Press Start and this Pomodoro timer runs a focus session, then a short break, and repeats; after a set number of focus sessions it gives you a longer break. That loop is the core of the Pomodoro Technique, developed by Francesco Cirillo, and the Pomodoro guide for beginners covers the method in full. This page is the timer itself, with settings you can change.
The cycle at the default settings
| Phase | Default length | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | 25 minutes | One task, notifications off, no tab switching |
| Short break | 5 minutes | Stand up, look away from the screen, refill water |
| Long break | 15 minutes | After every 4 focus sessions; step away properly |
Each phase starts on its own when the previous one ends, so you do not have to come back and press a button between sessions. Skip ends the current phase right away and moves to the next one. Pause holds the remaining time, and Reset returns to a fresh focus session with the counter at zero.
Adjusting the settings
All four lengths can be changed in the Settings box, from 1 to 120 minutes for each phase and a long break every 2 to 12 sessions. Two common adjustments:
- Longer focus sessions for work that needs warm-up time. Writing, coding and analysis often need a while just to load the problem back into your head. A 50-minute session with a 10-minute break keeps more of the session productive. The guide on entering a deep work state goes into why that ramp-up exists.
- Shorter sessions when starting is the hard part. On a day when a task feels impossible to begin, a 15-minute focus session lowers the bar enough to get going. You can lengthen it once momentum builds.
Changes apply to the next phase that starts. A phase that has not started yet takes the new length straight away; one already under way keeps the time it has left, even while paused.
An illustrative morning
Here is how four sessions at the default settings fit into a morning, as an example. Start at 09:00 on a report; the first break comes at 09:25. Sessions two and three cover the data section and the summary, with breaks at 09:55 and 10:25. Session four ends at 10:55, and the 15-minute long break takes you to 11:10, a natural point for messages and email. That is roughly an hour and forty minutes of single-task work before lunch, with the breaks already built in.
Questions about the timer
Does it keep time if I switch tabs or my laptop sleeps?
Yes. The timer stores when the current phase ends and compares it with the clock, so it shows the right phase and time when you come back, even if several phases passed while the screen was off. The countdown also appears in the browser tab title. In a background tab the browser may run the page less often, so the end-of-phase sound can arrive up to about a minute late.
Why didn’t I hear the sound?
Browsers only allow sound after you interact with the page, so the alert is enabled when you press Start. If you reload the page while the timer is running, click anywhere on the page or press a key to turn the sound back on; a note under the buttons reminds you. Check that “Sound when a phase ends” is ticked and that the tab is not muted.
What should I do when a session gets interrupted?
If the interruption is short, note it on paper and carry on. If it takes over, press Reset rather than Skip: Skip counts the session as completed, while Reset starts over with the session count at zero. Switching back and forth leaves part of your attention on the previous task, a cost the guide on attention residue describes.
When fixed intervals get in the way
A timer that interrupts you every 25 minutes can break a good stretch of concentration. If you often reach the bell in the middle of real progress, lengthen the focus phase or press Pause and keep going. The rhythm suits tasks you tend to avoid better than tasks you are already absorbed in.
Your settings and the timer state are kept in your browser’s local storage on this device only. Nothing is sent anywhere, and clearing this site’s data resets the timer.