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Background:
The Pomodoro Technique is a well-known and heavily utilised time-management technique, created by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s (Cirillo, 2013). This technique traditionally uses a kitchen timer to study in increments, or “pomodoro”s, after the Italian word for “tomato”, an ode to Cirllo’s tomato-shaped timer.
The technique involves five steps (The Pomodoro® Technique | Cirillo Consulting GmbH, n.d.):
- Set the timer (usually) to 25 minutes.
- Study/ work on the task at hand until the timer goes off.
- Take a short break, usually 5-10 minutes.
- Repeat steps 1-3 until you complete four pomodoros.
- After these four pomodoros, take a longer break, usually 30-60 minutes. After this break, repeat the cycle.
My opinion:
While many people report beneficial results of this systematic technique (Wang, Gobbo, & Lane, 2010); (Biwer et al., 2023), it is no surprise that this is not applicable to all students. Many students just excel with less structured study routines and prefer a more intuitive approach. I find myself to be that type of student. In my personal experience of using this technique, I found that I was rushing to complete parts of my study before the timer ran out, creating an inefficient study session. I also found that the extremely regular breaks led the way to temptation, and I found myself going over the designated break time. As well as this, 25 minutes just isn’t enough time. I would suggest altering the designated times of each pomodoro to your own liking, maybe 35-40 minutes per pomodoro. Overall, I am not a huge fan of the method, although I cannot deny the literature on the topic that shares its benefits.
I would love to know how you find this technique to work out. Feel free to email me at cadymccabe.business@gmail.com or leave a comment below!
Make sure your mobile data isn’t still on,
Cady ◡̈
Useful links:
Francesco Cirillo’s official website
References:
Biwer, F., Wiradhany, W., oude Egbrink, M. G., & De Bruin, A. B. (2023). Understanding effort regulation: Comparing ‘Pomodoro’breaks and self‐regulated breaks. British Journal of Educational Psychology. https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/bjep.12593
Cirillo, F. (2013). The Pomodoro technique: Do more and have fun with time management. FC Garage. https://books.google.ie/books/about/The_Pomodoro_Technique.html?id=CdDPoAEACAAJ&redir_esc=y
The Pomodoro® Technique | Cirillo Consulting GmbH. (n.d.). https://francescocirillo.com/products/the-pomodoro-technique
Wang, X., Gobbo, F., & Lane, M. (2010). Turning time from enemy into an ally using the pomodoro technique. In Agility Across Time and Space: Implementing Agile Methods in Global Software Projects (pp. 149-166). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer Berlin Heidelberg. https://arxiv.org/pdf/1402.4320.pdf