Why The Pomodoro Technique Works

The Pomodoro Technique. What is it and why is it so popular with students? Where did The Pomodoro Technique begin? Who created it and what is it about this particular technique that works? Read on to find out more about this time-management technique and how you can implement it into your studies.

Where did it all begin?

Created by an Italian student called Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s, The Pomodoro Technique was discovered when he realized that when he segmented his study time into smaller intervals, it increased his focus and productivity. He was struggling to commit to his studies and only dedicated himself to his studies for 10 minutes, he used a tomato-shaped clock to time himself and as the Italian word Pomodoro means tomato, the technique was born.

What is The Pomodoro Technique and how does it work?

The Pomodoro Technique is an effective time-management tool that helps you to structure your workday or study session to increase your productivity. The traditional way to do The Pomodoro Technique is to work continuously for 25 minutes, then have a 5-minute break before doing another 25-minute session. Once you have completed 4 sessions, you can take a longer break of 30 minutes.

Why is The Pomodoro Technique effective?

The idea of The Pomodoro Technique is that if you know that you have scheduled breaks after sprints of studying or doing work, you will be able to focus better than if you try and do hours of work without a single break. Timing to complete something creates a sense of urgency and can encourage you to concentrate and less likely to get distracted or procrastinate. This technique doesn’t work for everyone, there are lots of different study techniques out there but if you think The Pomodoro Technique could help you focus, you should try it and see if it increases your productivity.

The science behind The Pomodoro Technique

The evidence of multiple studies has proven that The Pomodoro Technique is effective, there have been studies into the theory of attention and it discovered that the human brain isn’t made for multitasking, the results of the study showed that it took the participants longer to complete tasks when they had to switch from one task to another.

So, The Pomodoro Technique forces the brain to engage with the task set for 25 minutes at a time and once the 5 minutes are allocated for a break, the person can freely distract themselves with something that they want to do. Completing 25 minutes of studying feels like an achievement and the 5-minute break is the reward.

Benefits of The Pomodoro Technique

If you decide to use The Pomodoro Technique during your study sessions, you will have better focus and concentration, you will feel less stressed and more motivated, and will find your workload easy to manage because you know how you are going to be spending all of your time.

The top advantage of this time management technique is that you reduce distractions and allow yourself the opportunity to focus on your studies and still have plenty of time to do other things that you enjoy. You don’t need to study for five hours without a break to be productive.

Tips for students using The Pomodoro Technique

Here are a few tips for students who want to use The Pomodoro Technique:

• Remove any unnecessary distractions - turn off your phone and don’t have any other electronics around you when you are in your 25-minute study session
• Customize the technique to fit your needs - if you are writing a long essay or you have a large amount of research to read, 25 minutes may not be enough, tailor the technique to give you set intervals that work for you
• When the timer chimes, stop what you are doing - rest is just as important as working or studying when doing The Pomodoro Technique, when you have a 5-minute break, try to avoid screens, just give yourself a moment to breathe, get around and stretch your legs, or go and make yourself a drink or grab a snack

How to get started with The Pomodoro Technique  

The Pomodoro Technique is known for its simplicity, all you need is a timer. You can have a physical clock or use a digital timer, there are plenty of options online for you to choose from.

StudyStream has a built-in Pomodoro Timer on the WebApp, so it’s worth looking at. You will find everything you need for a successful study session.

Now stop reading this article, get your timer ready and start using The Pomodoro Technique and it might just change your study game forever.