Pomodoro Technique
Pomodoro Technique
- The Pomodoro Technique is[1] a time-blocking studying technique that breaks up periods of rigorous, focused study with short periods of intense mental rest.
- In my experience, I have retained more information over a shorter period of time and ended my study sessions with more optimistic and with more mental energy than regular studying.
- Here's the technique:
- Write down your intention for the study period (optional)
- This is particularly helpful if you are struggling to get started or re-start (e.g., 5 minute break + coffee)
- I find I don't always need to do this, but it can be very helpful
- 25-30 minutes of highly-focused studying
- Clear idea of what you are going to focus on or accomplish during this period
- No Reddit, no music, no Reels, phone on silent if possible
- 5-10 minutes of low-stimulus rest
- Eyes closed, quiet, no new external information entering your mind
- You can daydream or meditate
- Personally, I alternate to keep it interesting
- Repeat the above up to 4 times
- On the 4th break, extend it to 15-30 minutes of rest.
- Write down your intention for the study period (optional)
- Here's how it works:
- Our brains need short periods of rest to process and store information properly
- There are tons of studies[2] that demonstrate the dramatic effect rest has on retaining learned information
- A study by psychologists Muller and Pilzecker in 1900 asked participants to recall items in two lists.
- The control group had no time to rest between studying the lists
- They were able to recall (on average) about 28% of the first list
- The experimental group had 6 minutes or so of rest between studying
- The people with a short rest could recall about 50% of the first list
- The control group had no time to rest between studying the lists
- Hypothetical example:
- Think of your brain like a library.
- The shelves are your long-term memory
- The librarians are your working memory
- The patrons are tasks that require you to recall or learn new information
- Normally, patrons come and go without a lot of fuss
- Sometimes patrons come in to check out books (recall), sometimes they drop off donations (learn)
- The librarians have to manage the requests and donations, and most of the time it's pretty easy
- Studying is like many patrons donating tons of books all at once
- The books pile up at the front desk, and the librarians are overwhelmed
- Maybe they don't file them correctly, maybe another patron takes a book, maybe Giorgio just throws away a bunch of them to clear the desk.
- Introducing a short rest allows the librarians to file the books properly before the next wave of books come
- Think of your brain like a library.
- Our brains need short periods of rest to process and store information properly
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Sources
Pomodoro Technique - Wikipedia
An Effortless Way to Improve Your Memory
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