Studying Tips: How to Use the Pomodoro Technique to Improve Productivity

By WR!TERS@WORK

After a long day at school attending classes and the occasional CCA sessions which can drag late into the evenings, it could be difficult for you to maintain focus during late night study sessions. You might tend to stretch your study sessions as long as possible in order to maximise the number of assignments you can tackle, often staying seated at the desk for hours at a go. However, this can lead to you working past the point of optimal productivity, and the amount of effort does not directly translate to having the best yield of results.

One productivity/time-management strategy that is very popular nowadays is the Pomodoro Technique. This works best if you have large assignments or a series of tasks that will take a long time to complete. Essentially, what we can do would be to break these down into smaller timed intervals that are more manageable, taking short breaks in between. Of course, this would be less applicable during the final stretch leading up to examinations, when you would ideally want to complete Mock papers in one sitting under the full examination duration to replicate the examination conditions. Otherwise, the Pomodoro technique can be used on a regular basis when tackling your homework and projects.

Humans have a short attention span. Evidence-based research has proven that taking regular short breaks between study/work sessions will improve concentration and focus by a significant margin. This is owing to the specific time intervals which allow us to have a better control of how we spend our time, reducing mental fatigue and stress levels.

The Pomodoro technique is a cyclical system, where you would enter a focused study session for 25 minutes, followed by short intermittent breaks of 5 minutes. This technique can be applied by students of all schooling levels, regardless of subjects. Even after graduation, many adults continue to employ this strategy to increase their work efficiency. In this blog, we will explain how you can effectively utilise the Pomodoro technique to help you maximise your productivity and yield during your study sessions.

The Pomodoro technique is one of the simplest techniques and can be easily practised. A brief description of the method would be:

1. Pick a task that you would like to complete.

2. Set a 25-minute timer

3. Work on the task until the time is up

4. Take a short break for 5 minutes and repeat the process again, continuing the same task or moving onto the next

5. After 4 Pomodoro sessions, take a longer rest break of 15-20 minutes before starting the cycle again

Now let’s take a look at how we can apply the Pomodoro Technique for composition writing across PSLE and O Level English examinations.

2022 PSLE Continuous Writing: (55 minutes)

Write a composition of at least 150 words about a long wait.

Consider the following points when you plan your composition:

• What was the wait about?
• What happened in the end?

You may use the points in any order and include other relevant points as well.

Breaking down the assignment into 2 pomodoro sessions of 25+30 minutes, you should aim to use the first pomodoro session to complete the first half of the essay, ideally working on your ‘Problem’, the main crux of the essay. After which, use the 5-minute break to get some water and continue off the essay from where you stopped, finishing the ‘Conclusion’ and checking your essay in the next 30 minutes Pomodoro session.

Of course, WRITERS AT WORK students have the added benefit of developing their exam stamina especially through our intensive composition writing classes. WRITERS AT WORK is an education centre offering some of the best English enrichment courses for primary and secondary school students in Singapore, and our educators are passionate about preparing students not just for composition writing, but also English oral examinations.

2022 O-Level Continuous Writing: (50min)

“I realised that I was much stronger than I had previously thought.” Write about a time when you felt like this.

Time is tighter for the O-Level Continuous Writing, and a full essay has to be produced within the narrow time limit of 50 minutes – exactly 2 pomodoro sessions of 25 minutes each. Expect to complete 2 body paragraphs + Introduction/Conclusion respectively for each session.

2021 A-Level Essay: (1h 30min)

‘Films are concerned with escaping from the problems of everyday life, rather than addressing them.’ Discuss.

For General Paper Essays, the format might be more ambiguous and depends on each individual’s writing style. However, completing an essay assignment can still be broken down into 4 pomodoro sessions of 15 minutes + 3 x 25 minutes. Use the first 15 minutes to carefully select the essay question you are most confident in, and devise a concise essay plan that will be helpful in structuring and organising your thoughts. Utilise the remainder of the time to write your essay paragraphs, and remember to include the opposing view to ensure your essay is balanced. Leave 10 minutes of the last pomodoro session for checking your grammar and spelling errors, not letting these minute basic mistakes distract your marker from your well-substantiated points – something that any WRITERS AT WORK student will be trained and ready for.

The Pomodoro technique is an effective approach for students to remain focused on the task at hand and feel less intimidated by the complexity of these tasks by breaking them down to more manageable portions. However, you should keep in mind that this technique is not all but a rigid structure. Feel free to extend your sessions by 5 to 10 minutes even after the timer rings to finish the work you are doing. You can also have study sessions of 50 minutes with a 10-minute break, and you can adjust the time accordingly as long as you are able to remain productive within these sessions.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ):

How Do You Structure an English Essay?

Begin with an engaging hook in the introductory paragraph. Next, the body of content follows, which will answer the essay question provided. Lastly, a strong conclusion which “comes down on one side” is needed.

What is a Good Paragraph Starter?

It depends on the essay. For narrative writing, the student can start in media res. For argumentative essays or discursive essays, a thesis statement is needed which outlines the central tenet of your argument.

What Should You Not Do in an Essay?

You should not ramble with run-on sentences in an essay. Furthermore, students should always answer the essay question and not address points which are unrelated. Good grammar and vocabulary, along with robust sentence structure, is a must.

What Makes a Bad Essay?

A bad essay fails to address the subject matter it is supposed to cover. Additionally, it does not effectively convey the main point, whether that involves developing a good plot or presenting arguments on both sides of the essay topic. Furthermore, a bad essay is often riddled with grammatical and spelling errors and uses a limited range of vocabulary.

What is the Hardest Part of an Essay?

Planning the essay is the hardest part of the essay. Students need to figure out what content to put in the essay and how it is structured, as well as the examples to bolster their argument.

What Are Some Common Essay Writing Mistakes?

Firstly, not reading and answering the question is a cardinal mistake made by many students. Students should write the essay which is being asked of them instead of writing the essay they want to write, whether it is based on a previous model essay they have seen or on a question they think is easier to answer than the actual essay prompt.