How to Choose the Right Session Length

Gauging the time you need to spend on a task can be tricky, especially if you are new at working in cycles. This depends on the type of work that is being addressed, as well as the individual work habits you have or wish to develop. Below we give you some estimates as to which session length would be appropriate to which task.

If your new at working in intervals and struggling to concentrate, start with the default settings of 25 minute sessions with 5 minutes breaks. This first work session will help you estimate how much time you can work concentrated on a task. To successfully work this way, you need to remove the chances of stress by overworking, so take your breaks seriously.

If you need to memorize something for an exam or learn new words in a foreign language, consider choosing a much shorter session length, because memorizing requires a lot of concentration and your brain gets tired faster. You might want to try an interval length of 10 minutes separated by 5 minute breaks.

If your task is to create something, such as writing, coding or forming a concept, you can try working with a longer session length of 60 to 90 minutes. If you are immersed in your creative output , a session length of 25 minutes might interrupt your flow. Working on longer intervals lets you profit from your flow, which gets nourished from your well-earned break. 

If your work consists of creative tasks or solving hard problems, work which requires thought and inspiration, working with a timer and intervals is often not the right time management method. Instead, you might find inspiration by taking a walk, discussing with colleagues or whatever else helps you to find good ideas. However, working in intervals can help you with the execution of your ideas, bringing them to life and actually implementing the solution to the hard problem once you have the breakthrough idea.

Session lengths can and should be customized through your own needs and working habits. Learning facts and rules require a high amount of concentration, which makes short sessions ideal in those circumstances. Output generating tasks like writing require time for you to think before you put it on the paper or screen. These need more time in order that your train of thought is not interrupted.