Work Timer (50 min focus / 10 min break)
A work timer with no signup and nothing to install. The timer above is already loaded at 50 minutes of focus and a 10 minute break, so pressing start is the whole setup.
There is a reason it is 50 rather than 25: work takes longer to get into than study does.
Why work suits 50 minutes better than 25
The standard Pomodoro is 25 minutes, but that length was pitched at studying and admin work. Writing code, writing prose, drawing up plans — those take something like ten minutes of moving your hands before your head is actually in it. Cut at 25 and the bell lands right as you arrive.
Worse, being cut off mid-flow repeatedly teaches you that the timer is the enemy, and people abandon the technique itself. Only the length was wrong — losing the whole method over it is the saddest version of this.
At 50 minutes you can spend the first ten getting in and still work forty in gear. That needs proportionally more recovery, which is why the break here is ten.
Rough guide by type of work
"Work" covers a lot of ground, though, and the best length moves with it. Here is a guide, kept inside what the app can actually be set to (focus 1–90 min, break 1–30, sets 1–8).
| Type of work | Focus / break | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Writing, programming | 50 / 10 | Loading the context takes a while; a cut means reloading it |
| Drafting, design | 50 / 10 | Stopping costs you the dimensions and intent you were holding |
| Email, admin | 25 / 5 | Each item stands alone, so an interruption costs little |
| Reading documents | 25 / 5 | Natural stopping points arrive; longer favours drowsiness |
| Data entry, repetitive work | 25 / 5 | Boredom arrives first. Win on repetitions, not length |
Where the hours went, recorded for you
The quietly useful part of a work timer is the record. Type what you are doing before you start and the minutes accumulate against that task, viewable for the week and for all time.
Instead of "today was busy" you get "2 h 10 m writing, 40 m on replies", which makes your estimating errors impossible to miss. Measured work time is the thing that improves the next estimate.
On top of that, each focused minute becomes one block stacking up on screen, and finishing a set pours those blocks into a jar. Fifty minutes of focus leaves fifty blocks behind.
- Focus 1–90 min / break 1–30 min / sets 1–8, to the minute
- No ads during focus — they appear only on breaks and article pages
- Records stay on your device; nothing is sent to a server
- Scheduling starts or reminds you at a set time each day
What changes between home and the office
The same 50 minutes plays differently depending on how the interruptions arrive. In an office people talk to you; at home you distract yourself.
In an office, assume you will not defend all 50 and decide in advance to drop the remainder and move to the next set when interrupted. At home the opposite is hard: with no external boundaries you run on and on, so taking the ten minute break is the part that needs enforcing.
Work timer questions
Can I go longer than 50 minutes?
Yes. Focus can be set anywhere from 1 to 90 minutes, one minute at a time. On days when you have a clear run, 90 is fine — but starting there without practice tends to end badly, so stretch up from 50 gradually.
Do I need an account or an install?
No. It works the moment you open it in a browser. No signup, no download — which also means it works on a locked-down work machine with no install rights.
Can I track time per piece of work?
Yes. Enter what you are working on before you start and the minutes are logged against it automatically, viewable for this week and for all time. The data stays on your device.
Does it keep running if I switch tabs?
Backgrounding the tab is fine — timing continues and notifications still fire on desktop and Android Chrome. Closing the browser completely stops notifications; that is a limit of the web, not a setting.