Does anybody knows the efficacy of the pomodoro technique in a scientific context? It's one thing to proclaim that it help you overcome arisaka, it's another to have it proven in a rigorous scientific experiment.
Meanwhile, I am sticking to culling useful self improvement advice from self help books that have scientific grounding(citation, written by neuroscientist/psychologist, etc).
Also, don't forget to use a spaced repetition system software to learn useful content like scientific self-help books.
it's another to have it proven in a rigorous scientific experiment
Y'know, I don't think there can ever be a rigorous scientific experiment which will show, definitively, that running a pomodoro timer is more effective than not running a pomodoro timer, generalizable across all people, times and situations. But why the hell would you want that anyway?
If you're curious about the pomodoro technique, try it out. Get a timer, sit down and do some work, take a break. At the end of the day, see whether you've had an unusually productive day. If you have, then super, try it again tomorrow! Eventually you might return to normal as the novelty wears off. Or you won't.
It's pointless to wait for someone to do a fancy-pants study on a thousand people, when all you really care about is whether it works on you. This isn't an AIDS vaccine, here -- it's okay to do the science on yourself.
Sadly, most of the material I've found is purely anecdotal, so I can't vouch for it's efficacy empirically. While I haven't used it consistently, I can say with a fair degree of certainty that on the occasions that I did use the technique, I truly was more productive than I usually am. Perhaps I should record it over the course of a few weeks so I can draw more reasoned conclusions. Even so, I've only come across one serious piece [1] critical of the technique, so I suppose it's been more useful than harmful to most people who've given it a try. In any case it is not recommended for activities you enjoy, you only ever need it when focusing takes a disproportionate amount of effort.
Meanwhile, I am sticking to culling useful self improvement advice from self help books that have scientific grounding(citation, written by neuroscientist/psychologist, etc).
Also, don't forget to use a spaced repetition system software to learn useful content like scientific self-help books.