Using a Pomodoro timer for authenticity, or any timer that works well for you (see below for our recommendations), set it to 25 minutes. Now, decide on the total amount of time you want to spend this will help you then split your work into blocks far more easily once you’ve got the hang of the technique. Remember – you can use this technique for doing almost any piece of academic writing or exercise, so it works equally well for presentations, reports and research, too. Start by choosing the essay, dissertation, or exam preparation you want to complete. How to start using the technique in four easy steps The technique isn’t just great for techies, however – the official website suggests it can also be used by writers, lawyers, directors, students, teachers, and even parents. He used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer to keep track, and ‘pomodoro’ is, quite simply, the Italian word for tomato.Ĭirillo has worked in the forefront of software development for over twenty years, using a more refined version of his original technique to help improve productivity and efficiency for developers all over the world. Finding that he was easily distracted, Cirillo decided to give himself the challenge of studying without interruption for 10 minutes. Tempted to give it a go? Read on for further details and tips on how to get started.ĭeveloped in the late 1980s by Francesco Cirillo, a then student at Guido Carli International University, the technique was given its unusual name thanks to the way it was conceived. Plus, if you can be more efficient and productive when you are studying, you’ll be left with oodles of time to get on with the things you enjoy doing – because we all know, university isn’t just about work. It’s an exceptionally effective way of minimising distractions, feeling more motivated, and attacking particularly large tasks like drafting a research paper. By setting a timer to 25 minutes and only working for this long at one time, the goal is help you produce better work, faster than you’d able to without the timer. Conversely, it’s far easier to feel motivated by the prospect of small tasks. The theory goes that trying to focus knowing you have hours of work ahead of you is often daunting and off-putting. In essence, it’s a way of helping us control time, rather than the other way around, which is all too often the case for many students.īut it’s about more than just ‘taking breaks’. It encourages the user to work in controlled short bursts, while taking frequent breaks to re-energise and relax. Capitalising on our capacity to work extremely well whilst the task in hand feels ‘new’, it’s a surprisingly simple time-management tool used by businesses and academics alike. That’s where the Pomodoro Technique comes in. Sound familiar? It’s something we hear of all too often – students who are battling an overwhelming urge to do anything other than study, revise, or write an essay or dissertation despite deadline day looming right around the corner. The Cambridge dictionary definition of ‘procrastination’ is “to keep delaying something that must be done, often because it is unpleasant or boring”.
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