Can the "Pomodoro Technique" really improve work efficiency? Research has confirmed that the effect may be greatly reduced when encountering "1 situation"!

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Can the "Pomodoro Technique" really improve work efficiency? Research has confirmed that the effect may be greatly reduced when encountering "1 situation"!

Modern people work long hours and need frequent “brainstorming.” Therefore, finding the right techniques to improve productivity and restore concentration during daily work tasks has become a required task for every office worker. What methods can improve concentration at work? “Educational and Developmental Psychologist” published research confirming that the previously popular “Pomodoro Technique” is indeed helpful in improving work efficiency.

Can the “Pomodoro Technique” improve work efficiency? Research confirms: Effectively improves concentration at work

A research team from the University of Sydney in Australia gathered 72 university student subjects and asked them to participate in a difficult mathematics course within 20 minutes, which was expected to exhaust the subjects’ attention levels. The research team divided them into three groups:

  • The first group took random breaks of 5 minutes during the session.

  • The second group also took a 5-minute break, but was asked to watch a video related to rainforest ecology.

  • The third group took no rest at all and went directly to the next math class.

After the course, all students completed a self-report questionnaire on directed attention levels, as well as a post-course quiz. After analysis by the research team, the results showed that the subjects in the first and second groups showed higher self-reported concentration than the third group; the test scores of the first two groups were also significantly higher than those of the third group. Comes brilliantly.

In addition, the research team also found that the second group of subjects scored higher in the in-class test than the first group. This means that attention depleted by challenging tasks can be restored through unstructured breaks, and exposure to the natural environment during breaks, whether actual contact or through watching virtual videos, is beneficial to restoring attention and improving answer accuracy. Rate helps.

The effect of the “Pomodoro Technique” may be greatly reduced if it encounters situation 1

“The popular Pomodoro technique, which involves working for 25 minutes and then taking a 5-minute break, may be feasible from a scientific point of view,” said Paul Ginns, author of the study and associate professor of educational psychology at the University of Sydney. This kind of rest mode has a positive meaning. It is best to avoid using computer screens and other devices within just 5 minutes, unless watching videos or content related to nature.

Ginns believes that if you want to be more productive at work or study, during a short break of 5 minutes, it is best to leave the computer or mobile phone and do something unrelated to the work content, such as breathing exercises, or just sit quietly and let The brain gets a brief respite from the task. He believes that constantly receiving information on social media is not considered a kind of rest. On the contrary, such behavior will cause the brain to overreceive information and make individuals feel more tired.

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To sum up, the key to resting the body, mind and soul is not to pay attention to redundant information, but to “cut away” appropriately. Wrong stress relief methods can easily make the body act like an under-charged mobile power supply, and the energy consumed during the day will increase; just like using the Pomodoro method, but using the 5 minutes of rest to focus on social media, it will not be able to restore concentration. cannot achieve the expected results.

As for what measures office workers can take to achieve “effective stress relief” in their spare time? The American Psychological Association (APA) recommends that the most effective stress-relief strategies include:

  1. Exercise

  2. Get together with family and friends

  3. Massage

  4. Go for a walk

  5. Meditation

  6. Yoga

  7. Engage in hobbies that require creativity, such as drawing, sculpting, creating, etc.

The least effective strategies were gambling, shopping, smoking, drinking, eating, playing video games, surfing the Internet, and watching TV or movies for more than 2 hours.

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Kelly McGonigal, a doctor of psychology at Stanford University in the United States, also mentioned in her book “Easy Control of Inhibition” that the real way to reduce stress does not stimulate the release of “dopamine”, but increases mood-enhancing brain chemicals, such as serotonin. , gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), and the good-mood hormone “oxytocin”, which also help turn off the brain’s stress response, reduce stress hormones in the body, and induce a healing relaxation response.

The driving force for modern people to lie in bed and watch TV shows as soon as they get home is actually driven by dopamine. Dopamine prompts people to approach things that make them feel “desired”, such as food, sensual enjoyment, squandering money, or mass media programs that purely receive information in one direction, as well as social dynamic pages that constantly force the eyes to follow. These behaviors stimulate the secretion of dopamine, making the brain seem to feel happy. In fact, excessive dopamine can actually cause stress.

Therefore, for the brain, the truly effective way to relieve stress is not to satisfy the desires caused by the secretion of dopamine, but to reduce stress hormones and focus on yourself. If you feel that you have been under too much stress recently and it has affected your posture or daily routine, it is recommended that you spend 1-2 hours after get off work or during holidays to turn off all 3C equipment, and engage in moderate exercise to develop a good habit of correct stress reduction.

Source: Diet, cardiovascular disease, and mortality in 80 countries


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