We all fall behind in our studies or projects. Fortunately, there are a host of tips and techniques to get on track. Below is one technique can help with making tasks more manageable:
Sometimes it’s too intimidating to start writing. There’s a mountain of research beside you, and a lot of empty pages before you. It’s overwhelming! How can you ever start?
The Pomodoro Technique can help. It breaks that mountain of work down into manageable chunks of time, with frequent breaks. This work/break split ensures you won’t lose your focus … because Facebook can wait another 15 minutes while you finish your tomato, right?
So how, exactly, does one “do a tomato,” you ask? The Pomodoro Technique website says “the basic unit of work in the Pomodoro Technique® can be split in five simple steps:
- Choose a task to be accomplished
- Set the Pomodoro to 25 minutes (the Pomodoro is the timer)
- Work on the task until the Pomodoro rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper
- Take a short break (5 minutes is OK)
- Every 4 Pomodoros take a longer break”
If you don’t have an old-fashioned timer (the tomato-shaped ones are getting harder to come by, if you can believe it), try the one at mytomatoes.com. It’ll even help you keep track of your daily tomatoes.
original post: http://collegehacks.web.unc.edu/2011/12/07/cant-concentrate-for-long-enough-to-write-do-a-tomato/
