With finals quickly approaching, I found myself looking for the best study methods to help me sift through a mountain of study guides, and flashcards. In one YouTube video, a girl was raving about a method she referred to as “25 and 5 style”. After a quick Google search I found out this method has actually been tested and proven, and goes by the formal name “The Pomodoro Technique”.
This technique was developed in the late 80s, and it uses a timer to break down work into short intervals, or “pomodoros”. These intervals are then broken up by short breaks. This system has been proven to help people with shorter attention spans, and breaking up studying with brief breaks can actually help you better retain the information you’re reviewing. I listed the five steps originally published with the technique, and hopefully this can help people like me who find themselves procrastinating at the worst possible times.
- 1. Choose a task to be accomplished.
- 2. Set the Pomodoro to 25 minutes. (The Pomodoro is the timer.)
- 3. Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper.
- 5. Take a short break. (5 minutes is OK.)
- 6. Every four Pomodoros take a longer break. (25 minutes to half an hour.)
Happy studying!