The Classic 25/5 Pomodoro Timer
25 minutes on, 5 minutes off, a longer break every fourth round.
You searched for the classic setup, so here it is, ready to run. Twenty-five minutes of work, five minutes of rest, and a longer break after four rounds. Nothing to install and no account to make.
This is the exact ratio Francesco Cirillo used with a kitchen timer in the late 1980s. It stuck around because it fits most tasks most of the time. Twenty-five minutes is long enough to make real progress and short enough that starting never feels like a big deal.
Pick one task, press start, and let the timer keep the rhythm for you.
The rules Cirillo actually wrote down
Most 25/5 timers stop at the countdown, but the method Francesco Cirillo described in his original paper has a few more rules, and they are the reason it works. A Pomodoro is indivisible. There is no half Pomodoro, and no pausing one to deal with a quick question. If a block is abandoned it does not count, and you start a fresh one rather than finishing the old one later.
Breaks are part of the method, not a reward for finishing. The paper puts the short break at three to five minutes and the long break, after every fourth Pomodoro, at fifteen to thirty. This timer defaults to five and fifteen, which sit inside both ranges.
If you finish the task with time left on the clock, the rule is to stay with it. Review what you did, tidy it, or check it against what you meant to do. Cirillo called this overlearning. Starting something new in the last four minutes is how a Pomodoro quietly turns back into multitasking.
What to do when you get interrupted
Interruptions are where most people give up on the method, so Cirillo split them into two kinds. Internal ones come from you: the sudden urge to check a message or look something up. Write the thought down, keep working, and deal with it at the break. Most of the time it turns out not to matter.
External ones come from other people, and his answer is a four step routine: inform them that you are in the middle of something, negotiate a time to get back to them, schedule it, and call them back when you said you would. Most requests can wait twenty minutes. The ones that cannot are the ones that void the Pomodoro, and that is what the rule is for.
Sizing your work in Pomodoros
The method also changes how you plan. Before you start, estimate each task in Pomodoros rather than hours. If an estimate comes out above five to seven, the paper says to break the task down, because something that big is really several tasks. If a task needs less than one, group it with other small jobs and clear them in a single block.
After a week, compare the estimates with what actually happened. That comparison is the step people skip, and it is the one that makes your plans more accurate over time. For the full method and what the research says about it, read the Pomodoro Technique explained and does the Pomodoro Technique work.
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Questions
Why 25 and 5 specifically?
It is short enough that beginning feels easy and long enough to get something done. The five minute break is a real pause without letting you drift too far from the work.
Can I change the lengths?
Yes. Open settings on the timer and adjust the focus and break minutes to whatever suits you. The 25/5 values are just the starting point.
What happens after four rounds?
The timer gives you a longer break, fifteen minutes by default, then starts the cycle again. The dots under the label show where you are in the current set.