Pomodoro Timer
Work and break cycles with notifications
The Pomodoro Technique, devised by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s and named after a tomato-shaped kitchen timer, structures work into fixed intervals separated by short breaks. The canonical cycle is twenty-five minutes of focus followed by five minutes away, with a longer break of fifteen to thirty minutes after four rounds.
The timer is the smaller half of the idea. What does the work is the commitment that a pomodoro is indivisible: if you break off to answer a message, that interval is abandoned rather than paused. That rule is what makes the technique a measure of uninterrupted attention rather than just a countdown, and it is the part most people quietly drop.
How to use it
- Set your intervalsTwenty-five and five are the defaults. Longer focus blocks suit deep work; shorter ones are easier to start with when concentration is hard.
- Work until the timer soundsOne task, no switching. If something interrupts you, note it and return to it in the break rather than during the interval.
- Take the break away from the screenThe break is part of the method, not an optional extra. Reading messages for five minutes is not a break from screen work.
- Take a long break after four roundsThe longer rest is what makes the pattern sustainable across a full day rather than just a morning.
Frequently asked questions
Why twenty-five minutes?
It is a convention, not a finding — Cirillo chose it as long enough to make progress and short enough to feel committable. Nothing about the research on attention singles out twenty-five. Treat it as a starting point and adjust: many people settle around fifty minutes with a ten-minute break once the habit is established.
What happens if I get interrupted?
In the original method the pomodoro is void: you stop, record the interruption and start a fresh one. That sounds harsh, and it is the mechanism that makes the technique work — the cost of an interruption becomes visible, which is what changes behaviour over time.
Does the technique work for everyone?
No. If a task pulls you into flow, a timer that interrupts it can do more harm than good, and some people find countdowns create pressure rather than relieve it. It helps most with starting — the hardest part of a task you are avoiding — and with work that fragments naturally.
Will the timer notify me if I switch tabs?
An audible cue sounds at the end of each interval, which is the point of stepping away from the screen. Browsers throttle background tabs, so timing is measured against the clock rather than accumulated ticks to keep it accurate while hidden.
Is my session data stored anywhere?
No. Settings and counts live in the page for as long as it is open and are gone when you close it. There is no account, no sync and no analytics on how long you worked.