A Pomodoro timer that grows a reef every time you focus

A Pomodoro timer counts down one single-task focus block, traditionally 25 minutes. When it ends, you take a short break, then start the next block. Pondoro runs that loop on iPhone with three differences: the countdown is anchored to the moment you press start, so locking your phone or switching apps does not pause or fake it; coins, XP and companion care land only when the block reaches its end; and you pick the length.

The technique fails when the clock is decorative: when leaving the app pauses the session, or when a half-finished block still counts as a win. Here is how the timer behaves in the app instead:

• Lengths. Classic is 25 minutes and is the default. Desk Companion is a quieter 15-minute session, and Custom lets you set anything from 5 to 180 minutes in 5-minute steps.
• Pause and extend. You can pause and resume a running session, or add five minutes. The extra minutes give you calm time; the reward stays tied to the length you picked.
• Leaving mid-session. If you switch away from Pondoro, the countdown keeps going. When you come back, Pondoro shows that the water was disturbed, and the reef stays dimmer until your next completed session.
• Ending early. A session you end early earns nothing, and that is the only consequence. Pondoro logs it as ended early, with no streak shame.
• Starting without tapping through. Start a 15-, 25- or 50-minute session from Siri, Shortcuts or the Action Button, or attach one to an iOS Focus such as Work so a session is ready when you open Pondoro.
• Lock Screen and Health. A Live Activity keeps the running session on your Lock Screen, and optional Apple Health sync counts completed sessions as Mindful Minutes.

That is what makes the next Pomodoro cheaper to start: the clock is honest, and something on the reef is already waiting.

No phone handy? This free web timer runs the classic loop in your browser: 25 minutes of focus, then a 5-minute break, with a 15-minute break after four blocks. The countdown is calculated from the moment it should end, so switching tabs does not slow it down. Nothing is saved and there is no account; the block count resets when you reload. For rewards, Lock Screen timers and focus history, use Pondoro on iPhone.

Open Pondoro, choose Classic (or a quick tide if 25 feels heavy today), and hit start. No wall of settings before the first session. Deep Focus can optionally block distracting apps for the length of the Pomodoro using Apple's Screen Time picker — private, on-device, and free.

Between blocks, the break is the reef: fish swim, light shifts, and the tank gets calmer the more consistently you show up. That is a gentler reason to step away than another notification — and a reason to come back for the next 25.

Every finished Pomodoro feeds a long-term collection: rarer fish, clearer water, and a streak that rewards consistency over cramming. Quests and reef milestones turn steady focus into claimable progress you can see — not just a chart of minutes.

• Timestamp-anchored timer with Live Activity on the Lock Screen
• Rewards only on real completion — the Pomodoro stays honest
• Optional Deep Focus shield for the length of the session
• Offline-first; no account required to start

Pomodoro counts down a fixed block, usually 25 minutes, then a short break. Flowmodoro counts up instead: you work until your focus fades, then take a break sized to how long you worked. The name usually describes a variant of the Flowtime Technique created by Zoë Read-Bivens, who suggested breaks of about 5 minutes after 25 minutes of work or less, 8 minutes after 25 to 50, 10 minutes after 50 to 90, and 15 minutes after more than 90 (Zapier, The Flowtime Technique). Many Flowmodoro timers use a simpler rule of thumb: a break of about one fifth of the time you focused, so 50 minutes earns 10.

• Pick Pomodoro when starting is the hard part, when you need a break you cannot negotiate with, or when your day is already cut into short slots.
• Pick a flow-style session when the work builds momentum, such as writing, coding or long revision, and a bell at minute 25 would break it.

Pondoro is not a pure count-up Flowmodoro timer. It starts from a planned length, and you can turn on "Keep flowing past the timer" so that when the planned time ends mid-flow you keep going and surface when you are ready, for up to an hour. Extra time lets your dive drift deeper; the rewards stay tied to the length you planned. For long planned blocks, the deep work timer page covers 50 to 90 minute sessions.

On iPhone, Pondoro keeps the countdown visible without opening the app. A running session shows as a Live Activity on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, with the time left counting down and your current fish. If you pause, the Live Activity shows the frozen time instead of a moving clock.

• Focus Streak widget:your daily streak and today's minutes against your goal, as a small Home Screen widget or a Lock Screen widget (circular, rectangular or inline).
• Siri, Shortcuts and the Action Button:say "Start focus in Pondoro" or run Start Pondoro Focus for a 15, 25 or 50 minute block.
• iOS Focus filter: link a session length to a Focus such as Work.

Planning a semester of revision? Use the study timer for students when you need streaks and long-haul hours, not just a single 25. If the hard part is beginning — not finishing — the ADHD-friendly focus timer is built for shorter, startable blocks with immediate rewards and no streak shame.

Context for all three rituals lives on the Pondoro focus guides. The product tour — aquarium, Depth Dive, Plus, and how rewards work — starts on the Pondoro homepage.