Question 1

What is the Pomodoro technique?

Accepted Answer

A way of working in fixed stretches: you pick one thing, focus for 25 minutes, then take a short break of about 5, and after a few rounds you take a longer one. Francesco Cirillo came up with it in the late 1980s and named it after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer he used, so it is a good deal older than this page. The point was never the number 25. It is deciding in advance when you will stop, which makes starting take less effort.

Question 2

Can I change the 25 minutes?

Accepted Answer

The minus and plus buttons either side of Start move the length a minute at a time, and holding one moves faster: a focus session can be anything from 1 to 240 minutes. Break is the second tab, 5 minutes by default and adjustable from 1 to 60. Nothing rolls into a break on its own, so when a focus session ends the timer returns to the start and waits for you to choose what is next.

Question 3

Is it free, and do I need an account?

Accepted Answer

The timer is free and there is nothing to sign up for. It runs in the page you are already on, so you can start a session the moment it loads. An account is only useful if you want your focus time kept afterwards, and every part of the timer works the same without one.

Question 4

Does the timer track me or store what I am working on?

Accepted Answer

The timer runs entirely in your browser, and nothing about a session is sent anywhere unless you choose to keep it at the end. Nothing asks what you are working on, no account is attached to it, and there are no ads. The site does count page visits, using cookieless analytics that sets no cookies and builds no profile of you.

Question 5

Does the timer keep running if I switch tabs or reload the page?

Accepted Answer

Switching tabs is fine: the countdown is worked out from the clock rather than counted tick by tick, so it is still correct when you come back. It makes no sound and sends no notification when the time is up, so a session in a buried tab is one you have to check on yourself. Reloading or closing the page does end the session, and the count of sessions finished today resets with it.

Question 6

Can I save my sessions?

Accepted Answer

When a focus session ends, a small panel offers to carry that one session into a new account. Taking it stores the finished length in an encrypted cookie that lasts an hour and is read once, then sends you to sign up, where those minutes are credited to the new account as focus time. Skip it and the session simply ends, with nothing stored or sent.

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