A Productivity Strategy

In this Issue: The Pomodoro technique, a productivity strategy that might help students

I am out of the office today, so this is a prepost

I was talking to my ’27 a few weeks ago about a string of late nights they were having. My sense is that it was a combination of a lot of reading/work to do – and – a lot of distractions (friends checking in, phone notifications pinging, etc.) And it reminded me of a productivity strategy that may be helpful to our students (or to you!) It’s called the Pomodoro Technique (pomodoro is the Italian word for tomato).

You can read the full story of the Pomodoro Technique, but the gist is this: you “alternate pomodoros — focused work sessions — with frequent short breaks to promote sustained concentration and stave off mental fatigue.”

How to use the Pomodoro Technique

1. Get your to-do list and a timer
2. Set your timer for 25 minutes, and focus on a single task until the timer rings.
3. When your session ends, mark off one Pomodoro and record what you completed.
4. Then enjoy a five-minute break.
5. After four pomodoros, take a longer, more restorative 15-30 minute break.”

For the visual learners, this graphic sums it up:

The Pomodoro Technique may be helpful if you:

• “Find little distractions often derail the whole workday
• Consistently work past the point of optimal productivity
• Have lots of open-ended work that could take unlimited amounts of time (e.g., studying for an exam, researching a blog post, etc.)
• Are overly optimistic when it comes to how much you can get done in a day”

Pomodoro combats distractions

One thing I especially like about the Pomodoro Technique is it helps you resist the temptation to engage in distractions. The article explains:

“The constant stream of information pouring in [via emails, texts, and social media notifications ]…demands more and more of our attention….While it would be nice to blame technology for everything, [a leading researcher suggests that]… half of all workday distractions are self-inflicted. Meaning we pull ourselves out of focus.

We often find ourselves justifying these distractions with thoughts like:

• “Should I work on this other task instead?”
• “Taking a break now seems good”
• “I’m going to check this email real quick”
• “I have to reply to that one friend I left on read…”
• “I’m craving some boba tea right now, I should go get it”

Those small interruptions add up! …Indulging the impulse to check TikTok “just for a minute” can turn into 20 minutes of trying to get back on task.

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This technique may – or may not! – be the right thing for individual students, parents/family members, etc. But if this is something that might be useful, give it a try.