Pomodoro Timer

5 Minute Timer

Counts down 5 minutes, with optional breaks. Ends at … if you start now.

25:00

A five-minute countdown that starts on one click and rings at zero. This is the standard pomodoro break, so the page also offers the full focus cycle if you want it. The timer holds its end time against your clock, so a background tab does not slow it down.

Five minutes is the pomodoro break, and it is the number people get wrong most often. Too short to do anything with a screen, too long to spend standing in the kitchen deciding. Used properly it is a physical reset: up, away from the desk, water, window, back. Used badly it is a phone, and then it is eleven minutes and you have lost the thread. The alarm exists mainly to stop the second version happening.

What fits in 5 minutes

  • The short break between pomodoros, spent away from the desk
  • A five-minute tidy of one surface rather than a whole room
  • Coffee in a French press, which most guides steep for four to five minutes
  • A short breathing or stretching reset between meetings
  • Giving a task five honest minutes before deciding whether it is worth an hour

As a pomodoro

The classic short break. Five minutes is the break Cirillo paired with a 25-minute focus block, and it is the default this timer opens with.

Four 25-minute sessions with 5-minute breaks take 1 hour 55 minutes.

Open this as a pomodoro cycle

FAQ

Is a five-minute break long enough?

It is enough to stand up, move, look at something other than a screen and get water, which covers most of what a short break is supposed to do. It is not enough to start a conversation, answer a message or watch anything. Real recovery comes from the longer break after four sessions.

What should I do during a five-minute break?

Anything that gets you out of the chair and off the screen. Stairs, a window, a glass of water, a stretch, putting one thing away. What does not work is your phone, because scrolling gives your attention nothing to recover from and makes the five minutes very hard to end.

Can I make the five-minute break repeat automatically?

Yes. With auto-start breaks switched on, the break begins the moment a focus session ends, which removes the click where people decide to skip it. Focus does not auto-start by default, so a break never quietly rolls into more work without you agreeing to it.