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Pomodoro Timer

This Pomodoro timer lets you work in focused sessions with short breaks between them and a longer break after every fourth. The defaults follow the classic 25/5 Pomodoro Technique, and each phase can be set from 1 to 180 minutes.

25:00

0 completed work sessions this tab

Work minutesShort break minutesLong break minutes

Play completion sound

Timer uses elapsed wall-clock time. Notifications require permission and may be delayed while the browser is suspended. No stats are saved.

How the timer works

Phase orderwork → short break → work → short break → work → short break → work → long break
Long break rulecompleted work sessions ÷ 4 has no remainder → long break
Time leftend time − current clock time, checked four times a second

Start and Pause share one button; pausing keeps the time left. Reset puts the current phase back to its full length. Skip phase jumps from work to a short break, or from any break back to work, without counting the session. The Work, Short break and Long break buttons switch phase directly.

When a phase reaches zero the timer stops, plays the optional sound, sends a notification if you've allowed them, and loads the next phase ready to start. Changing a length while that phase isn't running updates the countdown straight away.

Timer uses elapsed wall-clock time. Notifications require permission and may be delayed while the browser is suspended. No stats are saved.

Worked example

One full round with the default 25/5/15-minute settings, starting at 9:00:

Phase	Starts	Ends
Work session 1	9:00	9:25
Short break	9:25	9:30
Work session 2	9:30	9:55
Short break	9:55	10:00
Work session 3	10:00	10:25
Short break	10:25	10:30
Work session 4	10:30	10:55
Long break	10:55	11:10

The round takes 2 h 10 min: 100 minutes of focused work and 30 minutes of breaks, so about 77% of the time is spent working. In practice you'll spend a little longer, because each phase waits for you to press Start.

The Pomodoro Technique and its variations

Where it comes from

Francesco Cirillo developed the technique as a university student in Italy in the late 1980s, timing his study with a tomato-shaped kitchen timer — pomodoro is Italian for tomato. Each work session is called a pomodoro.

The method has a few simple rules: choose one task before you start, don't switch tasks mid-session, write down interruptions to deal with later, and if you're interrupted for real, the session doesn't count — start a new one. Cirillo also suggests planning the day in pomodoros and reviewing how many each task actually took.

Breaks are part of the method, not a reward: step away from the screen, stretch or get water, rather than checking email.

Common variations

Rhythm	Work / short / long	Round	Focus
ClassicMost tasks; the default here	25/5/15	2 h 10 min	77%
ShortGetting started on a task you're avoiding	15/3/15	1 h 24 min	71%
LongWriting, coding and other deep work	50/10/30	4 h 20 min	77%
Study blockRevision, with time to review notes	45/15/30	4 h 15 min	71%

"Round" is four work sessions with three short breaks and one long break. Set the three lengths in minutes above the timer; any whole number from 1 to 180 works. The right rhythm is the one you can keep up all day — if you keep skipping breaks, they're too short or too frequent.

A few habits make the timer more useful. Write the task down before you press Start, so the session has a clear finish line. Keep a scrap of paper next to you: when a stray thought or to-do comes up, note it and carry on. At the end of the day, count how many sessions each task took — after a week or two your estimates for similar work get much more accurate.

To see where your focused hours went across a week, log them in the Timesheet Calculator.

Sources: Francesco Cirillo, The Pomodoro Technique (Currency, 2018) and francescocirillo.com. The variations are common practice, not part of Cirillo's original method. Checked 15 October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How does the Pomodoro Technique work?+

Pick one task, set a timer for 25 minutes and work on nothing else until it rings. Take a 5-minute break, then start the next session. After four sessions, take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes. With this timer's defaults, one full round of four sessions and their breaks takes 2 h 10 min, 100 minutes of it focused work.

Why 25 minutes?+

It's the length Francesco Cirillo settled on when he developed the method — short enough to stay focused and long enough to get something done. There's nothing special about the number. If 25 minutes regularly cuts you off mid-thought, try longer sessions; if you can't make it to the end, try shorter ones.

When does the long break happen?+

After every fourth completed work session — the 4th, 8th, 12th and so on. The counter only goes up when a work session runs to zero, so skipping a work session doesn't count toward the long break. You can also start a long break at any time with the Long break button.

Does the next session start automatically?+

No. When a phase ends, the timer stops and loads the next phase at its full length, so you choose when to start it. That gives you a moment to note where you stopped before a break, or to finish a thought before the next session.

Will the timer keep time if I switch tabs?+

Yes. It counts down against the clock rather than counting ticks, so the time is right when you come back even if the browser slowed the tab down. The end-of-phase sound and notification can arrive late while the tab is in the background or the computer is asleep.

How do I get an alert when a session ends?+

Tick Play completion sound for a short beep, and click Enable completion notifications to allow a desktop notification. Your browser asks for permission once. Notifications don't work if your browser or operating system blocks them, or in a focus mode that silences them.

Can I change the session lengths?+

Yes. Work, short break and long break each accept whole minutes from 1 to 180. A popular longer rhythm is 50 minutes of work and 10-minute breaks with a 30-minute long break: one round of four sessions then takes 4 h 20 min, with 200 minutes of focus.

What if I get interrupted during a session?+

Click Pause to stop the countdown and Start to pick up where you left off. In the original technique a session that's abandoned partway doesn't count, so if the interruption derails you, click Reset to restart the work session from its full length. For small distractions, jot them on a list and get back to the task.

What should I do during a Pomodoro break?+

Step away from the task: stand up, stretch, refill your water, or look at something in the distance to rest your eyes. Try to avoid email and social media, which tend to stretch a 5-minute break into 20 and pull your mind back into work.

Does the Pomodoro timer work on a phone?+

Yes, it runs in any modern mobile browser. Phones pause background tabs more aggressively than computers, though: the time is still correct when you come back, but the sound and notification may not arrive until you reopen the tab, and some mobile browsers don't support web notifications at all. Keep the page open on screen if you rely on the alert.

Does the timer save my history or send any data?+

No. The timer runs in your browser and nothing is stored or uploaded. The completed-session count lasts only as long as the tab is open, and your custom lengths reset when you reload the page.