Pomodoro timer
Twenty-five minutes of focus, five of break, and a longer rest after four rounds. The timer swaps phases for you, all you do is work until the bell.
Guide
How to use it
- Decide the one task this session is for. A pomodoro has a single job.
- Press Start. Work until the bell, no inbox, no quick checks.
- The 5 minute break starts automatically. Stand up, look out of a window, do not start anything new.
- After four work sessions you get a 15 minute long break. The session counter keeps score for you.
- Interrupted mid-session? Pause, deal with it, resume. If the interruption ate the session, reset and start it fresh.
Examples
How people run their pomodoros
A standard morning block: four pomodoros with short breaks lands at exactly two hours, long break at the end. Two blocks is a solid working day for hard thinking.
Session 1 outline, sessions 2 and 3 drafting, session 4 tidy-up. Splitting one piece of work across the cycle stops the draft sprawling all afternoon.
One topic per pomodoro, recall practice in the last five minutes of each. The bell makes you actually switch topics instead of comfort-reading one.
Method
How it works
The cycle is the classic Pomodoro Technique pattern: 25 minutes of work, 5 of break, repeated four times, then a 15 minute long break. This page automates the switching, when one phase ends the next begins immediately and the phase label and colour change.
Timing is pinned to your device clock at each phase start, so background tabs stay accurate. The technique itself is Francesco Cirillo’s, named after his tomato-shaped kitchen timer.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Why 25 minutes?
Short enough that starting is easy, long enough to get somewhere. The fixed length also makes work plannable: a report is six pomodoros, not “most of Tuesday”.
What am I supposed to do in the breaks?
Move. Stand, stretch, refill water. The break restores focus only if you leave the screen, scrolling is not a break.
What if I finish early?
Use the rest of the session to review or improve the work. Ending sessions early erodes the rhythm the technique relies on.
What if I get interrupted?
Pause for genuine interruptions and resume. The orthodox rule is that a broken pomodoro does not count, be honest with the session tracker either way.
Can I change the lengths?
This page keeps the classic 25/5/15 pattern. For arbitrary lengths use the main timer, some people prefer 50/10, which is just two pomodoros with the middle break skipped.
Does the phase switch happen if I am in another tab?
Yes, and the tab title shows the countdown so you can see the bell coming.
Do I need an account or app?
No. The page is the whole tool, it works offline once loaded and stores nothing about you.
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