Pomodoro Timer
Stay focused with the Pomodoro Technique. Work for 25 minutes, then take a 5-minute break.
Focus
How the Pomodoro Technique works
Francesco Cirillo named the method after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer he used as a student in the late 1980s. The idea is small and stubborn: pick one task, protect a short interval for it, and stop when the timer says so, whether or not you feel finished.
One cycle
- Choose a single task
- Start the 25-minute timer
- Work until it rings, then stop
- Take the 5-minute break away from the screen
After four cycles
Take a longer break, usually 15 to 30 minutes. This timer counts your completed sessions, so the fourth one is easy to spot without keeping score yourself.
What it is good at
Starting. The interval is short enough that beginning costs little, which is most of the battle on work you have been avoiding. It is a focus device, not a measurement tool: it does not remember what you worked on.
Pomodoro questions
Why 25 minutes?
Twenty-five minutes is the interval Francesco Cirillo settled on in the late 1980s, short enough to start without dread and long enough to get somewhere. It is a convention, not a rule. If your work needs longer runs, keep the structure and lengthen the interval.
Why is it called a pomodoro?
It is Italian for tomato, after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer Cirillo used as a student.
What about the longer break after four sessions?
The technique calls for a longer break, usually 15 to 30 minutes, after every fourth session. This timer runs the 25 and 5 minute intervals and counts your completed sessions, so you can see when the fourth one lands and take the longer break away from the screen.
What if I get interrupted mid-session?
Stop the timer and note where you were. The method treats an interruption as something to record rather than to absorb, which is also how it surfaces where a day actually goes.
Is a Pomodoro timer the same as time tracking?
A pomodoro is a focus device: it protects one interval at a time and forgets it afterwards. A time tracker keeps the record - which project, which client, how long - so the same hours can become a timesheet, a report, or an invoice. Use the timer for concentration and a tracker for the record.
Pomodoros keep you focused. Sandtime.io keeps the record.
The same hours, logged against projects and clients, ready to export when you invoice. Free for unlimited users.