Pomodoro Timer

Plan the work before starting

Turn a timer session into a concrete task

Choose an action small enough to begin immediately: outline three sections, check five practice problems, or sort one folder. “Work on my project” gives you no clear starting point. Keep a short place to note distractions so you can return to them after the interval.

The default focus interval is 25 minutes, followed by a 5-minute short break. After four completed focus intervals, the next break is 15 minutes. These are adjustable defaults, not a guarantee about the best schedule for every task. Start with an interval you can reasonably protect from interruptions.

At the end, record what you finished and the next action. A completed timer counts an interval, not the amount or quality of work done. If your task needs more time, that note makes it easier to resume after the break.

Budget a full cycle, including breaks

Starting with zero completed sessions, four default focus intervals contain4 × 25 = 100 minutes of focus. The three short breaks between them add 15 minutes. You reach the end of the fourth focus interval after115 minutes, assuming you start each phase immediately.

Taking the following 15-minute long break brings that whole cycle to130 minutes. A two-hour opening in your calendar therefore fits the four focus intervals and short breaks, but not the entire long break.

Automatic starts are off by default. The next phase waits for you to press Start, so real elapsed time includes any extra pause between phases. The completed-session count is saved between visits; check it if you expect a long break after a particular interval.

Handle pauses, skips, and background tabs

Pause preserves the time left in the current phase. Reset restores the full duration of that phase. Skip moves on without adding a completed focus session. Use the action that reflects what happened so the completed count remains meaningful.

The countdown uses an end timestamp, so delayed browser updates do not make the current interval lose track of elapsed time. A sleeping device or suspended tab can still delay the sound and the transition to the next phase. It does not retroactively count a chain of unattended focus sessions.

Keep the page open while timing. Reloading resets the active countdown, although preferences and the completed count remain saved when browser storage is available. Sound also depends on browser and device settings, so test a short interval before relying on it to alert you.

Use the Online Notepad for session notes. For a record of clock-in and clock-out hours, use theTime Card Calculator; this timer does not maintain a timesheet.