Height’s Pomodoro Technique template helps you organize, prioritize, and focus on your tasks with “pomodoros,” strategic work sessions across every area of your life.

Here’s how:

• Section your tasks into different sessions so it’s easy to see everything at a glance and pick a place to start
• Decide how many pomodoros each task in a section will take and visually label with the right number of tomatoes 🍅
• Start working through tasks one 25-minute pomodoro at a time followed by a five-minute break, and then take a longer break after completing four pomodoros

What is the Pomodoro Technique?

When Francesco Cirillo was struggling to focus on multiple college assignments and to-dos, he developed the Pomodoro Technique, a name stemming from the tomato-shaped kitchen timer he used to block out small increments of high-focus time.

The Pomodoro Technique is relatively simple: you’ll brainstorm what you need to accomplish, then work in sets of four 25-minute time blocks with five-minute breaks in-between. Once you finish a set of four, you’ll get to take a longer break.

These short 25-minute blocks make the Pomodoro Technique effective by allowing you to focus on just one item at a time, crossing more off your list as you go. To ensure that the methodology works for you, you need to commit to working straight through each pomodoro without reaching for your phone or getting swept up in other distractions. If something completely unavoidable pops up, though, you should go ahead and take a break, then start your session over again.

Who should try the Pomodoro Technique?

If you often sit down to work and find yourself overwhelmed and distracted, the Pomodoro Technique will help you keep track of everything and free up mental energy to work in miniature sprints.

This productivity method is also good for those who consistently work for longer than they’re actually able to be productive. Translation? If you find yourself with ‘blank page syndrome,’ or the absolute inability to accomplish even a small task, you’ve maxed out your productivity and need to be more strategic about what’s possible. We tend to overestimate how much we’ll be able to accomplish (and underestimate how long individual tasks will take), so the Pomodoro Technique helps you measure your time more effectively through strategic planning and breaks.

Finally, the Pomodoro Technique is good for those who have lots of open-ended tasks and projects. These are tasks that are ongoing, or could take infinite amounts of time, like looking for design inspiration or researching for an upcoming blog post. Pomodoros help you break long-term tasks into more measurable milestones with set time commitments, so you can accomplish your goals without overwhelm.

Why should I use Height’s template to implement the Pomodoro Technique?

This Pomodoro Technique template is meant to help anyone improve their personal productivity and implement pomodoro time-blocking without the hassle. Unlike hand-writing your pomodoro tasks into lists, using Height for the Pomodoro Technique lets you stay flexible. As you make progress (or as new goals and tasks pop up), your workspace is able to adapt with you. The template is also highly visual, which makes the method even easier to use.

How do I start using the Pomodoro Technique?

The Pomodoro Technique is refreshing because each time you complete a pomodoro or a session and earn a break, you reset your focus and center your attention on what’s next.

Here are three ways to kickstart your productivity and stay focused using Height’s Pomodoro Technique template:

1. Plan your pomodoro sessions ahead of time.

Review everything you need to accomplish, add new tasks to your list, and make sure you have a feasible schedule for the day. Try to be as realistic as possible about how long certain tasks will take so you don’t overbook your schedule and end up overwhelmed — assign the number of pomodoros needed to each individual task with the estimate attribute included in the template.

2. Visually lay out your tasks.

Within the Pomodoro Technique template, you can visually organize all of your work with custom attributes, including status, priority, due date, and estimated pomodoros (with actual tomato emojis included). Get an overhead view of the work you need to do, what’s in progress, and what you’ve already completed.

3. Start completing your pomodoros and building a habit.

Set your 25-minute timer and get to work! Each day when you start working, you’ll know exactly what you need to do and when (as well as how long each batch of tasks will take). If you don’t finish a task, use Height’s chat feature right within each task to add notes, ideas, and details to help you pick back up the next day.

How do I get started with the Pomodoro planning template?

Getting started is easy — all you have to do is click “Try in Height”. If you don’t have a Height account yet, you’ll be prompted to create your free account (it’ll only take a minute or two).