How should I structure my studying?

Author: Raafay H

Editor: Sameet T

Why does study structure matter?

Let's be honest, studying isn't always the most exciting thing in the world. Most of us would rather be watching the newest episode of our favorite show or playing our favorite games than studying for that big calculus test we have tomorrow. Because of this, breaks become incredibly dangerous without a concrete structure. In other words, a study structure is how we can stop our "quick 5-minute breaks" from spiraling out of control and taking 2 hours.

Study structure 1: Pomodoro

Probably the most well-known study structure is the Pomodoro. The Pomodoro structure breaks studying up into blocks of studying followed by a break. Traditionally one block consists of 25 minutes of studying followed by 5 minutes of break. After 4 of these cycles, you take a longer break - usually about 15 to 30 minutes. The main appeal of a structure like this is avoiding fatigue. Rather than doing a task from start to finish before taking a break, these Pomodoro variations force you to take frequent breaks so that the stress of working on a big task is mitigated. One drawback, however, is that 25 minutes is simply not a lot of time. Although frequent breaks help avoid fatigue, they also interrupt your work. This makes it so that as soon as you hit your stride and enter a sort of "flow state", you have to put your work aside for 5 minutes.

Study structure 2: Ultradian rhythms

You may have heard of a circadian rhythm: the cycles in which we enter and exit states of deep sleep during the night. An ultradian rhythm is similar, except it regulates our focus during the day. The idea is that over 90 minutes, your productivity and focus follow a curved trend in which your productivity goes up until it reaches a peak and then decreases into a "valley". Once in this valley, it takes 20 minutes before entering the next ultradian cycle. How can we apply this to work? Similar to a Pomodoro structure, you can work for 90 minutes followed by a 20-minute break. The biggest benefit of this method compared to the more popular Pomodoro method is that your focus can be held for longer. As mentioned previously, your focus is held best during the 90-minute ultradian cycle that you spend working. This, along with the lack of the extra-long breaks on every 4th cycle that the Pomodoro features, makes up for the less efficient work-to-break ratio that this method features. The main drawback to using an ultradian work rhythm is that fatigue can set in easily when working for 90 minutes straight.

Study structure 3: DeskTime method

The final method worth mentioning is the DeskTime method. Similar to the previous structures, the DeskTime method uses blocks of working and breaks. The ratio for this method is 52 minutes of break and 17 minutes of break. If that seems strange to you, I wouldn't be surprised. These numbers come from statistics taken from users of the DeskTime app, an app used to track computer usage for working and breaks. The statistics show that the most productive people were working in a 52/17 cycle to complete their work. Fortunately, this method falls right between the Pomodoro and Ultradian work structures in terms of length of work and breaks. This means that the DeskTime method can be considered a happy medium compared to the 2 extremes presented previously. Which one is the best? That's up to debate, ultimately you should experiment with all 3 and see which one you can stick to the best.