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Like a yoga practice or a meditation practice, we can grow our study habits, develop the ability for deep focus, and hone our academic reading skills by practicing them. Sure, reading your texts for college courses might feel very difficult at first. It might feel like climbing a mountain just to sit and read for an hour of your day. But as with all things, it becomes easier the more we practice. 

Today, I suggest practicing the Pomodoro Technique to shape and structure your study time. The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo when he was a university student. He determined that a 25-minute period of time was optimal for focus and used his tomato-shaped kitchen timer to time out each study interval. He referred to each interval with his timer as a “pomodoro,” the Italian word for tomato. Using his timer, he would focus without interruption for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. After completing 4 such pomodoros, he would take a longer 15-minute break. 

The Pomodoro Technique trains us to focus on a task by limiting the amount of time we spend maintaining that focus. Just as our biceps could not handle endless reps of curls with dumbells at the gym, our brains can not handle endless focus without taking a break to rest that muscle too. Like a break between reps at the gym, our study time is shaped around intervals of focus and restorative breaks away from the study task. Using this technique can help us overcome both procrastination and multitasking, bad habits that get in the way of using our study time productively. 

Practice this technique by setting a timer for 25-minutes. Use an inexpensive kitchen timer, a timer on your phone or computer, or even an alarm clock. Until the timer sounds, focus on your study task without distraction or interruption. You might read your course materials, draft a paper, study for a quiz, research for a project, write a discussion board post, or whatever else you have on your course to-do list. 

After the 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break. Be deliberate about what you do with your break time. Try to move your body – think of all those muscles that haven’t been doing much at all while your brain was working out with that challenging scholarly article! Do some stretching to get the kinks out of your back and neck, step outside or walk over to a window and try to focus your eyes on something in the distance to help them rest from reading a screen, get the blood pumping through your body with a few jumping jacks or jogging in place. Drink water. 

After that restorative, 5-minute break, set your timer for another 25 minutes and return to focus on your study task. Try to repeat this cycle 4 times for a total of 100 minutes in focus and then take a longer break of at least 15 minutes. If that’s all you have time for today, simply move on with your other responsibilities, like cooking dinner for your family. Or, if you plan to continue studying, use the opportunity to get out for a short walk, play outside with your kids or your dog, listen to your favorite music while you dance around the room, or make yourself a healthy snack. Try eating some walnuts, an apple, or an avocado on toast. Get more ideas from one of my previous posts to help you Boost Your Brain With Healthy Eating.

At first, those 25 minutes of focus time might feel very hard. You may find yourself checking the clock every few minutes or wishing you could turn away from your academic reading to look at social media. Stick with it! By practicing your focus for 25 minutes at a time, you will improve, and your study time will be more productive. It may help to let others around you know that you must not be distracted during your focus interval. Try hanging a sign on your study space to let others know what time you will be available again, silence the notifications on your devices, turn off the TV. In addition, you might find it helpful to use additional tools to help you maintain focus, like turning on a fan or white noise machine or playing some ambient or classical music. To get started, try watching our Live Study Session on the AskASC YouTube Channel as you study along. 

Keep practicing! You will soon discover the routines that help you maintain focus, and you will become a stronger student and better learner. 

Until next time, this is Dr. Linscott with another Learning for Success podcast. Happy Learning!