Most productivity timers want to manage your tasks, track your hours, log your sessions, chart your streaks. Somewhere between the Pomodoro technique and a full project management suite, the original idea got lost.
Announcing Focus Timer
The idea is simple. Pick a duration. Focus on one thing. When time’s up, stop. Repeat as needed.
We built a timer that does exactly that. No task lists, no session logs, no gamification. An analogue clock face with a green wedge that shrinks as you work. Pick 15, 25, or 45 minutes. It starts immediately.
The wedge is your peripheral awareness of time passing. You glance at it the way you’d glance at a kitchen timer on the counter. It doesn’t demand attention. It just answers the question: how much time is left?
A small orange indicator ticks the seconds. Like the sweep hand on a diver’s watch, it’s there to reassure you the thing is running. You shouldn’t need to think about it more than that.
Why the Pomodoro Technique Works
The technique is named after a tomato-shaped kitchen timer. Francesco Cirillo came up with it in the late 1980s as a university student struggling to focus. The core of it has barely changed since: work for 25 minutes, take a break, repeat.
It works because it removes the hardest decision a procrastinator faces: when to start. You don’t commit to finishing the task. You commit to 25 minutes. That’s a promise small enough to keep. And once you’re in it, momentum usually carries you.
The fixed duration also kills the open-ended dread that makes large tasks feel impossible. You’re not writing the whole report. You’re writing for 25 minutes. The scope shrinks to something manageable, and the timer gives you permission to stop.
The Details
Open the timer in its own window. Resize it, tuck it into a corner, keep it visible alongside your work. Controls stay in sync between both windows. The tab title counts down too, so you’ll notice even when the window is hidden.
Dark mode by default. Light mode if you prefer. The animated digits beneath the controls roll like a mechanical counter. It works as a PWA — install it from your browser and it runs as a standalone app, no chrome, no tabs.
It’s free, it runs in your browser, and it doesn’t collect anything. Just a timer.
Stop browsing and start focusing. Just for the next 25 minutes.