The Effectiveness of the Pomodoro Technique

When our days feel heavy and tiring, of course we want to just lie in bed or spend time watching movies. However, it turns out that our duties and work on that day are still very much. By gathering energy, we try to focus on getting our work done but oftentimes we get distracted for example we think of looking at social media for five minutes and we end up spending hours playing on our handphones so that our tasks and work are neglected. Therefore, it is important for us to have an instrument (in any form) that can keep us focused so that we can complete our work on time. This is important because often if we are late for work or unknowingly neglect assignments, we will regret it and may have bad consequences for example being reprimanded by teachers and so on. This is why we need to avoid these things.

One of the things that can be an instrument so that we can focus on doing the things we have planned is using the pomodoro technique. For some people who are familiar with this technique, they know that this technique is very effective. Perhaps, many also know that the pomodoro technique is a technique for learning. However, that doesn't mean we can't use this technique in various ways because the key to this technique is to make us focus on what we are doing during the allotted time. So, based on this, pomodoro is a time management technique.

Historically, Pomodoro was created by Francesco Cirilo when he was a student in the 1980s. At that time, Francesco had difficulty learning so he thought that he needed a learning system that focused on certain time intervals so that his physical and psychological condition was maintained. At that time, by using improvised items, namely a timer that is usually used for cooking, Francesco divided study and rest time by dividing 25 minutes of study time and 5 minutes of rest time. It was named the pomodoro because at that time, the kitchen timer used by Francesco was in the shape of a tomato.

To do the pomodoro technique, we need to arrange a few things first. First, arrange a task or job or maybe a lesson that you want to learn and what you will do. You can sort them by priority scale. For assignments, we can arrange them based on the deadline for submitting assignments. This arrangement can be done at your convenience. Before doing what we have planned, set a timer for 25 minutes. During this time, focus on what is in front of you. If you are learning something, understand the concepts from the lesson well, if you are doing an assignment stay focused on doing the task and don't be distracted by other things. After 25 minutes is over, we can rest for 5 minutes. For the record, while resting, avoid playing cellphones, watching television, or doing things that have the potential to make us distracted and lazy to continue our duties. Do this until your task is done or you feel enough. However, an important note for us is that even if we complete an important task, if we feel tired or need a break we should not hold back. Take a break if it's necessary and don't push yourself because it's not good.

For the pomodoro timer, there are currently a lot of innovations that allow us to perform the pomodoro technique with various other supporting features such as the pomodoro application which can block notifications so that we are not disturbed or features that can immediately perform a series of 25-5 minutes automatically. More easily, we can also set the pomodoro manually or set up a regular clock. So, you don't need expensive items or maybe hard-to-find things like a tomato-shaped kitchen timer to do this pomodoro technique.

Reference:

Akbar, Z. I. (2021, October 1). Mengenal Teknik Pomodoro untuk Belajar dengan Fokus. School of Information Systems. https://sis.binus.ac.id/2021/10/01/mengenal-teknik-pomodoro-untuk-belajar-dengan-fokus/ 

Sari, D. B. K. (2019). Tips dan Trik : Teknik Belajar Metode Pomodoro | Kurnia Sari | MADIKA: Media Informasi dan Komunikasi Diklat Kepustakawanan. Https://Ejournal.Perpusnas.Go.Id/Md/Article/View/717/709. https://ejournal.perpusnas.go.id/md/article/view/717/709