1 Easy Trick To Maximize Your Study Routine And Prevent Burnout.
In the bustling streets of New York City in 2012, I was your quintessential wandering 18 year old soul — not a delinquent, but certainly not a star student either. My focus? Well, it revolved around the vibrant Lower East Side and the camaraderie of my wastrel friends. After I graduated the last thing on my mind was going to college. Fast forward through a decade of working in the restaurant industry, the pandemic hit like a brick through a windshield.
With my restaurant shutting down, I found myself standing at the crossroads of uncertainty. That’s when I stumbled upon a coding bootcamp, a decision that would plunge me into the unknown seeing as how I’d never even so much as owned a computer.
Starting at Flatiron School, I sought to break free from my lackluster academic past and put my best foot forward this time around. My initial attempt mirrored the intense study habits of AP students — cue flashcards and endless note-taking. However, my enthusiasm led to a quick burnout, drowning in a sea of my notes, losing sight of the 6 figure prize at the end, or why I was even doing any of this in the first place.
In a moment of academic desperation, I scheduled a meeting with my coding mentor. I contemplated quitting, ready to retreat back to the familiar chaos of the restaurant world. It was during this conversation that my mentor introduced me to the secret stuff— the Pomodoro technique.
“Kid, you’re cramming, and that’s a recipe for disaster,” she declared. The Pomodoro technique, she explained, was a favorite among the titans of success — a blend of 25 minutes of intense coding, followed by a 5-minute break. Rinse and repeat. Every four cycles earned me a longer break of 20–30 minutes.
Initially, I scoffed at the idea. My life had been a perpetual break, leading me to the underworld of New York City restaurant life. Breaks were my nemesis, or so I thought. But she clarified that these breaks weren’t procrastination; they were the juice that rejuvenated my focus for the next coding session.
Within two weeks of embracing this new routine, I felt like Bradley Cooper in the movie “Limitless.” If someone had eavesdropped on my coding symphony, they’d think I was solving a captivating digital mystery. “OOOOOHHHHHHH” and “AHHAAAAAAAAA” echoed through my office as I blew through my JavaScript labs like a seasoned coder.
It was mind-blowing. JavaScript labs became my experiments, and coding concepts, even the most abstract ones, melded together like a perfect recipe. No, it wasn’t the magic of Adderall or nootropic supplements; it was the magic of a well-crafted routine.
In the spirit of fearless exploration, I had stumbled upon the perfect blend of timing and technique for success in the realm of software engineering. Regardless of what you are learning, if you are having trouble maintaining a routine or you feel like you are suffering from burnout, take a leap and try out the Pomodoro technique, and witness your productivity change overnight. What have you got to lose except burnout?
If you are still reading, congratulations — you are about to be introduced to my latest project. Introducing PomoCoach, an application designed to elevate your study sessions and ensure you carve out essential moments to decompress.
In its debut iteration, PomoCoach serves as your digital study buddy, leveraging the renown Pomodoro Technique to dive into 25 minute study sprints and then granting a 5 minute cool down. It’s simplicity meets effectiveness, creating the rhythm you need to learn something new.
The next release of PomoCoach will bring a huge amount of content for users. The planned features include user profiles to save and keep track of your study session as well as the ability to use AI to analyze your study patterns to generate meaningful insights to optimize your study routine.
This project was developed using Next,js and Tailwind. If you are interested in this project, you can find the GitHub repo here.
