Pomodoro timer for ADHD: physical timers and apps compared

What is the Pomodoro technique, exactly?

It is a way of working in fixed blocks with breaks between them. Duke University's Academic Resource Center describes it as 25 minutes of work, then a 5 minute break, with a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes after every four blocks. Each 25 minute block is called a pomodoro, from the Italian for tomato, after the kitchen timer that gave the method its name.

That is all it is. No app is needed, and the rules are adjustable. We make no claim that it suits ADHD or any other condition. People use it because a visible end point makes starting feel smaller, and a timer makes the length of a block something you can see.

What to look for in a Pomodoro timer for ADHD

Seven things decide which timer you will still be using in a month:

• How it starts. The fewer steps the better. A flip cube starts when you turn it over. A dial needs two hands and a twist. An app needs you to pick up a phone, and that is the point where many people get pulled away.
• Presets or free setting. The Ticktime lists presets of 3, 5, 10, 15, 25 and 30 minutes plus a custom timer. Dial timers such as the Secura run up to 60 minutes.
• How the end is shown. A shrinking disc, traffic-light colours, a sound or a vibration. Choose by what you notice.
• Noise while it runs. Ticking bothers some people. Check the maker's wording.
• Where it sits. A dial is readable from across a room. A cube is small enough for a laptop bag.
• Whether you can pause. Real life interrupts. The Ticktime listing says you can flip to pause and resume. Some dials cannot pause without resetting.
• Cost of being wrong. A £9.99 timer is easier to abandon than a £35 one.

Physical timer or app?

A physical timer keeps the clock out of your phone, which is the main reason to buy one. An app is free, always with you and can add a reason to stay put.

Forest is the best known of the app route. Its App Store listing says a tree grows while you stay off your phone and withers if you leave the app or cancel. It also offers Allow Lists, to let you keep chosen apps, on iOS 16 or later. Forest Plus is a paid subscription, and the listing showed UK prices such as £35.00 a year. The listing mentions iPhone, iPad and browser extensions but not Android, so check before you assume.

Focus101 is the other app pick. Its free plan has a Pomodoro timer and a to-do page, plus 5 focus sessions a week with another person on video. That adds a second person to the 25 minute block, which some people find makes starting easier.

Should your blocks be 25 minutes?

Not necessarily. Duke's 25 and 5 rhythm is a starting point. If 25 minutes feels like too much, use 10. If you lose a good stretch of work to the alarm, use 50 and a longer break. A cube with presets from 3 to 30 minutes or a dial that goes to 60 lets you try both.

A few habits make any timer more useful:

• Write the one thing you will do in the block before you start it.
• Put the phone out of reach, or in a lock box, during the block.
• Keep breaks away from screens where you can. Duke suggests this for the 5 minute break.
• If you finish early, stop the timer and take the break. Do not top up the block.

Things to know

• No health claim. This is a time-management method. We make no claim about ADHD or any other condition, and we have not tested any of these products.
• Specs vary. Amazon pages for the Ticktime, Secura and Learning Resources would not load in full for us, and Ticktime cubes are sold in several versions with different presets. Check battery type, alarm volume and the model name before you buy.
• Time Timer. We could not load the maker's page today, so we have not rechecked its specifications. Our visual timers guide covers the dial range in more detail.
• Prices move. We use the prices in our data at the time of writing. Focus101 and Focusmate show US dollar prices on their own pages.
• Interruptions. If you are absorbed and the alarm sounds, you decide what to do. The timer is a tool, and its rules are not a test.