# Free Pomodoro Timer Online: 25-Minute Focus Timer · Startr URL: https://startr.online/pomodoro-timer > A free Pomodoro timer in your browser: 25-minute focus rounds, 5-minute breaks and a long break every four. No sign-up, no ads. Plus how the technique works. **Free tool · no sign-up · no ads** # Pomodoro timer A free Pomodoro timer that runs in your browser: 25 minutes of focus, a 5-minute break, and a longer break after every fourth round. 25:00 left, Focus Round 1 of 4 · 0 done today What are you working on? ### Settings **The short answer** The Pomodoro Technique is a way of working in timed rounds. You pick one task, work on it for 25 minutes without switching to anything else, then take a 5-minute break. Each 25-minute round is called a pomodoro. After four pomodoros you take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes. Francesco Cirillo created the method in the late 1980s as a university student, using a kitchen timer shaped like a tomato, which is _pomodoro_ in Italian. It helps because a fixed end time makes it easier to start and to keep going, and regular short breaks reduce tiredness over a long session. ## How to use this timer 1. Type what you're working on, so you remember what this round is for. 2. Press **Start** (or the space bar). The display counts down from 25:00. 3. Work on that one task until it beeps. If something else comes to mind, write it down and go back to the task. 4. Take the 5-minute break. Stand up, get water or look out of a window, and stay away from email. 5. After the fourth round the timer gives you a long break, then starts again at round 1. You can change the lengths and the number of rounds in Settings, have each round start on its own, and turn on a notification for when the tab is in the background. The timer runs entirely in your browser. Your settings and today's count are saved on this device only, and nothing is sent anywhere. ## The Pomodoro Technique in six steps 1. **Choose one task.** Make it specific enough to begin, such as "draft the introduction" rather than "work on the report". 2. **Set the timer for 25 minutes.** 3. **Work until the timer rings.** If you get interrupted, either deal with it quickly and restart the round, or note it down and come back to it later. 4. **Take a short break of about 5 minutes.** 5. **After four pomodoros, take a longer break** of 15 to 30 minutes. 6. **Keep a tally.** Counting finished pomodoros shows you how much focused time a task really takes, which makes the next plan more accurate. ## What the research says There isn't much research on the Pomodoro Technique itself, but a few studies look at the parts it's built from. In a study of 87 university students during a day of self-study, one group took a 6-minute break after every 24 minutes, which is close to a standard pomodoro, and another group decided for themselves when to take breaks. The students on the fixed schedule reported less fatigue and distraction and more concentration and motivation. They got through a similar amount of work in less time (Biwer and colleagues, 2023). A meta-analysis of 22 study samples found that short breaks of 10 minutes or less gave a small but reliable boost to energy and reduced fatigue. The effect on performance was smaller and only clear for less demanding tasks, and longer breaks helped performance more (Albulescu and colleagues, 2022). That fits the Pomodoro rule of taking a longer break after a few rounds. Attention also tends to drift during a long, unchanging task. In a lab study, people who briefly switched to something else twice during a 50-minute task kept performing well, while those who worked straight through got worse over time (Ariga and Lleras, 2011). Put together, the evidence supports planned, regular breaks. It doesn't show that 25 minutes is a magic number, so adjust the lengths to fit the work. ## Pomodoro lengths compared | Pattern | Focus | Break | Good for | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Classic | 25 min | 5 min, 15–30 after four | Most work and study, and learning the method | | Short rounds | 10–15 min | 3–5 min | Tasks you're avoiding, low energy, or trouble staying with one thing | | Long rounds | 50 min | 10 min | Writing, coding and other work that takes a while to get into | | Deep work | 90 min | 15–20 min | Experienced users on one large task with no interruptions | | Warm-up first | 2 min, then 25 | 5 min | When you can't make yourself start the first round | ## Pomodoro vs the two-minute rule The two methods solve different problems. The Pomodoro Technique helps you **keep going** once you've started. The [two-minute rule](https://startr.online/two-minute-rule) helps you **start** a task you've been avoiding, by shrinking the first step until it takes about two minutes. | | Pomodoro Technique | Two-minute rule | | --- | --- | --- | | What it fixes | Losing focus, burning out in long sessions | Not starting at all | | How long | 25-minute rounds with breaks | One step of about two minutes | | Best moment | When you're ready to work but drift off | When the task feels too big to touch | | Where it fails | 25 minutes can feel too long to begin | It gets you started but doesn't plan the session | They work well together. If 25 minutes feels like too much, use the warm-up button above: do a two-minute first step, and when the warm-up ends, the first pomodoro starts on its own. Starting is usually the hardest part, and once you've begun, staying for 25 minutes is much easier. If you plan your day in [time blocks](https://startr.online/time-blocking), a block of an hour or two holds two to four pomodoros. ## Pomodoro for procrastination and ADHD The timer gives a task a clear end, which helps with procrastination, because "work until 10:25" is easier to agree to than "work on it until it's done". If you procrastinate on a task because it feels too big, the round length isn't the problem. Make the first step smaller instead, with the free [first-step tool](https://startr.online/first-step) if you're stuck. Many people with ADHD find timed rounds helpful, often with shorter rounds of 10 to 15 minutes and a visible countdown. There's no strong evidence for a particular length, so try a few and keep the one you'll actually use. If attention problems get in the way of work or study most days, talk to a doctor. ## Mistakes that make it stop working ### Working through the breaks Skipping breaks feels productive for a round or two, and then you're tired for the rest of the day. The breaks are part of the method. ### Spending the break on your phone Five minutes of scrolling tends to turn into fifteen, and it's hard to come back from. Move around instead. ### Choosing a vague task "Work on the project" makes it easy to spend the round deciding what to do. Write down one concrete task before you press Start. ### Treating 25 minutes as a rule If you're always stopped in the middle of good work, try 50-minute rounds. If you dread starting, try 15. The structure matters more than the exact number. ## Questions people ask ### How long is a pomodoro? A standard pomodoro is 25 minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break. After four pomodoros you take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes. ### Is this Pomodoro timer free? Yes. It's free, there's no sign-up and no ads, and it runs in your browser. Your settings and today's count are saved on your device only. ### Does the timer keep running in a background tab? Yes. The timer works from the clock time it should end, so it stays accurate even when the browser slows down background tabs. Turn on notifications in Settings if you want to see when a round ends while you're in another tab. ### Why is it called Pomodoro? Pomodoro is Italian for tomato. Francesco Cirillo named the method after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer he used as a student. ### Does the Pomodoro Technique actually work? Studies support its main parts: regular planned breaks reduce fatigue, and students on a fixed break schedule reported better concentration and motivation than those who chose their own breaks. The 25-minute length itself isn't backed by research, so adjust it to suit you. ## Related guides - [The two-minute rule](https://startr.online/two-minute-rule): how to start a task you've been avoiding. - [How to stop procrastinating on studying](https://startr.online/stop-procrastinating-studying): methods and first steps for study sessions. - [Task paralysis](https://startr.online/task-paralysis): why you sometimes can't start at all. - [Apps for procrastination](https://startr.online/procrastination-apps): blockers, timers, body doubling and starting apps compared. **For the task you keep putting off** A Pomodoro timer helps once you've started. Startr is for the task you can't start. You type the thing you keep putting off, it writes a first step that takes two minutes, you pick a time and a place, and at that time it counts you down and starts a 5-minute timer. There's no sign-up, and the web app works on any phone or computer. [Get my first step](https://app.startr.si) ## Sources 1. Biwer, F., Wiradhany, W., oude Egbrink, M. G. A. & de Bruin, A. B. H. (2023). Understanding effort regulation: Comparing 'Pomodoro' breaks and self-regulated breaks. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 93(S2), 353–367. [doi:10.1111/bjep.12593](https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12593) 2. Albulescu, P., Macsinga, I., Rusu, A., Sulea, C., Bodnaru, A. & Tulbure, B. T. (2022). "Give me a break!" A systematic review and meta-analysis on the efficacy of micro-breaks for increasing well-being and performance. PLOS ONE, 17(8), e0272460. [doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0272460](https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0272460) 3. Ariga, A. & Lleras, A. (2011). Brief and rare mental "breaks" keep you focused: Deactivation and reactivation of task goals preempt vigilance decrements. Cognition, 118(3), 439–443. [doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2010.12.007](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cognition.2010.12.007) 4. Cirillo, F. (2018). The Pomodoro Technique: The Life-Changing Time-Management System. Currency.