Why I Hate The Pomodoro Method.
Why I hate the pomodoro method.
You’ve probably seen someone suggest the Pomodoro method before— you do short sprints (typically 25 mins) followed up by a quick break (typically 5 mins).
I don’t like it, and I will never go back to using it. Don’t get me wrong, it can work really well! My sibling only gets anything done if they use this method, so there is something good about it. However, I’m going to talk about the downsides and what else to do instead of this method.
1. It focuses on time spent rather than results.
Many tasks are quite flexible in how long we take to complete them. Take walking home for example. When I am in a rush to school, it takes about 20 mins uphill, but my legs cramp really bad. When I’m just listening to my music and vibing, it takes about 30 mins downhill.
It's a similar idea for studying. Apply pressure on your learning and assignments, and they get completed faster. Too much pressure, you get exhausted or can’t think straight. (HINT: Procrastination). Too little pressure, and it takes forever to get anything done.
Different results require different amounts of time and pressure.
Trying to strive for a specific time frame undermines what your true goal is: to get some something done. The repetitive cycle assumes a “one size fits all” but that is rarely ever the case. Saying “I studied for two hours today” means nothing compared to “I wrote my essay, read a research paper, and annotated my notes from yesterday.”
2. It discourages focus and flow.
When I was trying out the method, I kept trying to find the ideal time for work and for breaks. The problem is it's never the same. Some days, you are more mentally exhausted and need longer and more breaks, otherwise you are just going to be miserable.
As it is, the five-minute break isn’t long enough to go on a short walk, take a dedicated snack, or fully disconnect. It’s a waste of time that taunts you with distractions that aren’t conducive to a good work environment.
The opposite is also true. Good days can be rare, so when you get into the zone, there’s no reason to come out of it for anything other than a natural transition. A ticking timer to your productivity doesn’t help, and breaking up that “flow state” isn’t maximizing your time or your efforts.
I also haven’t heard many people mention stamina. If you are in school and taking tests, you realize they are typically around the same length (90 - 120 mins where I am). The pomodoro method contradicts this. For a lot of people, focusing and doing your best on a test for such a long period of time can be difficult.
Oh, but that’s just life.
Maybe a part of it is, but you can take steps to improve your stamina during test taking. Spending upwards of two hours studying or taking practice tests, especially leading up to huge exams, can make the test fly by. Simulating test conditions is also a great way to study or increase pressure, which is what long term study periods achieve. Taking longer study periods also relates back to breaks. With the same amount of break time, you consolidate it into a greater block. You can grab a snack, watch an episode of your favorite show, take a walk outside, or do your hair. All fun stuff you can’t do with pomodoro.
3. It brings technology back into the equation.
If you’re using pomodoro method, most likely, its on your computer or your phone. Which means you have to have a device in reach and visible (for work on paper) or be constantly switching tabs (for work online).
Distractions are a huge part of this modern age, which means that you could inadvertently be teasing your mind with a computer game or social media or whatever you enjoy. Even if you don’t give in, you *are* losing focus.
Forget the clocks, forget the devices, forget the notifications. It’s so much easier to be productive if you have nothing else to do and no distractions to take you away from something that, at the heart of it, you enjoy. Because if you hate studying, why are you still reading this??????
This is really long so I’ll make another post about different study methods next week.
More Posts from Eclipsellium and Others
@goredchanel sure! Planning, practice, and time management are probably the most important things.
We didn't really come in with a plan and had to spend a lot of time figuring out what we were going to do, how each of the pieces fit together, and how to get the code working across files. I was also not familiar with HTML, CSS, or JavaScript, and since we decided on building a website... it took a long time to learn how anything even worked.
Also practicing I think is just overall helpful. Even if it's just smaller projects, it helps build up to making that bigger hack. Making small apps/games/websites, even if they aren’t that useful can help keep your skills up to date. And then when the hackathon comes along, you can do a more practical project. For learning python and java from the very beginning I like codingbat, but if you’re already familiar, it might be too slow.
Time management is also important to keep track of. We didn't have this issue, but I think it was pretty common in the groups.
Devpost has a "Beginner-Friendly" tag for more hackathons, so those are hopefully less intimidating. Anyways, I hope that helps 😊
my first 24 hour hackathon!
NEVER AGAIN in my life am I building a website from scratch 😭 it’s torture. if only my dumb self knew that frameworks existed…
first day of winter break! i woke up early this morning for a meeting and it was still dark. then i witnessed one of the most beautiful sunrises i have ever seen. my entire room was orange
so glad finals are over :)
study tip: eat chocolate 🍫 (unless you’re allergic please don’t die)
i couldn’t sleep last night and ended up falling asleep at 5 am. waking up this morning was really difficult and all my muscles were feeling achy.
i didn’t think I would get anything done, but then i had half a chocolate bar…
- rc circuits problem set
- rc circuits quiz
- electric circuits unit test
now i’m spending the evening working on python and then scrolling on pinterest 👀
typically, sweeter snacks are frowned upon because of the high sugar content which can cause you to crash and make it difficult to maintain focus.
however, chocolate also contains cacao. cacao improves focus and memory, and also relieves stress.
before school, i’ve started adding cacao nibs to yogurt, oatmeal, and smoothies. it’s a great way to boost your mind in an easy and delicious way :)
happy new year! 🎉🎉🎉
6/feb/2025, thursday
wasted most my time after school
subsequently had a lil mental breakdown & then pulled myself out of spiraling in a lowk mature way
washed my hair
prepared for psychology practical/viva
💤 3-4 hrs - maybe this is the reason my mental health has been a bit shit. looking forward to sleeping properly & FINISHING MY PORTIONS BEFOREHAND SO THAT I DON'T HAVE TO STAY UP LATE STRESSING
chemistry has been kicking my butt lately. so i’m staying after school to study. yay 😀
on the bright side, i somehow managed to secure more than 100% in my comp sci class with a huge fail rate… not really going to question it in case it was a mistake tho. take the wins when they arise
spoiler alert: they did not lock in for the month of october
(i'm back lol)
i'm going to lock in for the month of october! so i'm making a list on here of everything i have to do this week and seeing if i can finish it
thermodynamics module
photography composition practice
titration procedure / lab / analysis / presentation
midterm review sheet
immigration research paper
particle motion lab
energy conversion lab
add magnetic field to ising model simulation
finish chapter 2 part 1 of cs textbook
mini-essay of music in great gatsby
practice test for analysis midterm
read chapter 6 of great gatsby
crossing my fingers that this holds me accountable. my procrastination is way out of control...
“the best revenge is massive success,"
tonight’s setup 😊 hopefully I go to bed at a reasonable time. I still have TWO lab reports to finish though.
I thought my math homework was going to be chill because it was just two problems but tell me why I open it and it’s part a-p 😭
who decided that both electric potential and electric potential energy were going to be a thing 😑 we need a serious discussion!
i’m back in the library and i’m actually getting some work done which is good! i’ve been feeling kind of down lately so focusing on homework has gotten a lot harder.
finals are coming up and all i want to do is watch arcane season 2 and rewatch voltron before it leaves netflix 😭 two more weeks….
SPRING IS HERE! 🌷💐🌸☀️
mental health, mood, weather, literally everything: 📈
my grades tho: 📉
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