The Pomodoro Technique

It cannot be stressed enough that with modern technology, information comes to us too much, too fast. With the flood of information, one cannot help but feel that his attention span is suffering. With a myriad of tasks that are demanding to be addressed and data that are begging to be processed, how can one cope?

In the quest to gain a longer attention span, I tried searching for tips and tricks on how to concentrate. It was then that I read about the Pomodoro Technique. (No, sorry it’s not about food!) It seems pretty basic, like you could have thought of it yourself. But anyway, I thought it might be good to share it as an option for students who have not been acquainted to this kind of study technique.

The Pomodoro Technique requires 25 minutes of attention then you can take a short break for as long as 5 minutes. Repeat three more times to form a cycle and before you know it, you’re done with the task at hand.

I particularly like this technique because it’s reasonable and realistic. Of course it requires a certain degree of self-control, like when your 5-minute Facebook or email break is up and you have to force yourself to step away from the monitor and slave away once again. But I think the technique as a whole provides for good balance. Who knew that a terrible marathon study session isn’t the only solution to our study woes?