The Pomodoro Technique has been a popular study technique since the 1980s. Study-With-Me-style videos utilize the technique on Youtube, and it’s recommended by Instagram and TikTok study-based influencers worldwide. If you’ve utilized the technique via a video, you likely associate it with 25-minute rounds of work broken up by 5-minute breaks. There’s often low-fi in the background and an incredibly satisfying desk layout on screen, the highlighted notes written with neat, clean handwriting.
Recently, this technique got me through my finals season, and I started to wonder how it came to be. I’d heard that ‘Pomodoro’ is the Italian word for tomato, but how did that fit into my 25/5 study sessions? Who invented the technique, and did it actually work? Luckily, with finals over, I now have time to look into this.
The Pomodoro Technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo, a professional mentor for developers, managers, and software teams when he was a university student in the 1980s. Cirillo noticed the overwhelmed he felt when deadlines were emerging and how difficult it was for him to focus long enough to complete assignments. This anxiety led him to push himself to complete just 10 minutes of studying rather than trying to sit down for a few hours at a time. With this new determination, Cirillo got out a tomato-shaped (I knew tomatoes would come in at some point) kitchen timer and thus began the Pomodoro technique.
Cirillo eventually wrote a book about this method (available HERE), but our friends at Todoist.com summarized the beautiful simplicity of this method with the following list:
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- Get a to-do list and a timer.
- Set your timer for 25 minutes, and focus on a single task until the timer rings.
- When your session ends, mark off one pomodoro and record what you completed.
- Then enjoy a five-minute break.
- After four pomodoros, take a longer, more restorative 15-30 minute break”
In addition to these 5 simple steps, there are 3 rules.
- If a task requires >4 pomodoro cycles, it needs to be divided into smaller steps.
- Any small tasks that will take less than one 25-minute sprint should be combined with other tasks that will take less than one 25-minute sprint.
- “Once the timer is set, it must ring.” This is important to remember because it forces you to take responsibility for the tasks that need to be completed in those 25 minutes. There isn’t time to scroll on Instagram or send a text back, you have to focus with the understanding that there will be a break to do all of those things after the 25 minutes are up.
As for the question “Does it work?”, I have to say YES! This finals season, the Pomodoro Technique (and Quizlet premium) helped me feel confident about my finals. They kept me from feeling extremely overwhelmed by long hours of studying with no breaks and kept me on task long enough for effective study sessions. This will remain my go-to study routine through my undergraduate degree and on through law school.
This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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