Twenty-five minutes is the length of one classic Pomodoro. Start the countdown, work on a single task until the alarm, switch to the 5-minute break, then go again. Four rounds make a full cycle, followed by a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.
The Pomodoro Technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, using a tomato-shaped kitchen timer, which is where the name comes from. Twenty-five minutes is short enough to commit to without negotiation, and long enough to get real work done. The technique is less about the exact number than about the rules around it: one task per session, no interruptions, and a real break afterwards.
Pick one task and write it down. Start the countdown and work only on that task. If something else comes to mind, note it and keep going. When the alarm rings, stop, click the 5-minute break and step away from the screen. After four sessions, take a longer break. The space bar starts and pauses the timer, so you never have to reach for the mouse.
If you are deep in a task when the alarm rings, it can feel like the timer is cutting you off. That is a sign to try longer blocks, such as 50 minutes with a 10-minute break. If you struggle to reach the end, try 20. The best interval is the one you can repeat all day; Pomodorian's guide to Pomodoro intervals compares the common options.
One 25-minute block of focused work on a single task, followed by a short break. Four Pomodoros are followed by a longer break.
It is the original and a good default. Many people do better with 50/10 or 90/20 for deep work; the right length is the one you can finish consistently.
Yes. The remaining time is always correct when you come back, because it is computed from the real clock. In a background tab, some browsers can delay the alarm by up to a minute unless a background sound is playing.
This page is a single timer. The full Pomodorian app records completed sessions, streaks and a focus heatmap, stored in your browser.
Pomodorian is a free Pomodoro timer: focus and break cycles, an AI task planner, ambient sounds and focus stats. No account: your tasks, settings and stats stay in your browser.
Open the full Pomodoro timer