The Pomodoro Technique

(and how to actually use this timer)

If you've never heard of it, the Pomodoro Technique is a simple time management method developed in the late 1980s by Francesco Cirillo, who used a little tomato-shaped kitchen timer to time his study sessions (pomodoro is Italian for tomato — hence the name).

The idea is super simple: you work in short, focused bursts, followed by a proper break. No multitasking, no "I'll just quickly check my emails," just one task, one block of time.​

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How it works

1. Pick what you're focusing on. One task, or a few small ones grouped together — just make sure it's decided before you start.

2. Set the timer for 25 minutes and work on that task, and only that task, until the timer goes off.

3. Take a 5 minute break. Step away from the screen. Stretch, make a coffee, stare out the window — anything, but don't work.

4. Repeat. After four of these 25-minute "pomodoros," take a longer break of 15–30 minutes to properly reset.

That's it. The structure keeps you focused — you're not relying on willpower! 

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How to use this timer

• A Pomodoro (25 minutes) - Start a Pomodoro and the focus timer begins, counting through your four sessions for the round.

• Write down your task in the task box so you know exactly what you're supposed to be doing when the timer's running (and so future-you doesn't have to remember).

• Got several small tasks instead of one big one? You don't have to give each of them a full 25 minutes. Add them to the list and jot down roughly how long each should take — a few minutes here, ten there — so they fit together into a single Pomodoro. Drag them into order so whatever's at the top is your current focus. Tackle it, tick it off, and it moves to the bottom of the list, struck through, so you can see what you've got done.

• Didn't finish a task in one Pomodoro? No problem — it'll carry over to the next one automatically.

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A quick note on the task list: this isn't meant to be your to-do list for the whole day. Only write down what you're actually tackling in this Pomodoro — whether that's one task, or a few short ones that fit into the 25 minutes. When the next Pomodoro rolls around, you can either carry on with what you didn't finish, or write down something fresh for that block. Keep your full to-do list somewhere else entirely. If you start piling everything you need to do today into this timer, it stops being a focus tool and starts being just another cluttered, distracting list.

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• Short break (5 minutes) — once your focus session ends, it switches over to a green timer to visually separate it from the orange focus block. Just hit start when you're ready to begin your break.

• Long break (30 minutes) appears after your fourth Pomodoro, shown in black, and you can choose 15, 20, 30 minutes, or set a custom length.

• Click anywhere along the timer ring to jump forward or back if you need to adjust on the fly.

• Toggle the audio on or off depending on whether you want the alarm and ticking sound, and choose whether the alarm repeats until you stop it or just chimes once.

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Why the ticking actually matters

I have ADHD, and I'll be honest — the Pomodoro Technique on its own never really worked for me. I'd set the 25 minutes, get maybe four minutes in, and drift off into something else entirely without even noticing. The timer was running, but it wasn't actually doing anything for my focus.

What changed things was building the ticking sound into this timer and trying it with the audio switched on. It turns out that constant, quiet ticking works as a kind of ongoing anchor. It's not loud or naggy, it's just... there, in the background, the whole time you're working. And the moment your attention wanders — which, if you're like me, it will — that ticking is still going, and it pulls you back. It became less about the timer telling me when 25 minutes was up, and more about a steady little pulse reminding me, every few seconds, "you're still supposed to be doing the thing."

If you've tried Pomodoro before and it didn't stick, especially if focus is something you struggle with, I'd genuinely recommend giving it another go with the ticking turned on. It might just be the missing piece.