Pomodoro Timer
Free Pomodoro timer with 25/5 focus-break cycles, long breaks, auto-advance chime, session dots and customizable durations — right in your browser.
About the Pomodoro Timer
This Pomodoro timer runs the classic focus rhythm for you: 25 minutes of concentrated work, a 5-minute short break, and after every fourth focus session a longer 15-minute break. Each phase ends with a gentle chime and the next one starts automatically, so you stay in flow instead of fiddling with timers.
Everything is adjustable — focus length, short and long break lengths, and how many sessions come before a long break — so you can run 50/10s for deep work or 15/3s for quick tasks. Progress dots show where you are in the current cycle, a counter tracks total completed sessions, and the countdown mirrors into your browser tab title.
The Pomodoro Technique, created by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s and named after his tomato-shaped kitchen timer, works because it converts vague work into short, committed sprints with guaranteed rest. It's a favorite of students, writers, developers and anyone battling procrastination.
How to Use the Pomodoro Timer
- 1Optionally adjust the durations in Settings — the defaults are 25/5/15 with 4 sessions per cycle.
- 2Click Start to begin a focus session; the tab title shows the countdown.
- 3Work until the chime — the timer advances to a break automatically.
- 4Use Skip to jump to the next phase, Pause to hold, or Reset to start the cycle over.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Pomodoro Technique?
A time-management method created by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s: work in fully focused 25-minute sprints ("pomodoros"), take a 5-minute break after each, and a longer 15–30 minute break after four. The name comes from the tomato-shaped kitchen timer Cirillo used as a student — pomodoro is Italian for tomato.
Why 25 minutes of focus?
Twenty-five minutes is long enough to get real work done but short enough that starting feels easy — which is the technique's real trick against procrastination. It's a guideline, not a law: many people prefer 50/10 for deep work. This timer lets you set any focus and break lengths in Settings.
What do the dots under the timer mean?
Each dot is one focus session in the current cycle; filled dots are sessions you've completed since the last long break. With the default of 4 sessions per cycle, the fourth completed dot triggers the long break, then the dots clear for the next cycle. A separate counter tracks total sessions for the day.
Does the timer advance to breaks automatically?
Yes. When a phase ends, a chime plays and the next phase begins immediately — focus flows into a short break, and after the set number of sessions, into a long break. If you finish early or want to bail out of a break, the Skip button jumps straight to the next phase with the chime.
What should I do during the breaks?
Step away from the screen: stretch, get water, look out a window — anything that isn't the task. The short break resets your attention; the long break lets your mind consolidate. Checking email or social media tends to hijack the break and bleed into the next pomodoro, so the classic advice is to avoid screens entirely.