{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "bskyPostRef": {
    "cid": "bafyreie6sxs22fch6um42wullrb3nzmgzqomnu5s6xa22x72kuncbbby2y",
    "uri": "at://did:plc:kbsenndul3hp5zagrexczjhs/app.bsky.feed.post/3mnc4pgp4wmn2"
  },
  "coverImage": {
    "$type": "blob",
    "ref": {
      "$link": "bafkreiej6emegkfitx6b7af7enkn3mq7y23dzgbjhn3qpy5gi3fi6wrurq"
    },
    "mimeType": "image/png",
    "size": 101354
  },
  "path": "/notes/experimenting-with-pomodoro-timer-durations/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-01T14:55:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://v5.chriskrycho.com",
  "tags": [
    "Assumed audience",
    "the pomodoro technique",
    "the one I linked above",
    "Tadam"
  ],
  "textContent": "_It’s only taken me over a decade to getting around to realizing this was not only an option but a good idea._\n\n**Assumed audience:** People familiar with at least some of the “getting things done” world, particularly the use of focused work blocks and the pomodoro technique.\n\n* * *\n\nI have used a pomodoro timer to help me stay focused on work off and on for well over a decade now. It was a key part of how I managed to get through working close to full time (sometimes more than full time) while also taking a heavy course load back in the seminary years, and it has remained a key tool in my toolbox for being effective with my working time ever since.\n\nFor all that time, I have stuck quite consistently to the classic 25-minute timer duration. It is the default on every app I have ever used,1 and it is the recommendation of every write-up I have ever seen on it. Some of them, like the one I linked above, point out that you don’t have to stick with 25 minute blocks. And of course, 25 minutes is a fairly arbitrary amount of time! People can focus for significantly longer than that. From my reading over the years we tend to top out somewhere around 45 – 50 minutes for many kinds of tasksn before our concentration starts to degrade, even if we’re not aware of it.\n\nYes, we often go long past this in a “flow state”. My two observations on that:\n\n  1. It depends on what I am doing. I can be in a true, deep flow state for many hours while composing and lose track of time entirely and never stop making _good_ progress. The same is not true for writing or reviewing a technical brief at work.\n\n  2. The _perception_ of flow state is not the same thing as actually being at the same level of effectiveness. Our concentration may in fact be slowly fading without our realizing it.\n\n\n\n\nLast week, recognizing that I _frequently_ find myself extending Tadam sessions by a fair bit, I decided to start experimenting. What duration works best? I don’t know yet. So far it _seems_ like I’m landing somewhere in the 35 – 40 minute range, but we’ll see; it’s early days yet.\n\nIn any case: take this as permission to tweak “productivity” guidance to yourself. _Duh._ But sometimes we need the permission!\n\n* * *\n\n## Notes\n\n  1. I have used Tadam for many years and have consistently come back to it. Simple and effective. Highly recommended. ↩︎\n\n\n\n\n* * *\n\nThanks for reading my feed! Thoughts, comments, or questions? Shoot me an email!",
  "title": "[notes] Experimenting with Pomodoro Timer Durations",
  "updatedAt": "2026-06-01T14:55:00.000Z"
}