How to use a 25 minute focus timer

Decide on one task before you press start, and write it down where you can see it. The timer's job is to make starting cheap: twenty-five minutes is short enough that you can begin something you have been avoiding. When the chime sounds, stop even if you are in the middle of a sentence, take the five minutes away from the screen, and come back. After four rounds, take the long break. Most people find the second and third rounds are where the real work happens; the first is for warming up.

Why a timer helps at all

A fixed interval changes the question from "how long will this take" to "can I do twenty-five minutes of it". The first question is discouraging on a large task; the second is almost always yes. The break matters as much as the round: it gives the part of you that wants to check something a scheduled moment to do it, which is what keeps the round itself clean. The method behind this rhythm is usually called pomodoro, after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer its inventor used; the interval and the breaks are the whole technique.

Questions people ask

Why 25 minutes?

It is the interval popularized by the pomodoro method: long enough to get into a task, short enough that starting does not feel like a commitment. After four rounds you take a longer break. The numbers are conventions, not laws; if 25 feels short, try 50 with a 10 minute break.

Does the timer keep running if I switch tabs?

Yes. It counts from a timestamp rather than ticking, so switching tabs or locking your laptop does not drift it. The tab title shows the remaining time so you can see it from another tab.

Will it make a sound?

A single soft chime when the round ends, generated in the browser. Nothing plays during the round. Mute the tab if you prefer silence.

What should I listen to while it runs?

Whatever you can stop noticing. Pocket Lofi's Focus station was made for exactly this: warm keys and brushed drums that loop without a seam, so nothing on the track pulls at your attention when the timer does not.