This is the second installment in a series of Science & Research articles addressing widely held beliefs and myths.
On any given day at the Sciences Library, a variety of study techniques are on display: one student may be listening to music while another might be meticulously rewriting their lecture notes. But one study technique might be harder to identify, unless a student has a tomato-shaped timer on the table with them.
The Pomodoro technique, developed by Francesco Cirillo, is a time-management method that recommends focused periods of work — usually a 25-minute work session — punctuated with brief breaks. Cirillo named the technique for the kitchen timer shaped as a tomato, or “pomodoro” in Italian, that he used to create the method in the 1980s.
Some studies have shown that performance can be mapped on a “gradual slope,” and diminishes the longer one spends on a task, Assistant Professor of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences Apoorva Bhandari wrote in an email to The Herald. A 1948 study by Norman Mackworth substantiates the principles of the Pomodoro technique, although Cirillo likely did not rely on it to come up with his method, Bhandari wrote.
Bhandari explained that Mackworth found that a “decrement in performance of 15-30% occurs around 20-30 minutes” into a task that involved “noticing small changes to a stimulus that occurs unpredictably.”
Cirillo’s method posits that short breaks may help revive attention when it begins diminishing. Some studies have shown that “switches cued by external cues are more efficient than those by internal cues,” Bhandari wrote. So even though studiers may feel they can simply take a break when they get tired, timer-enforced breaks — like those in the Pomodoro technique — may be more effective.
Bhandari also pointed to some research that suggests that “interrupted tasks are actually easier to resume,” citing a study by Bluma Zeigarnik that indicates people “tend to remember interrupted tasks better than completed tasks.” For example, it is easier to restart writing in the middle of a paragraph than at the beginning of a new one, he explained.
The Pomodoro method may also have more long-term memory advantages, according to Matt Nassar, associate professor of neuroscience, cognitive and psychological sciences.
In the short term, tasks will feel less efficient “if you just interrupt yourself all the time,” Nassar explained. “The more you interleave different tasks, the worse people perform on them,” he added.
Taking a five-minute break clears short-term memory systems of any available information and forces “the plasticity” of long-term learning systems, Nassar said.
Bhandari also noted that the mechanism behind the Pomodoro technique “remains largely untested.”
The method’s efficacy may also be influenced by what one does during their breaks.
Passive rest — recovery that does not involve significant mental or physical exertion — may encourage “replay” of experiences in the brain, leading to better memory consolidation, Bhandari explained. From that perspective, avoiding scrolling during five-minute breaks may be more effective for information retention.
“Sometimes I use the five minutes to do something that does not require being on a device: go for a walk, make my bed, load the dishwasher,” Kamya Raman ’27, who has been using the Pomodoro technique since high school, wrote in an email to the Herald.
Kaavya Pokhriyal ’28, who also uses the study method, said she will “stare at a wall or go take a little walk” during the breaks.
But Bhandari described research by Sophie Leroy that suggests that people “struggle to disengage” when interrupted before completing a task. If the study technique relies on true rest during those five minutes, Leroy’s work “would suggest that they are probably still thinking about the task,” he wrote.
Still, some students have reported finding the method useful to battle procrastination and plan their time.
Pokhriyal described how, for her, the Pomodoro technique makes long and difficult tasks less daunting by breaking them down into manageable chunks.
“I’ll just sit down for like, an hour and a half, and then I can do three pomodoros in that time,” she said.
Nishita Malhan is a senior staff writer covering science and research.
