Which length should I pick?
- 25 minutes suits a task you've been putting off, because it's short enough to start. It's also one round of the Pomodoro Technique.
- 50 minutes works for steady work like writing, coding or studying. Take a 10-minute break after it.
- 90 minutes is for deep work on a hard problem that takes a while to load into your head. Take a proper break when it ends.
These are starting points. Try one for a week and keep the length you finish most often.
How to run a focus session
- Name the task before you start. "Draft the intro" is specific enough to finish, and "work on the report" isn't.
- Put your phone face down or in another room, and close the tabs you don't need.
- When a thought interrupts, write it down and get back to the task. Deal with the list afterwards.
- Stop when the timer ends, even mid-sentence. It makes the next round easier to start.
A work timer, a productivity timer, a deep work timer
Whatever you call it, you decide what you're working on and give it a fixed block of time that nothing else gets. The timer decides when you stop, so you don't keep checking whether you've done enough.
Dayflint for iPhone and Android
The same timer, on your phone.
Dayflint's focus timer works the same way. You pick a length, press and hold to start, and watch the ring fill. With notifications on, you'll get a heads-up when the session ends. Each evening Dayflint asks which one thing tomorrow's focus is for, so you start the day knowing.
- 25-minute sessions, free
- 50 and 90 minute sessions with Dayflint Plus
- No account, and your data stays on your phone
Free to start · No account · iPhone (iOS 17+) and Android (8.0+) · See what Plus adds
