When The Pomodoro Technique Might Not Work, This is What You Do.

I've always been one to use the most popular study techniques. If it works for everyone on the internet it has to be foolproof right? However, over the past few months I realized that they don’t work for everybody. The Pomodoro method has its flaws and honestly, time-blocking is pretty ineffective too. In many cases, we end up staring at the timer, counting down until it rings. Here are some overrated study tips and what you can do instead.

While using the Pomodoro method, there are times when restricting the amount of time for a task doesn’t help. First, every task doesn't take the same amount of time. An essay is way more time-consuming than one worksheet. Second, 5 minutes is a pretty short break. I know that I tend to ignore the timer and make my break longer unintentionally. Instead of setting strict boundaries, we should accommodate what suits us best.

In this technique, you use a stopwatch rather than a timer. For example, imagine you have to write an essay. Start your stopwatch, and do your task. When you feel like you can’t work any longer, stop. Now, stop your stopwatch and reset it. Start it again, this time, use it to track how long of a break you take. This technique requires a lot of discipline. If you know that you won’t be able to stop scrolling on TikTok then avoid that activity during your break. Do something enjoyable but easy to stop when you need to. Some break time activities you can try are: take a walk, read a book for pleasure, move your body, or eat a snack. The Flowtime technique is good if you want to broaden your attention span because, say the first session you focus for 15 minutes. Next time, try 20, then keep making the focus time longer. The Flowtime technique is most effective when you track your sessions. I’ve created a free template so you can track how long you work, how long you take a break and the interruptions you had throughout your study session. This helps you find what your weaknesses are, in other words, what you would rather be doing. Tracking this data will help long term, so you can analyze what distracts you, and how to minimize that activity to help your focus.

Flowtime Technique Chart Template

Need to stay accountable, but can’t focus with your friends? I get it. Studying gets boring and lonely, so then we reach out to our friends. But what happens when you “study” with your buddies? You get distracted. Here’s an alternative to studying with your friends. First, you could join a larger study group with your friends and other people that you don’t hang out with. This way you are still with your friends, and have company but you also don’t want to be the person who makes everyone fail. Especially, since you don’t know them well. Find some classmates who you think would make a good addition to your group and invite them over for a study session. You can also meet virtually.

Don’t like talking to other people? Use something like https://schoolhouse.world/ which is shown below and funded by the same guy who created Khan Academy, Sal Khan. You can also use studytogether.com. These types of websites have study rooms and tutoring sessions that you can join. You can join some sessions that don’t require a camera on. Learner Ariana H. from SchoolHouse stated, “I'm deeply grateful for accessible education resources that empower everyone to learn, everywhere.” The best part is that this is free. Equal access to education is something I value greatly. There are also many discord study groups, but I would recommend using certain ones like Gohar’s Guide or Study Together. I know this sounds totally sponsored, but I can assure you that it’s not. I’ve used these in the past and they are really helpful. Also if you are having trouble with something you can ask the chat servers (on Study Together and discord) and tutors (schoolhouse).

Do you procrastinate a lot? You aren’t just bad at studying, your brain may be seeking a reason for doing it in the first place. This next technique is (unofficially) called the reward system. This is when you complete a certain amount of tasks or a bigger assignment and then reward yourself. There are a couple ways to approach this method. The first one I tried was setting up a game. Each task was worth a certain amount of points and when I get enough I can cash them in for a bigger reward. Another way to do this, probably less time consuming, is to set a goal of completing the task at hand and then giving a small reward to yourself like a snack or taking a short walk before heading back to your task. According to James Clear's "Atomic Habits," our brain's reward system plays a big part in forming and sticking to habits (and goals). It works like a broken record. James Clear indicates that there are various stages to this process: Craving, Response, Reward, Repeat. For example when you wake up and feel tired, that is the craving. You might respond by drinking a cup of coffee, which is the response. This will reward you (for now) by giving you more energy at the time. Coffee is now associated with waking up, and your brain will urge you to repeat this the next day. By the time you realize what’s happening, it’ll already be a habit.

Long story short, don’t give up just because you can’t beat famous youtubers. No matter how smart they are, you need to find what works for you and once that happens you will see a vast improvement in your studies.