My Three Favourite Pomodoro Timers

Hand-drawn title page with a large red tomato illustration under the heading “Favourite Pomodoro Timers”. The name “Martine Ellis” appears underneath.

One of the best things about the Pomodoro Technique is its simplicity—all you need is a timer.

This is how it works:

  • 25 minutes of focused work.

  • 5-minute break.

  • Repeat 4 times, then take a longer break.

That’s it. These short sprints help you get into focus mode quickly—and stay there.

Here are a few timers I recommend:

  • Pomofocus: Clean, free, and works in your browser.

  • Cuckoo: Great for remote teams and also free.

  • Forest: A paid app (small, one-off fee) that grows trees when you stay focused.

If you want to keep things analogue, a sand timer (hourglass) or kitchen timer works just as well.

What’s your go-to focus timer?

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