Pomodoro Timer

The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method, created by Francesco Cirillo, that breaks work into focused sprints separated by short breaks. By working in timed intervals with regular breaks, you maintain mental freshness while making consistent progress on tasks.

Start small: If 25 minutes feels too long, begin with 15 or 20 minutes and build up your focus endurance.

Protect your focus: Close email tabs, silence your phone, and use website blockers during pomodoros.

Batch similar tasks: Group emails, calls, or admin work into specific pomodoros instead of context-switching.

Honor the break: The 5-minute break is essential, it prevents burnout and keeps you fresh for the next sprint.

Click "Show Settings" to open the customization panel. Each phase has its own slider: Focus Duration (1-60 minutes, default 25), Short Break (1-30 minutes, default 5), and Long Break (1-60 minutes, default 15). The timer automatically switches to a long break every fourth completed pomodoro, then returns to a short break cycle.

Enable Auto-start to move straight into the next phase without pressing Start, useful if you want an uninterrupted work-break rhythm. When a phase ends, the tool plays a short tone generated with the Web Audio API (no audio file to load) and, if you granted permission, sends a browser notification so you know a phase changed even if the tab is in the background.

All settings and your daily pomodoro count are saved to your browser's local storage, so they persist between visits. The count resets automatically at midnight local time. Press the Space bar anywhere on the page (outside the settings panel) to start or pause the timer without reaching for the mouse.

Attention naturally fluctuates in cycles of roughly 90-120 minutes, known as ultradian rhythms. Working straight through these dips leads to declining accuracy and slower output, even if you stay at your desk. Structured breaks every 25-50 minutes let you finish a cycle before fatigue sets in, rather than pushing through a mental low point.

Task switching also carries a measurable cost: research on attention residue shows that jumping between tasks (checking email mid-task, answering a message) leaves part of your attention on the previous task, slowing the current one. Committing to a single task for a fixed interval, with distractions deliberately postponed to the break, reduces this residue and produces more consistent progress per session.

The visible countdown also creates mild, useful time pressure: a fixed 25-minute window gives a concrete finish line, which tends to reduce procrastination on tasks that otherwise feel open-ended. Tracking completed pomodoros turns abstract effort into a visible, incremental count, which is why the tool keeps a running daily total.

Picking a task too big for one interval: "Write the report" does not fit in 25 minutes. Break it into a sub-task that realistically finishes inside one pomodoro, such as "draft the report outline," so each interval has a concrete finish line.

Checking messages mid-session: Glancing at a notification defeats the point of the technique even if you do not reply. Put the phone in another room, or at minimum out of sight, for the duration of the focus interval.

Skipping the break: Pushing straight into the next pomodoro because you are "in the zone" removes the recovery the method is built on and tends to produce a sharper drop in focus a few intervals later.

Leaving the task vague: Starting a timer without deciding exactly what you are working on wastes the first few minutes just figuring out where to begin. Write the single task down before pressing start.