Focus Timer

It's a time management method developed in the late 1980s by Francesco Cirillo, built around working in short, focused intervals (traditionally 25 minutes) separated by brief breaks, with a longer break after every four intervals. The core idea is that a fixed, visible countdown reduces the temptation to multitask and makes starting a task feel less daunting than an open-ended block of time.

25 minutes is short enough that most people can commit to a single task without their attention drifting, but long enough to make meaningful progress on real work. It's a starting convention rather than a hard rule — this timer lets you adjust the focus length, so some people prefer 45-50 minute sessions for deep work, while others find shorter 15-20 minute sessions better for tasks they find hard to start.

Stepping away from the screen tends to work best — stretching, walking, getting water, or simply looking away from your monitor to rest your eyes. It's generally more restorative to avoid switching straight to another screen (like checking your phone), since that keeps your attention engaged rather than actually resting it.

Yes — this timer lets you set your own focus length, short break length, long break length, and how many sessions happen before a long break. The classic 25/5/15 pattern (with a long break every 4 sessions) is set as the default, but there's nothing special about those exact numbers; use whatever rhythm keeps you consistently productive.

You can pause the timer at any point and resume when you're ready, or use Reset to start the current segment over. If interruptions are frequent, it can help to note what pulled your attention away on a separate list rather than acting on it immediately, then return to it during your next break — that way the interruption doesn't have to break your focus block entirely.