The Pomodoro Technique is a simple way to use a focus timer: pick one task, set a timer for 25 minutes, work until it rings, then take a 5-minute break. After four rounds, take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes. Each 25-minute round is called a pomodoro, and the method works with any timer.
Francesco Cirillo began developing the technique in the late 1980s as a university student, using a tomato-shaped kitchen timer. That's where the name comes from: pomodoro is Italian for tomato. Here's how to use it, how to adjust it and what one study found about its breaks.
Choose one task. Be specific: "draft the intro of the report," not "work on the report."
Set a timer for 25 minutes.
Work only on that task until the timer goes off. If something else pops into your head, jot it down and get straight back to work.
Take a 5-minute break. Stand up, stretch or get some water. Duke University's Academic Resource Center suggests spending it away from screens if you can.
Repeat. After four pomodoros, take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.
Duke also suggests grouping small jobs that take less than one pomodoro, such as answering emails and booking an appointment, into a single session.
Set up before you press start. Silence notifications, close tabs you don't need and have everything you need within reach. Duke's advice is to set up your environment to avoid distractions.
Protect the round. Duke suggests trying not to break a pomodoro once it starts. Keep going until the timer is up, and save other ideas for the break.
Actually take the break. Cirillo's official site describes using regular breaks to protect your focus. They're part of the method, not a reward you have to earn.
Plan and reflect, too. The official site presents the technique as more than a timer: plan what you'll work on, focus one activity at a time, then record your effort and compare your estimates with what actually happened.
Use any timer. A kitchen timer, your phone's clock or a focus app all work. What matters is a clear start and a clear end.
A 2023 study by researchers at Maastricht University, published in the British Journal of Educational Psychology, looked at 87 university students during a day of self-study. Some took breaks whenever they chose. Others took scheduled breaks: either a Pomodoro-style 6-minute break after every 24 minutes, or a 3-minute break after every 12 minutes.
Students who chose their own breaks studied and rested in longer stretches.
They also reported more fatigue and distraction, and less concentration and motivation, than the students on scheduled breaks.
There was no difference in how much of the task got done, so the scheduled groups seemed to finish similar work in less time.
It's one study over a single day, so treat it as encouraging rather than proof. Still, it supports a simple idea: deciding your breaks in advance can make long study sessions feel less tiring.
Twenty-five minutes is the classic length, not a rule you must follow. Duke encourages experimenting to find what works for you, and notes that some people prefer longer cycles, such as 52 minutes of work followed by a 17-minute break.
Hard to get going? Start with a shorter round, like 10 or 15 minutes, then build up.
Deep work like writing or coding? Try longer rounds once you're settled, with a longer break to match.
A day full of meetings? Use pomodoros for the gaps between them instead of forcing full cycles.
Studying for an exam? Plan the number of rounds per topic, then check after each long break whether you're on track.
Here's what a morning working on a report might look like:
9:00 to 9:25: outline the sections.
9:25 to 9:30: break. Refill your water and stretch.
9:30 to 9:55: write section one.
9:55 to 10:00: break.
10:00 to 10:25: write section two.
10:25 to 10:30: break.
10:30 to 10:55: edit and add sources.
10:55 to 11:20: long break. Step outside or have a snack.
Four focused rounds, three short breaks and one long one. At the end, note how many rounds the report really took compared with your guess. That makes your next plan more accurate.
Picking a task that's too big. "Finish thesis" won't fit in 25 minutes. Break it into pieces that do.
Checking messages on the break. One quick reply can turn into a new task. Keep breaks for rest.
Skipping breaks because you're on a roll. Short, planned breaks are part of the method.
Never reviewing. Counting rounds is useful only if you look back and adjust your plan.
A classic pomodoro is 25 minutes of focused work followed by a 5-minute break. After four of them, you take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.
Something restful that isn't your task: stand up, stretch, get a drink or look out of a window. Duke suggests stepping away from screens if you can.
It can be. In the 2023 Maastricht study, students who took scheduled breaks reported less fatigue and better concentration than students who took breaks whenever they chose, and they got through a similar amount of work.
Change it. Try shorter rounds when starting is hard, or longer ones, like 52 minutes on and 17 off, if you settle in easily. Keep whatever rhythm you can repeat.
Attention Age includes a focus timer with free 10- and 25-minute sessions, so you can run a classic 25-minute pomodoro or a shorter warm-up round, with a Lock Screen Live Activity and optional ambient sounds; 45- and 90-minute sessions are part of Pro. It also offers a five-minute attention test that gives a 0 to 100 Attention Index, plus a weekly re-test with the same tasks and scoring. It's an entertainment and self-practice app, not a medical or diagnostic test, and your results stay on your iPhone.
Get Attention Age free on the App Store