How to use a Pomodoro timer on your Mac

Last updated

The Pomodoro technique is simple: work for 25 minutes, take a 5-minute break, and after four rounds take a longer one. The hard part is keeping track, so a timer that moves between focus and breaks for you helps.

With the Clock app

On macOS 13 Ventura and later, the Clock app has timers. Set one for 25 minutes, then set a 5-minute one when it rings, and keep count of the rounds yourself. It works, but you're running the method by hand.

A Pomodoro one flick away with Helix

With Helix, hold ⌥Space, point at Clock and keep moving outward. Its options fan out on the outer ring: Timer, Stopwatch, Pomodoro and Alarm. Let go on Pomodoro and your first focus session starts.

  • 25 minutes of focus, then a 5-minute break, and a 15-minute break after every fourth session.
  • Helix moves between focus and breaks on its own.
  • The time left shows in the menu bar, so you don't need the panel open.

The same outer ring has a plain timer, a stopwatch with laps, and alarms that can repeat every day, so one Clock covers everything from a tea timer to a morning alarm.

Questions

Does a Mac have a Pomodoro timer?

Not as such. The Clock app on macOS 13 Ventura and later has timers, but you'd set each focus session and break yourself. Helix has a Pomodoro that moves between them on its own.

How long are Helix's Pomodoro sessions?

25 minutes of focus, then a 5-minute break, with a 15-minute break after every fourth focus session.

Does the timer keep running if I close the panel?

Yes. Timers, the stopwatch, Pomodoro and alarms all keep running with the panel closed, and the time left shows in the menu bar.

What else is in Helix's Clock?

A timer, a stopwatch with laps, and alarms that can repeat every day.

Helix is a one-time purchase for macOS 14 or later, with 16 tools in one ring. See how it works.

Get Helix

More from the blog