15-minute focus session — press Start when the timer loads.
Pomodoro Timer for ADHD
For many people with ADHD, the hardest part is starting — and a long, open-ended task is overwhelming. Short, time-boxed sprints lower that barrier: committing to just 15 minutes is far easier than committing to “finish the project.”
This page starts you at a gentler 15-minute focus block instead of the full 25, which many people with ADHD find easier to begin and sustain. The visible countdown — especially in the floating always-on-top window — provides an external sense of time, which can help when time blindness makes minutes slip away unnoticed.
Externalising focus this way (a clear start, a clear end, a visible timer, and a small reward of a break) works with the way an ADHD brain seeks structure and immediate feedback. If 15 minutes still feels like a lot on a hard day, there’s nothing wrong with starting a 5- or 10-minute timer instead — the win is starting. For background on the method, see the Pomodoro Technique.
It helps to be clear about what a timer is and is not. This is a free tool, not a treatment, and nothing here is medical advice — ADHD is a clinical condition, and decisions about diagnosis, therapy, or medication belong with a qualified professional. What a timer can do is remove a couple of specific, practical obstacles: the difficulty of starting an open-ended task, and the difficulty of noticing time passing while you are inside one. Those are small problems compared with the whole picture, but they are the two this tool actually addresses, and they are worth addressing.
The starting problem is usually about scope rather than willpower. A task described as “sort out the application” has no visible first move and no visible end, so it registers as an enormous undefined thing and gets postponed. Shrinking it to “open the form and fill in the first page, for fifteen minutes” gives it both. It is also worth lowering the bar further than feels reasonable on a hard day: a five-minute block you actually begin is genuinely better than a twenty-five-minute one you keep deferring, and starting is usually the expensive part.
The time-blindness problem is what the float window is for. An always-on-top countdown sitting over whatever you are working in is a continuous external signal of where you are in the session — you do not have to remember to check it, and you do not have to switch to a browser tab to find out, which is itself a common exit point into something else entirely. Turning on the desktop notification matters for the same reason: it means the end of a block reaches you even when you are deep in something and would not have noticed the screen.
A few adjustments people commonly find useful: keep a scrap of paper next to you and write down the intrusive “I should also do X” thoughts instead of acting on them, so the block survives and the thought is not lost. Expect to void rounds sometimes and do not treat that as failure — the count is information, not a grade. Be wary of the opposite failure too: if you tend to hyperfocus and lose whole afternoons, the timer's more valuable job may be the alarm that makes you stop and eat. And treat the break as a real one, because a five-minute scroll is the single most reliable way to lose the next block as well.
Practically: the countdown runs against a real clock deadline, so it stays accurate through tab switches, a sleeping screen, or a reload — you can start it and stop monitoring it. Press Float for the always-on-top window, allow notifications for an alert at the bell, and change the length freely with the presets or a custom value. Completed sessions are tallied locally in your browser with no account and nothing sent to a server, which some people find motivating on days when it otherwise feels like nothing got done.
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Frequently asked questions
Does the Pomodoro Technique work for ADHD?
Many people with ADHD find it helpful because it externalises time, breaks tasks into small startable chunks, and provides frequent breaks and a visible sense of progress. It isn’t a cure, but it’s a practical, low-cost tool worth trying.
What’s the best Pomodoro length for ADHD?
Shorter is often easier to start. This page defaults to 15 minutes, but try 10 or even 5 minutes on low-energy days. Consistency in starting matters more than the exact length.
How does the floating timer help with time blindness?
Keeping a countdown always visible on top of your other apps gives you a constant, external cue for how much time is left — useful when it’s hard to feel time passing.
Is a timer a substitute for ADHD treatment?
No. This is a free productivity tool, not a treatment, and nothing on this page is medical advice. ADHD is a clinical condition and decisions about assessment, therapy, or medication belong with a qualified professional. A timer only addresses two narrow practical problems — starting an open-ended task, and noticing time while inside one.
What should I do when a thought pulls me out mid-session?
Write it down rather than acting on it. Keeping a scrap of paper or a notes file next to you lets you park the “I should also do X” impulse without losing it, so the block survives and the thought is still there at the break. Acting on it immediately usually ends the session and often the next one too.
What if I hyperfocus and blow past the timer?
That is common, and it means the timer's most useful job is the opposite of the usual one — not getting you started but getting you to stop. Allow desktop notifications so the bell reaches you when you are deep in something, and treat it as a genuine prompt to stand up, eat, or drink water rather than a suggestion to dismiss.
Do I have to finish every session I start?
No. Abandoned rounds are normal and are not a failure — the session count is information about how the day went, not a grade. Starting a fresh short block is always available, and on a difficult day a run of five-minute blocks is a perfectly legitimate way to work.