It was a day off and the study goals inside my head was super excited to be completed. I had bulk hours to study yass!
So I took took my toughest subject ,bio textbook( this was premedical 😂,) and sat down. After say 4 whole hours I checked my progress; I had finished 2 whole pages, written notes(which was copying pasting each word again) and had slept midway for around 30 minutes after which I had many imaginary conversations resolving problems in my head. I was terribly disappointed! 4 hours is a lot but my progress was nothing!So I went to youtube searching for really great study methods and most commonly I found this; pomodro method.
The pomodoro method was found by Francesco cirillo . It basically goes by a simple principle: Breaking down tasks into smaller chunks to get it done. Just like its easier to say eat a huge packet of chips for a period of 2 days than in 1 gulp ,you take a task ,break it down to many small chunks and do it.
Ideally you do it in 25/5 method; do the task for 25 minutes ,take a 5 min break then continue to for another 25 and againa 5 minute break. After say 4 sessions take a bigger break for 15 mins.
I knew at that instance: this will never work for me. I am an amazing procrastinator, easily distracted and I was sure even if the 25 min worked well the 5 min may even turn to hours thanks to my talent of distraction. But I gave it a shot and miserably failed. I proved my assumption right. Younger me thought that me wasting an hour as a “break” in pomodro method was more harmful than me not knowing what I did for four hours bulk. Moreover I felt the time get over at the exact same time I was progressing deeper into the subject!
Forward to 2 years: pomodoro is my go to method in med school. Its amazing! I get so much done without even feeling like I have done much. The stats on my app nake me feel proud. Each break helps me be more focussed on my next interval.
Two lessons to learn till now:
- There is not going to be one set method your whole life. That which didn’t suit you before may suit you later on because you grow and so must your methods.
- START ADAPTING TO POMODORO ASAP!
But you need not do pomodoro as it is directed! There are many methods out there but no one is going to punish you of you tweak it for yourself! For eg I have great attention span for 40 minutes straight and my pomodros are 40/10 spaced! Here are some tips to find your ideal time.
EXPERIMENT! EXPERIMENT! EXPERIMENT!
Spend a little bit of time now to save a lot of time later!
What must you experiment on?
- Find your attention span time: Do pomodoros from 25 min to maybe even 60 minutes to settle on a perfect time for you.
- Find out how much break your mind needs:everyone doesn’t require the same set of break in between! Someone may be okay with 5 minutes but I require 10 minutes minimum to recharge my brain . Maybe you may be satisfied with 2 minutes! Its your call!
- If you are extremely specific( like me) use specific apps!(read further for more.) If you prefer simple then just go on with your phone’s inbuilt timer.
- START NOW! Dont procrastinate and prevent your future self from saving time!
- Alternate: so ideally you finish one chunk of studying in a group of pomodros back to back. For eg , in 25/5, you are doing back back 5 pomodoros and on that 5 you finish respiratory physiology. For the nest 4-5 you start another head anatomy. But since I get bored easily I alternate subjects within these intervals for eg in 4 back to back pomodoros I would have studied like ; pathology- organon – pathology- organon (warning: this works for me but see of it suits you)
What all apps can you use?
- Intro time!Haiyaa there! WELCOME to my blog . Thank you so much for being here and taking your time to read this! Let me keep the intro on point. I am… Read more: Intro time!
- Secret to studying???how are individualisation and studying related!?
- Change sucks!how to overcome change?
- Exams are the best.Exams are literally the best part of our lives . Like seriously. I just finished a block of back to back 8 exams and realised how wonderful exams are. First… Read more: Exams are the best.
- Aim for imperfection.perfectionism might become toxic after a point. Here are some steps you can take to battle your irresistable desire to procrastinate due to your perfectionism
- Are you really busy?Of you really want to do something you will do it no matter what!
- You are going to be okay.Lets get real. This is a very hard time for us students. Even though I thought I need to just stick to study tips etc its important for me to… Read more: You are going to be okay.
When I am searching for an app this is what I look for
- If it is easy to handle.
- If it has stats (showing how long i studied etc)
- IF ITS FREE.
Here are a few apps which ticked atleast two of the above.
1. FOCUS TO DO: this app is amazing. Its easy to use. You can make your own to do list . you can make many subjects and hence you will see subject wise stats! You can make sub subjects and really good organisation in this app.Unfortunately its only free to some extent( maximum 5 subjects).
2. Study bunny: This app has a cute little bunny making you focus ! You earn points ,cn buy cool stuff and take your bunny to places It also has a little subject wise stats. Its really simple and free.
3. Engross: This is made in India! It has many cool features like a to do list, detailed scheduling of pomodoros and even blocks apps of your choice while on pomodoro! As amazing this is it is paid for some features!
4. Focus timer: This is what I am currently using. Its really simple to use, has stats (hourly or block wise),has subjects and tags and serves the purpose all for free! There are some free options as well.
So Thats all about my experience and experiments o. Pomodoro method! Please do give it a go!
Until then hail!kunst!
hail!kunst 
Leave a comment