Focus Session
Preset: 15 min focus blocks with frequent breaks
Space starts or pauses. R resets.
The standard 25-minute Pomodoro block was never a scientifically fixed number — its creator picked it somewhat arbitrarily as a university student. For people with ADHD, a 25-minute block can feel too long to start (which triggers avoidance) or too long to sustain (which leads to bailing out partway through, which then feels like failure even though real work got done). Shorter blocks — commonly 10 to 15 minutes — remove both problems: starting a 15-minute block feels low-stakes, and finishing one intact is genuinely achievable.
Frequent breaks matter more here than the classic four-rounds-then-rest structure. This preset uses a long break after three rounds instead of four, and keeps every break a real 5 minutes rather than encouraging you to push through. Skipping breaks to "stay in the zone" often backfires for ADHD focus specifically, since sustained attention without a reset tends to collapse suddenly rather than gradually.
Treat these numbers as a starting point, not a rule. Some people with ADHD do better with even shorter 10-minute blocks when starting a new or unpleasant task, then naturally extend once momentum builds. Adjust the focus length above until interruption feels rare but starting still feels easy — that's the number that's actually working for you, regardless of what any technique prescribes.
Why are shorter intervals recommended for ADHD?
Shorter blocks lower the activation energy needed to start a task, which is often the hardest part of ADHD-related task initiation. They also match attention span more realistically than a fixed 25-minute default, reducing the chance of losing focus partway through and feeling like the session failed.
Should breaks be shorter too, or the same length?
Keep breaks close to the same length even as focus blocks shrink — the break's job is to let attention actually reset, not just to be proportional to the work block. Five minutes is a reasonable default regardless of whether your focus block is 10, 15, or 25 minutes.
What if 15 minutes still feels too long to start?
Lower it. Try 10 minutes or even 5 for a task you're avoiding — a short, completed block builds momentum that often carries you past the timer anyway. You can always extend once you're already working; starting is the harder threshold to cross.
Prefer the classic structure? Use the standard Pomodoro timer, or see the study-focused preset.
Your session has finished.