Are you a university student who is dealing with keeping a consistent studying work ethic? Wish you could get more work done without procrastination? Have you ever heard of the Pomodoro Technique? Well, there’s something much more intriguing.
On January 11, 2021, rising YouTuber Joshua Chen created a viral video called How I Studied 600 hrs + Watched 300 hrs of Anime in 4 Months (The ULTIMATE Study Technique). In the video, Joshua goes through how he gets work done efficiently using two unique methods: the Animedoro and the S**tty Draft. Many people have claimed it to be the ultimate study technique.
Let’s dive into this new studying method.
Animedoro
To begin, we must talk about the Pomodoro technique. It is a study method associated with one studying for 25 minutes and taking a 5-minute break. They repeat this process three more times and then take a 20 to 30-minute break afterwards. You can also do a more extended version of Pomodoro where you study for 50 minutes and take a break for 10 minutes four times with the same 20-30 minute break afterwards.
The Animedoro technique, in comparison, is a modified Pomodoro technique that involves studying for 40-60 minutes and then afterwards watching an episode of anime, which is about 19 minutes if you skip the opening and ending credits of the anime. The person would repeat this process for as many times as they would like.
Furthermore, there are different scenarios in which you can stop studying during each Animedoro session. For example, if you are done with an assignment during the studying period, and there is still 20 minutes or more left on your timer, you should try working on another task to use up your time. In another scenario, if you complete a task such that there is now less than 20 minutes left on the timer, you can choose to end your studying session. Also, during your break, you are not limited to watching episodes of anime. You can watch any 20-minute TV show such as The Office.
When comparing Pomodoro and Animedoro, some benefits make Animedoro the more superior technique. The most glaring advantage is the fact that you are given a more satisfying reward after each study session: you get to watch an episode of a TV show that you are binging. Compare this to the Pomodoro Technique, where the 5-minute break limits the ability to do something other than studying. Most people taking their break in the Pomodoro format tend to drink some water, lie down for a small bit, or even just calmly stroke their laptop.
Another benefit of the Animedoro is that the maximum-hour time allows you more time to get back into a studying mindset. For most people, when you begin to study, it may take you a few minutes to get into a focused attitude. With Pomodoro, that could be an issue since taking 5 minutes to recollect your focus cuts the time for you to study. Instead of 25 minutes of studying, it is only 20 minutes or even less for you to go through actual work. Comparing this to Animedoro, even if it takes 10 minutes to regain your focus, there are still 50 minutes left for you to study with 100% focus.
However, there are arguments that state how the Animedoro may not be the best studying method for some people. A conflict that may arise going through Animedoro is the constant urge to keep watching episodes of anime rather than returning to studying for 40-60 minutes. This conflict could lead one to feel less productive with their work and more engaged with their anime binging, which is not good. As a result, this technique may take some practice runs to be able to stop moving to the next episode after finishing the last episode.
Also, in some scenarios, the Animedoro may be too time consuming. An example is when you have to pull an all-nighter for a last-minute quiz. Doing Animedoro could lead to problems, as taking 20-minute breaks may decrease the amount of time for you to study the night before a quiz. In this case, the Pomodoro technique would be better to use since taking 5-minute breaks allows more time to study. But this is simply ONE scenario of an issue arising. In most situations, Animedoro would be beneficial.
In terms of productivity time, both techniques are similar in terms of their work/break ratio.
In addition, Joshua, (the YouTuber who invented this method) says that Animedoro is not meant to be used as a way to be a super-productive person compared to other peers. It is simply a method to allow students to get work done, stop procrastinating, and binge their favourite TV shows all at the same time. Also, keep in mind that Animedoro is not meant to be the technique that everyone should use. If the Pomodoro technique works well for an individual, there is no need to commit to a new method. It all depends on the personality of the individual and whether they wish to watch their favourite shows while studying for long periods of time.
S**tty Draft
On top of the Animedoro, Joshua also explains his other technique to get work done: the S**tty Draft. It is safe to say that most people have had a problem trying to start an assessment or task that is long and tedious. Hence, that may lead to procrastination the day before a deadline. The S**tty Draft helps solve that problem.
In this method, the student would not precisely use 100% of your effort when they encounter an assignment for the first time. Instead, they would try doing the task without caring about the work’s quality the first time. However, during the 2nd work period, you are now making edits to your work rather than starting entirely from scratch. They would continue to make fixes to their errors until they finish their assignment. This technique is powerful because it allows students to immediately start doing work rather than leaving work until just before its deadline. The minimal effort given in the first attempt of working can lead to less work being done in future times doing the assignment, allowing for a smaller load over time.
Overall, the combination of the Animedoro and S**tty draft has seemed to help many students with their procrastination and studying issues, which is a great thing to see. Hopefully, many more people can discover this fantastic method of studying so we can all make it through school while getting through the entirety of our favourite shows.
References
How I Studied 600 hrs + Watched 300 hrs of Anime in 4 Months (The ULTIMATE Study Technique (video link):
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