I did 50-10s for many years -- and was productive as hell doing it.
I think the numbers vary depending on the person and the project, but absolutely, having the discipline to push away from the desk and change context puts your productivity in warp gear. It works by allowing you mind to work on the problem while you play.
By the way, to let another secret out of the bag, this process of engineered distraction also works very well with teams.
Many times we confuse stubbornness with determination. Sitting there staring at the screen does not a work product make.
But I'll add one caveat -- the reason I got away from this (and am now only getting back to it) is because the internet itself has become the "getting away" activity. This leaves you at your desk checking emails, updating twitter, etc. In such a case, you're not allowing your subconscious to work on your problem at all. Instead, you're throwing a bunch more stuff at it. So in retrospect I think its critical to physically detach yourself from your technology. A stand-alone game would be fine. Sitting at the terminal listening to your email and IM chimes while you play a flash game would not.
EDIT: It's also interesting to note how hard it is to pull away from your work -- both when you're loving it and when you're hating it. I don't think it's ever easy, but after a while you get into a "rhythm" and it all just kind of flows.
Classes are scheduled by hours / semester, not hours / day.
Adjust for how many days you can fit in around the major holidays, remodeling, and so on, then divide the number of days by the number of minutes and you have the required course time. (Of course you tweak it a bit if the course session lengths are odd.)
I used the Pomodoro technique (25/5) when writing my Master's thesis. I had no problem settling in after my breaks. When the 25-minute work period ended, I would literally stop mid sentence, leave my text editor open, and walk outside. It was easy to get started again after my break, because I was in the middle of a sentence that needed finishing. That was usually enough to get me back up to speed, because after a 5-minute break, my mind hadn't wandered too far.
I think the numbers vary depending on the person and the project, but absolutely, having the discipline to push away from the desk and change context puts your productivity in warp gear. It works by allowing you mind to work on the problem while you play.
By the way, to let another secret out of the bag, this process of engineered distraction also works very well with teams.
Many times we confuse stubbornness with determination. Sitting there staring at the screen does not a work product make.
But I'll add one caveat -- the reason I got away from this (and am now only getting back to it) is because the internet itself has become the "getting away" activity. This leaves you at your desk checking emails, updating twitter, etc. In such a case, you're not allowing your subconscious to work on your problem at all. Instead, you're throwing a bunch more stuff at it. So in retrospect I think its critical to physically detach yourself from your technology. A stand-alone game would be fine. Sitting at the terminal listening to your email and IM chimes while you play a flash game would not.
EDIT: It's also interesting to note how hard it is to pull away from your work -- both when you're loving it and when you're hating it. I don't think it's ever easy, but after a while you get into a "rhythm" and it all just kind of flows.