Lately I have been trying out working in shorter more focused intravals then taking a 5 minute break between sessions. The reason I am doing this is because these breaks will hopefully help me focus better when I am working. My goal is to get more done than when I work for an hour straight without stopping because I will be more focused with these time constraints between breaks.
I have noticed that it has been kind of hard to get through everything within the time I give myself and that alot of that is due to distractions. By giving myself a half an hour to work with absolute focus then a 5 minute break, I am hoping this will fix that. I’ve been giving this a try for about a week so far and it seems to be going well and I am doing more with less time because I am more focused when I know I only have 25 minutes before I have to stop.
The method of working for 25 minutes then taking a 5 minute break is known as the Pomodoro Method. You can find out more about it and the science on why it works here
https://dariusforoux.com/takebreaks-pomodoro/
The premise behind it is that your brain isn’t meant to focus for very long periods of time because it’s main focus is survival and conserving energy. By taking short breaks, this works with your biology rather than against it. The time constraints will also give you a sense of urgency. Instead of knowing that you have an hour to finish your task, giving yourself 25 minutes until you have to take a break will mean that in order to make some progress, you will have to engage in focused work.
I welcome you to give it a try and see if these short breaks and intervals of work help. Leave a comment if you plan on trying it out or want to let us know about your results!
