The internet is full of distractions. Staying productive and focused is a constant struggle, and it may seem almost impossible to get anything done.
One moment you are doing something super-urgent that you know your manager will follow up on. The next moment you find yourself on social media, endlessly scrolling through your feed. And the next thing you know, you have spent hours on TikTok, and your Slack messages are blowing up!
Distractions creep in even while working on personal tasks and leave behind a general sense of not accomplishing anything by the end of the day.
Is there a way to avoid distractions? Perhaps, but there’s surely a way to compartmentalize distractions into short time slots by using the Pomodoro technique.
Pomodoro is a time management method that can help you combat productivity pitfalls. By breaking your work into short, focused intervals called Pomodoros, followed by brief breaks, this technique trains your brain to concentrate more effectively.
This technique boosts productivity, helps you develop better time management skills, and provides a sense of accomplishment after each completed cycle.
While it’s possible to use Pomodoro clock apps independently, embedding one in Notion allows you to stick with the workspace that you are familiar with, minimizing context-switching between different apps and thus reducing distractions.
In this guide, we'll walk you through the process of embedding a Pomodoro timer in Notion.
Here are the five steps to that:
1. Create a New Notion page
You can add the Pomodoro timer to existing pages, but in this guide, we will use a new Notion page for reference.
2. Copy the Pomodoro widget link
There are many Pomodoro widgets available on the internet. In this guide, we will use Notion Avenue’s widget because it provides three preset timers - Short Break (5-minute timer), Focus (25-minute timer), Long Break (10-minute timer).
This widget supports different font and background colors as well. We will set those up in a later section.
Go to the widget page and click on the Copy to Clipboard button.
3. Create an embed block
Go back to the Notion page and set up an Embed block by typing /embed and clicking the top block option that appears on the screen, as demonstrated in the image below.
4. Paste the link
Paste the link to the Pomodoro widget in the embed block and click the Embed link button.
5. Resize the embedded Pomodoro clock
We have successfully embedded the Pomodoro timer in Notion.
Click and drag along the edge-lines to resize the embed block. This feature is helpful in retrofitting your Pomodoro clock to match your page aesthetics.
The Pomodoro stopwatch is set to 25 minutes by default, but you can reduce it to five or ten minutes by clicking the Short Break and Long Break options, respectively.
Click the Start option when you are ready for a productive session. The clock will ring an alarm after it hits zero. That’s when you can stop your session and get ready for a short break of five minutes - you can set the new timer by clicking the Short Break option.
6. Customize your Notion Pomodoro timer
It’s important to ensure that the Pomodoro clock blends into the page to make the setup look aesthetic. Let’s match the text and background color of the Pomodoro clock
1. Click the Settings icon
2. Edit background and text colors
We have changed the background color to blue and the text color to brown to blend it with the cover image.
Here’s what the final version looks like:
Fastest method to embed a Pomodoro time in Notion
Add Pomodoro Notion timer by pasting the link to the widget and clicking the Create embed option. This process takes no more than a few seconds.
Reasons for Notion Pomodoro widget embed not working
Assuming that your internet connection is robust, here are a couple of reasons why your Notion Pomodoro integration is not working.
1. Incorrect Embed Code
The Pomodoro widget we used for reference did not involve using an embed code - we used a direct link. However, other widgets may require copying the embed widget after customizing it within the source page.
The embed code, if edited manually, might contain errors that could cause issues while embedding in Notion. Double-check the embed code provided by the Pomodoro timer page to ensure you have the correct and up-to-date code.
2. Third-Party Service Issues
If the Pomodoro timer service you're trying to embed is experiencing issues or downtime, the widget may not load correctly in Notion. Check the service's status or try embedding a different Pomodoro timer widget.
The step-by-step guide we've provided would hopefully make it easy to integrate a free Pomodoro widget into your Notion workspace, allowing you to be more productive.
With the ability to customize the Pomodoro timer's appearance to match your Notion page's aesthetics, you can create a cohesive workspace that minimizes distractions.
So, whether you're a student, a professional, or someone simply looking to better manage their time, embedding a Pomodoro timer could be a great decision.
