10x your Productivity with the Pomodoro Technique

This Productivity method is the one technique that will make you work smarter and more efficiently!

It’s a technique I’ve been using for several years now, and I can honestly say it has helped me the most in organizing and structuring my busy work life with all my different projects and businesses.

BONUS: My Pomodoro template makes working with this technique even more effective!

The Pomodoro Technique

Now, working with the Pomodoro technique is fairly simple.

You set a timer for 25 minutes; then you have a break of 5 minutes, then you have another block of 25 minutes and a break for 5, and essentially you work in 4 blocks of 25 minutes until you have a longer break of 30 mins.

Now the key to working with these blocks is to set your focus.

In each block, you’ll determine what kind of task you will work on.

I always prefer doing only 1 task, but if it’s something small, like just doing a couple of emails, I add more tasks to the same block.

So, for example, I could create a block with one bigger task: “writing a blog post,” or a block with multiple tasks such as “email,” “support tickets,” and “accounting.”

Before I start my day working with Pomodoro, I like to design at least four blocks of Pomodoro in advance.

By doing so, I can really focus on my tasks during these blocks, plus I don't have to think about the next block during my well-deserved 5-minute break in between.

Working with Pomodoro

Getting into focus mode is one of the reasons I love using the Pomodoro technique.

To get me going, here are a couple of things that help me a lot:

1. Working with a physical timer

The first thing would be this little physical alarm clock I bought on Amazon. It’s like 15 dollars, but it works perfectly.

You set the timer to 25 minutes, go to work, and I stop working when the alarm goes off and take a break.

Another way of using a timer is to use my Notion Template, which has a timer included, or you can use a native Mac OS extension like BeFocused, which lets you easily start the timer on your computer.

2. Music

Secondly, listening to music can be very helpful in setting you up for deep work.

I’m using Endel, which is an app on your phone, or you can download their native macOS integration, which works really, really well.

I typically put on my Airpods Max, open up Endel’s focus music, look at my Notion Pomodoro Template, and start working on the tasks in my Pomodoro block.

3. Document

Last but not least, actually documenting your progress is key when using Pomodoro.

So this means having a system for designing and documenting your progress on tasks in each block.

Again, you can use my Notion Template, or you can write it down in your notebook, like, for example, in this Strive to-do journal where you can cross off the tasks you’ve completed or, and this is the fun thing about this specific notebook; you can use any of the methods of the framework this book is using,

Like for example, working with “in progress” or “deferred” tasks

Whatever system you use doesn’t matter as long as you have a good overview of what you’re doing.

Free Notion Template for Pomodoro

Now, the reason why I’m using my Notion Template is that it includes everything you need to work with Pomodoro, such as a timer and all the blocks for the Pomodoro sessions, and it even includes my optimized for-focus Spotify Playlist.

Go ahead and download this Notion Template if you want to try working with Pomodoro yourself :)

Stay Productive! 🫵