The Pomodoro Technique : How I learned to study more hours 
Tags: programming, beginners, study, focus
Published: 2021-12-31 11:47:31

When it comes to programming you can't just sit for 30 minutes and call it "a day's work" when starting out as a self-taught dev or a college freshman as I were. The Pomodoro technique can help you tackle the mental resistancies that arise when you can't study focused.


 

## The Root Of The Problem 
  
The problem isn't always lack of motivation or laziness.   
> It's just very mentally uncomfortable for people who come from a non tech-related background and are not used to sitting on a chair for long hours to just focus on coding. 

![Image of frustrated man with laptop](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/r47muv6vn8og15wd920k.png)
 

What should we do then ? How can we create this new habit of focused studying without quitting and becoming frustrated of ourselves ?

## Pomodoro To The Rescue 

The Pomodoro Technique is basically a time managment method  that prevents you from losing focus by studying with no interruptions for specific time intervals and taking a short break in between
them.

It can be applied with the steps below : 

**1. Decide on the task to be done.**

**2. Set the pomodoro timer (typically for 25 minutes).**

**3. Work on the task .** 

**4. End work when the timer rings and take a short break (typically 5–10 minutes).**

**5. If you have fewer than three pomodoros, go back to Step 2 and repeat until you go through all three pomodoros.**

**6. After three pomodoros are done, take the fourth pomodoro and then take a long break (traditionally 20 to 30 minutes). Once the long break is finished, return to step 2.** 


And As Wikipedia itself says it :

>The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s. It uses a timer to break work into intervals, traditionally 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. Each interval is known as a pomodoro, from the Italian word for tomato, after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer Cirillo used as a university student.


![Pomodoro technique visualized on a clock](https://dev-to-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/articles/8y8wanj56sfxvc0bxy85.png)
 

## How I Applied Pomodoro To Coding 

I took a piece of paper and put it next to my laptop. I would code for 30 minutes uninterrupted  and take a break for 5 minutes. At every break, I would draw a tomato on the paper, relax and then go back to work. I would do this for 4 hours straight most days of the week. 

**The fact that I could visualize my progress felt extremely rewarding** and after 10 to 15 days I could just sit at my laptop for 2 or 3 hours with better focus, as Pomodoro helped me unconciously develop this new habit. 

 
## Pomodoro Is Like A Game 

Basically, your time and focused work is represented by the  number of "pomodoros" you manage to gather. It almost feels like a game where there is a consistent reward for doing something uncomfortable.After some time, the discomfort leaves and it becomes fun.

## To Sum Up

Apply the technique and customize it in a way that you enjoy **(the way you visualize your progress and the time you study between breaks)** and stick to it for a few days or weeks until it feels natural.

Until then.