Quick answer
The Pomodoro Technique is a time-management method created by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s: work on one task for 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break, and after four sessions take a longer 15 to 30-minute break. Type what you are working on, press Start focus, and Playxoft's free Pomodoro timer runs the whole cycle for you, with optional auto-start, a ticking or brown-noise focus sound and today's totals.
- 25/5/15 defaults
- Long break every 4
- Auto-start options
- Session dots
- Today's focus stats
- Ticking or brown noise
- Notifications
- Fullscreen focus mode
How to use the Pomodoro Timer
- 1Type what you are working on (optional) and press Start focus.
- 2Work on that one task until the chime. If something else comes up, write it down and return to the task.
- 3Take the break the timer offers: a Short break after most sessions, a Long break after every fourth.
- 4Turn on Auto-start breaks or Auto-start focus in Settings to keep the cycle going hands-free.
- 5Check Today for your completed sessions and total focus time.
What is the Pomodoro Technique?
Francesco Cirillo developed the technique in the late 1980s while he was a university student, timing his study sessions with a tomato-shaped kitchen timer. *Pomodoro* is Italian for tomato, and each 25-minute work session is called a pomodoro.
The method is simple:
- Choose one task.
- Work on it for 25 minutes, without switching tasks.
- Take a 5-minute break.
- After four pomodoros, take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.
The fixed length turns "work on the report" into a series of small, finite efforts, and the scheduled break gives you permission to stop. This timer tracks where you are in the cycle with the dots under the clock and switches between focus and breaks for you.
How should I adapt the Pomodoro Technique?
Twenty-five minutes is a starting point, not a rule. Common variations:
| Pattern | Focus | Break | Long break | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic | 25 min | 5 min | 15 to 30 min | Most desk work, studying |
| Gentle start | 15 min | 3 min | 15 min | Getting going on a dreaded task |
| Long focus | 50 min | 10 min | 30 min | Writing, coding, design |
| Deep block | 90 min | 15 to 20 min | none | One big task per morning |
Change the lengths in Settings: they apply to the next session, or straight away if the timer has not started. Whatever lengths you choose, keep the two rules that make the method work: one task per session, and actually take the break.
Interruptions. Cirillo's advice is to protect the session: tell the other person you are in the middle of something, agree on when you will get back to them, and follow up after the pomodoro. If you must abandon a session, restart it later rather than counting it.
Focus sounds: ticking or brown noise?
Both are optional and play only during focus sessions, never during breaks:
- Ticking is a soft tick-tock like the mechanical kitchen timer the technique is named after. Some people find the steady rhythm a useful cue that the clock is running.
- Brown noise is a deep, even rumble. Its energy falls off toward higher frequencies (about 6 dB per octave), so it sounds softer than white noise while still masking chatter and keyboard clatter.
Set the focus sound level separately from the alarm, so the background stays quiet while the end-of-session chime stays clear. The sounds are generated in your browser; there is nothing to download.
How does this Pomodoro timer track my day?
Each completed focus session adds its length to Today: focus time and session count. Skipped sessions are not counted. The tally resets at midnight on your device and is stored only in this browser, never on a server.
The cycle runs on timestamps, so it stays correct in a background tab. With auto-start on, the next phase begins at the exact moment the previous one ended, even if your computer was busy, and every alarm in the chain is queued on the audio clock in advance. Turn on desktop notifications to see when a session ends while you work in another window.
Need a plain countdown or a workout timer instead? Try the online timer or the interval timer.
Frequently asked questions
Last updated by the Playxoft engineering team.