How to use this Pomodoro timer
The timer opens on a 25-minute Pomodoro. Press Start (or Space), work on one thing until the alarm, then take the short break it moves you on to. After every fourth pomodoro the break becomes a long break; the dots under the clock show how far through that cycle you are. Skip jumps to the next session, Reset restarts the current one, and the three tabs above the timer let you jump straight to any session type.
Tasks sit beside the timer. Give each one an estimate in pomodoros — a rough sense of size, not a promise — and tap it to make it active. Every completed pomodoro is added to the active task's count (done/estimated), and the summary line underneath works out when you will finish everything that is left, including the breaks in between. Tick a task off when it is done; Clear finished tidies the list.
Open Settings to change the lengths, the long-break interval, auto-start, the alarm sound, volume, repeat count and ticking. Everything — settings, tasks and stats — is stored in this browser only. Nothing is uploaded, and there is no account.
The Pomodoro Technique in practice
Francesco Cirillo named the method after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer he used as a student in the late 1980s. The rules are deliberately simple: pick a task, work on it without interruption for one pomodoro, take a short break, and after four pomodoros take a longer one. The timer is not the point — the commitment to a single task for a fixed, short block is. Knowing the break is never more than 25 minutes away makes it much easier to start something you have been avoiding and to ignore messages until the bell.
- Protect the pomodoro. If an interruption can wait, note it down and carry on. If it can't, stop the pomodoro and restart it later rather than counting half a session.
- Really break. Stand up, get water, look out of a window. Scrolling your phone is not a break for your eyes or your attention.
- Estimate, then compare. Seeing that a "two-pomodoro" task took five is the most useful feedback the technique gives you. Your estimates improve within a week or two.
- Group small jobs. Emails, invoices and quick replies fit together into one pomodoro instead of fragmenting four.
If you want a straightforward countdown without the cycle, use the online timer; for timing how long work actually takes, the stopwatch keeps laps.
25/5, 50/10 or 52/17: choosing your lengths
The classic 25/5 split suits most people and most work, especially when a task feels hard to begin. Longer blocks reward deep work that takes a while to load into your head — programming, writing, design — where stopping every 25 minutes costs more than it saves. The presets in Settings cover the common variations:
| Preset | Focus / break | Long break | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25 / 5 | 25 min / 5 min | 15 min every 4 | Studying, admin, starting stuck tasks |
| 50 / 10 | 50 min / 10 min | 30 min every 3 | Coding, writing, revision blocks |
| 52 / 17 | 52 min / 17 min | 17 min | The ratio from DeskTime's study of its most productive users |
| 90 / 20 | 90 min / 20 min | 30 min every 2 | Deep work matched to roughly 90-minute attention cycles |
Lengths can be anything from 1 to 180 minutes for focus and up to 90 for a long break. Changes made mid-session apply from the next session so you don't lose the one in progress. Copy link to this setup gives you a URL that opens the timer with the same lengths — useful for a study group or a team doing synchronised focus blocks.
Background tabs, alarms and notifications
Browsers slow down timers in tabs you are not looking at — Chrome can delay them by up to a minute after a tab has been hidden for five minutes. Timers that count seconds drift badly because of this. This one never counts: it stores the wall-clock time each session ends and compares against it, so the display is right the moment you come back. The alarm itself is queued on the audio hardware's clock when the session starts, so it rings on the second even in a throttled tab, as long as you started the timer with a click or key press (browsers only allow sound after you interact with the page).
If you close the tab or reload, the timer picks up where it was. A session that ended while the page was closed is counted, and with auto-start on, the following sessions are caught up too, so you come back to the right point in your cycle. Two open tabs share one timer and won't double-count.
Turn on Browser notifications to get a system notification when a session ends. The browser will ask for permission once; if you previously blocked it, allow notifications from the icon next to the address bar and tick the box again. On iPhone and iPad, notifications only work once you add the page to your Home Screen. The screen is kept awake while the timer runs, and Focus mode (F) fills the screen with just the clock and the current task.
A pomodoro you finish early with Skip counts only if you completed at least half of it. The minutes are always added to your focus time, so the daily total reflects real work. For counting reps or interruptions during a session, keep a tally counter open alongside.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Pomodoro timer keep running if I switch tabs or lock my phone?
Yes. It stores the time each session ends rather than counting seconds, so switching tabs, minimising the window or locking the screen doesn't make it drift. The alarm is scheduled in advance on the audio clock, so it rings on time in a background tab. On phones, the operating system can suspend the browser completely when locked; the timer will be correct when you return and catches up on anything that finished.
Why didn't I hear the alarm?
Browsers block sound until you have interacted with the page, so start the timer with a click, tap or key press rather than leaving it to auto-start after a reload. Check that the alarm sound isn't set to None, the volume slider isn't at 0% and the tab isn't muted. On iPhone, the ring/silent switch also silences web audio. Use the Test button in Settings to check.
What counts as a completed pomodoro?
A pomodoro that runs to the alarm always counts. If you press Skip to finish early, it counts only if at least half of the session was done, so a two-minute false start doesn't inflate your stats. Resetting or switching tabs never counts a pomodoro, but the minutes you did focus are still added to today's focus time and the session log.
How is the long break interval worked out?
The timer counts completed pomodoros since your last long break — the dots under the clock. When that count reaches the interval (four by default), the next break is a long one and the count starts again. Skipped pomodoros that didn't reach halfway don't advance the count. You can set the interval anywhere from 1 to 12.
Are my tasks and stats saved, and can anyone else see them?
They are saved in your browser's local storage on this device, so they are there next time you visit. Nothing is sent to a server, so no one else can see them — but they also won't sync to another device, and clearing your browser's site data deletes them. Download the CSV session log if you want a permanent record.
Can I use a 50/10 or 90-minute timer instead of 25/5?
Yes. Open Settings and pick the 50/10, 52/17 or 90/20 preset, or type your own lengths: focus from 1 to 180 minutes, short breaks up to 60 and long breaks up to 90. Your choice is remembered, and Copy link to this setup gives you a URL that opens the timer with the same lengths on any device.