20 Minutes On

5 Minutes Off

Or, some variation on this theme. Please.

It’s the #1 tip on my Top Ten Ways to Kick The Sitting Habit freebie.

When you sit or stand to work, set an alarm for 20 minutes. When it goes off walk, dance, or stretch for at least two minutes. Five is better.

This technique goes by lots of names and is attributed to several folx who would like the credit. The most famous is the Pomodoro Technique by Francis Cirillo.

Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash

Cirillo’s version breaks down this way:

The well-known:

1. Choose a task

2. Set the Pomodoro® Timer to 25 minutes

3. Work on the task until the Pomodoro® rings, then put a check on your sheet of paper

4. Take a short break (Start with 5 minutes)

5. Every 4 Pomodoros, take a longer break

Simple. Elegant. Effective. He found his way to this method to increase his effectiveness and productivity as a student.

I prefer 20 minutes of focused work followed by a five minute movement break. And, from a cardiovascular health perspective, it’s better to get up and get moving every twenty minutes with light to moderate activity (check out this study).

It is not hard to work this way, building a new habit is the true challenge. We know this… change is fraught.

I had an “a ha” moment this week as I was wrapping up part two of my residency with 7th graders. They have 65-minute classes and a school culture of age-appropriate, but awful behaviors. I decided to try this technique with the students as a means of activating their concentrated focus for 20 minutes with the promise of a five minute break as a reward. Granted, we weren’t sitting at all, so the five minute break for some was a moment to actually sit. Ha!

My regret? I didn’t start the residency using this method.

My hope? The regular classroom teacher will continue the practice to build familiarity and success with this method over time.

I will start future residencies with this as a baked-in way of managing our time, expectations, and focus.

Takeaways?

1. My classes were more productive, accurate, and efficient when I built in the five minute breaks every 20 minutes. This is reflected in several studies demonstrating increased productivity and reduced health care costs in adult workers in both sedentary and non-sedentary work environments.

2. The students felt respected and that their basic humanity was recognized.

3. Going back to the diabetes research reminds me to remind sedentary workers (and retired) friends (like you) to get up and move every 20 minutes!

Get up! Stand up!

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