Name: POMODORO TECHNIQUE - My Favorite Tool to Improve Studying and Productivity
Uploaded: 2020-06-08T03:10:15.000Z
Duration: 5 min 48 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

The Pomodoro Technique is one of my favorite techniques to fight procrastination and maintain

focus and productivity throughout the day.

Stay tuned for tips on how to incorporate this into your study routine.

First, I want to talk to you a little bit about the history of the Pomodoro Technique.

So, it was invented back in the early 1990s by Francesco Cirillo, I don't know if I'm

He named it the Pomodoro Technique after the tomato shaped timer that he used to actually

Since then, this technique has gained much popularity in various productivity and self-improvement

So the theory behind it is that any large task or any series of tasks can be broken

down into short timed intervals called Pomodoro's.

This takes advantage of the fact that our brains have limited attention spans.

So, as to how to use it, the only item you really need is a timer.

You can go old-fashioned or use your phone or computer with an app.

My favorite app is called 30/30 on the iPhone.

It's my favorite because of its clean interface and customizability thus making it easy to

do the traditional Pomodoro or customize it to your liking.

So first, choose a task or series of tasks that you need to accomplish.

Continue to work on the task until the timer goes off.

Once the timer goes off, take a short break for five minutes.

Get up during this time, do not take the break at the same spot that you were working.

I personally like getting up, holding a third-world squat, stretching, moving around.

And that was also the time to use the bathroom and grab a refill for your water.

After four Pomodoro cycles, take a longer break of 20 minutes.

Distractions: during your Pomodoro cycles, do your best to limit distractions.

The whole point is 25 minutes of intense focus.

Don't be checking Facebook or reddit or the Med School Insiders website on and off.

So I personally put my phone on either airplane mode or do not disturb mode.

But be careful because 'do not disturb' mode can actually affect the notifications on your

timer app if you are using your smartphone app.

If someone else comes knocking for help, use the inform, negotiate, callback strategy which

was suggested by Francesco Cirillo himself.

So, informed the distracting party that you're in the middle of something, negotiate a time

when you can get back to them and call back when you're Pomodoro is complete and you're

When to use it: I only found out about the technique in medical school and if you've

checked my first video ever, link above right here, then you'll know that it is one of the

key strategies that I wish I started using as an undergrad in college.

So, I often use this when I can't get myself motivated to study for a subject that is either

So anyways, I get my Pomodoro app started and I tell myself I just need to do one cycle

By making this commitment small, to just do a small amount of work, it's easier to get

And once I finish that cycle, it always feels less daunting as I've built momentum.

At this time, it's usually not a problem to keep moving forward with my work.

I've also found it useful for reading textbook chapters, going through my on key deck and

getting started on background reading for research projects.

Remember though that, Pomodoro is ultimately a productivity system to serve you, therefore

don't feel obligated to always take a break if you're in the groove.

For longer days where you'll be studying for most of the day such as the day before a final

exam, I recommend you do take breaks as this sustains your stamina and prevents burnout.

Sometimes though it's best to just keep chugging along once you've built momentum.

I often stop the Pomodoro app and continue my work without breaks when I'm either reviewing

lectures or doing research data analysis and writing.

So, with reviewing lectures, I generally review one lecture, take a brief break after finishing

These breaks feel more natural to me than taking time breaks, but as always, figure

While Pomodoro has been conducive to background research reading for myself, I find that the

writing and the analysis part of research requires prolonged periods of concentration

and therefore I prefer to not take the break after 25 minutes.

At this time, I either modify my Pomodoro or I just go for long stretches without taking

So then, going on to modifications; again, because Pomodoro is a template to help you

increase your productivity, you may want to actually alter the timing scheme.

So, for some tasks, it may be best to alter the timing intervals from a 25 5 minute allocation,

which is the default, to something like a 50/10.

I've used the 50/10 minute intervals with good results.

Again, the 30/30 app allows for flexibility in this regard and has a great interface.

If you found any of these tips helpful, please press the like button below.

Hit the subscribe button if you have not already and I will see you guys in that next one you!

Subtitles ListPlay Video

POMODORO TECHNIQUE - My Favorite Tool to Improve Studying and Productivity

constantly

intense

commitment

figure