Last week I wrote about the interplay between good and bad mood, and how they impact your cognitive powers. Good mood is associated with intuitive, fast part of your brain and thus helps with tasks that are creative and intuitive in nature. Bad mood, on the other hand, is much more likely to switch on your control center, the part of the brain that is slow because of it is more analytical and logical.
Both modes are very important in learning (and you can extrapolate learning recommendations into all other tasks on your job or life outside).
Focused learning requires you to be analytical and logical. You want to be on your control system. One of the tools that helps with this is the Pomodoro Technique. It is based on some important principles: switching on a control system is exhausting, and you cannot stay on it for too long without losing a quality of attention; therefore, the principle of the technique is to focus for 25 minutes and then take a 5-minute break. You can repeat up to four focused sessions and then take a longer brake. I experiment with this technique recently, and it is very powerful. My brain gets the message – I will have a break in 25 minutes so I can work hard because the reward is coming soon. You also don’t look to check your emails or internet because 25 minutes does not seem long to achieve something.
The other mode of learning is called diffused, it is linked with intuitive part of your brain, and it does not really like to be stressed. For creative work, you don’t want to feel pressure, have stretched deadline, or a specific task at hand. A good walk would do; I go out with my dog between my Pomodoro sessions, or clean the dishes, and it helps to reflect in a relaxed manner and get some out-of-the-box ideas. Some famous personalities had their special ways of awakening creativity. For example, Salvador Dali was known to hold a key in his hand as he napped in a chair. He placed a plate on the floor directly below the hand holding the key. As he fell asleep, his hand would relax, the key would drop, hit the plate, and the resulting noise would wake him up. He used this moment, the boundary between being asleep and awake, to find creative sparks. Thomas Edison, used a similar technique, using steel balls instead of key. Coffee break chat is a typical habit at most of the workplaces and it serves the same purpose – as long as you manage to switch into focused mode after this break it is exactly the right thing to do.
Another benefit of diffuse mode is consolidation of knowledge, which gets transferred into your long term memory. It works the best when you sleep, so your brain would prefer a few pomodoro sessions every day, rather than many in one stretch. Regular, everyday focused learning blocks, even if they are very short, work much better because they allow the brain to continue working overnight.
Pomodoro works for me, but there are other ways to focus, so it is important to experiment and find a way, which works best for you. You need however to bear in mind that focus likes short intervals, relaxed time is important to integrate learning and create something new. A little bit every day is much better idea than a lot from time to time.
Practical hints
Use the tool, there are many available on the web, I use this: Pomodoro Timer
Plan your sessions ahead, a good habit is to make a detailed plan on the evening before
Make your 4 sessions (25 minutes work, 5 minutes break) in a raw and than break for as long as you wish. I have seen recommendations to break for 15-30 minutes but it depends on the tasks. Those that require full focus may require longer breaks. Experiment and build intervals, which works for you.
Don't continue when the clock rings, those short 5 minute breaks are critical. If you continue your focus will start to deteriorate. It is very tempting if the work is important and you enjoy it, but you will get more out of it if you break.
More than 3 block per day can be overstretched. When you start to feel tired, your concentration and ability to focus decreases. It may be more productive to enter diffused mode of working and intertwine two modes to achieve the best results.
Resources
Learning how to learn: Excellent course on the learning, which explains how the brain functions and resulting from that learning principles and tools.
Oakley B.; Schewe O. - Learn Like a Pro, 2021: The book by one of the authors of Learning how learn training.
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