little more.

Use Effective Learning Strategies

In order to learn for the long term, it is important to avoid forgetting what you learned and retrieve the information correctly when needed. The eventual goal of learning anything is to apply your knowledge in the right situation appropriately. Using the following techniques can make you a better learner overall and help achieve mastery in a subject.

Spacing Effect: Spacing involves distributing study and review sessions over a period of time. The time between each review session is progressively increased as you achieve mastery of the topic. Spacing can help counter the effects of forgetting.

Read more about how to use Spacing to learn better here.

Interleaved Practice: When learning we tend to focus on one topic at a time and then moving on to the next one. Interleaving is a counterintuitive idea where you study all the topics at once by mixing them up or interleaving. This practice of learning by mixing subtopics within a topic increases retention and makes learning better in the long term.

Read more about how you can use Interleaved Practice to learn better here.

Retrieval Practice: Once you have learned something it is important to recall what you have learned so as to not train your brain to retrieve the required information when needed. Retrieval Practice involves testing yourself to absolutely be sure that you have learned a topic thoroughly.

Read more about how you can use Retrieval Practice while learning here.

What to do in a 5-minute Pomodoro break?

These 5-minute breaks are useful. One of the reasons the Pomodoro technique is so effective is because of the study-break structure. But the 5-minute breaks need to be utilized well so that your next study session is not affected. It is also easy to extend your 5-minute break time accidentally if you scroll too much on your phone. So the following are some of the things you can do in the 5-minute Pomodoro breaks.

Refer to your list of distractions

Be really careful with these. You can go through the distractions you noted down on a piece of paper to find small ones that won’t take more than a couple of minutes. It is better to avoid the ones that involve your phone but be careful if you do decide to use your phone during the 5 minutes. It is possible to overestimate or underestimate the time it would take to go through something on your distractions list. So, again, be careful and make sure you are ready for your next study session on time.

Go for a Walk

Walking can help you feel refreshed and it has also been shown to increase creativity. Set a 5-minute timer if you go walk outside to come back in time. Walking too much can also make you tired before your next study session. So make sure to keep it on the lighter side.

Stretch

Stretching or some light exercise can also help you unwind and reduce stress. This way you can avoid being in the same space, sitting on the same chair, which could be refreshing.

Clean your Workspace

It is natural to have stuff strewn about while you are studying something. I am a person who finds it tough to study when things are not clean around me. So any small window I get, I prefer reorganizing my space and putting stuff back in the right place. This sets you up well for your next study session.

Listen to Music

Listening to music can be a great stress reliever. You can combine stretching or walking with listening to your favorite music for your 5-minute break.

Meditate

Short guided or unguided meditations can be really effective in preparing you for your next study session. It helps you relax better and also reduces stress.

There are many other study break ideas but make sure to contain them within the 5 minutes of break time.

Useful Resources

The Pomodoro Technique Book

The original book, written by Francesco Cirillo, is really useful in understanding the Pomodoro Technique and applying it to studying. Once you know the basics of the Pomodoro Technique, designing your own system to manage your time well becomes easier.

Get a list of other time management books here.

Pomodoro Technique Timer and Apps

There are many apps and resources that are geared toward timing Pomodoro sessions.

Pomodoro Kitchen Timer

Like Francesco Cirillo, you can use a Tomato kitchen timer to time your Pomodoro sessions.

FocusBooster

FocusBooster is a good app that is available on iOS and Android. You can get a summary of how you spent your time besides also setting a Pomodoro timer.

Tomato Timer

Tomato Timer is a free timer that you can open up on your browser. This is useful if you are working on your laptop and want to be away from your phone and other distractions.

The Pomodoro Technique is an amazing technique that I find really useful in getting over the “starting issue” and procrastination. It can help you become a little more focused and improve your study sessions. Using the Pomodoro Technique for studying can help you assimilate what you study better but you would need to tailor it to suit your studying goals.

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