Pomodoro plan to slay your day

Sick of always having to-dos left on your list at the end of the day?

Wouldn't it be nice to end a day without unfinished tasks buzzing around in your head. To pack up and NOT feel like the imposter who can't keep up. To be able to shut-off from work in the evening knowing you put in a hard day's slog, and have the visualization of the progress you made lull you into a well-earned restful slumber.

There is a better way

You are about to learn a process for planning your days that hundreds of thousands of people have already used to make meaningful progress in their days, growing their businesses, achieving their goals and taking control of their lives.

By following a few simple planning steps you will be able to;

  • Accurately estimate and hit your deadlines.
  • Stop overpromising on deliverables.
  • Finish each day with sense of accomplishment.

The best part is, all it takes is a 5-minute planning session at the beginning of your day.

NOTE: If you aren't using the pomodoro technique yet, the best thing to do before you go any further is to learn more about that first, as this planning sheet works best when used with the technique.

A simple planning template

To make this process even easier we made this free pomodoro planning sheet for you (there are two per A4 sheet to save on printing). Below is a sneakpeak of the planning sheet when it has been filled out.

Let's plan!

Grab a pen and paper, a blank page in your note app or print our planning template.

  1. List the task you most want to achieve today. This is the task that when completed will make you feel great about your day. Think: meaningful progress.
  2. Assign the number of pomodoro sessions you would like to spend on that task in the bold circle to the right of it.
  3. List the additional tasks you will work on.
  4. Estimate how many pomodoro sessions you think you will need to complete each task.
  5. Tally up your sessions for the day, ensuring it is achievable within the time you have. In a standard 8-hour day 8-10 sessions is a good starting point. Write the total in the bottom of the circle in the top right corner, under 'total estimate'.
  6. Get your pomodoro timer ready to go. As you finish a session, mark each pomodoro next to the task by adding a cross in a circle.
  7. If you are interrupted or something else pressing comes up during the day, make note of it (in the 'notes' area) rather than letting it distract you in a session.
  8. At the end of your day, tally up the completed pomodoros and add it to the circle in the top right corner, above 'pomodoros complete'.
  9. Finally, reflect on your day and consider what you could change tomorrow to improve your producitvity, note it down.

NOTE: if you want to ensure effective use of your breaks you can also note down anything you would like to achieve during them under 'break ideas'.

Productivity can become your reality with this planning technique

Pomodoro planning will give your day the direction and purpose you need to stay focused. It also has the added bonus of instilling a sense of achievement as you mark off your planned tasks.

But as you improve at estimating how long things will take, your expectations of what you can achieve in a day become more realistic. The absolute winner from that is you will filter this through to clients, managers or teams so you also become really great at managing their expectations too.

So, not only will you be the most productive and satisfied person in the room, you will also be dependable. Who would have thought a simple pomodoro plan could deliver all that?!

How did you find our pomodoro planning resource? Chat now!