🍅 FocusTimer

The Science of Pomodoro

The Pomodoro Technique, developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s, is built on a simple insight: the human brain can only sustain intense focus for 25-30 minutes before attention decays. By alternating focused sprints with deliberate breaks, you work with your brain's natural attention rhythm instead of fighting it. Research from the University of Illinois found that brief diversions from a task can dramatically improve focus — participants who took short breaks during a 50-minute task maintained consistent performance, while those who didn't saw performance drop by 29%.

• One "pomodoro" = 25 min focus + 5 min break. After 4 pomodoros, take a 15-30 min break
• During focus time, eliminate ALL distractions — phone, notifications, browser tabs
• If interrupted, reset the timer. The point is uninterrupted focus, not clock-watching
• Studies show the average office worker is interrupted every 11 minutes — Pomodoro blocks this