ADHD Timer: A Visual Pomodoro Timer with Short Blocks
See time as a shrinking colour wedge, start with short 15-minute blocks, and add background noise or a loud repeating alarm if that helps you.
This timer keeps its own settings, separate from the main Pomodoro timer. Your tasks and stats are shared.
Set it up for an ADHD brain
- Make the block short enough to start. If 15 minutes still feels like a wall, drag the dial down to 10, or even 5. Starting is the hard part.
- Make the alarm impossible to miss. Timer settings → Alarm sound “Loud beeps”, Repeat 3 times.
- Try background noise. Choose brown, pink or white noise or soft rain under the timer. All sounds are generated in your browser.
- Use one current task. Add it to Tasks and tap it, so it’s on screen the whole time. Write stray thoughts on paper and come back.
- Go full screen (F key or the corner button) so the timer is the only thing in view.
- Plan breaks that end. A stretch or a glass of water ends on its own; a video often doesn’t.
Prefer to work until you naturally stop? Flowtime counts up instead and gives you a proportional break. For a ready-made breakdown of a big assignment, try the AI planner on the study timer.
Questions
Why do visual timers help people with ADHD?
Many people with ADHD describe “time blindness”: difficulty sensing how much time has passed or is left. A visual timer turns time into something you can see shrinking. Researchers such as Russell Barkley have long recommended making time external and visible for people with ADHD.
What Pomodoro length is best for ADHD?
Start shorter than the classic 25 minutes. Many people find 10–15 minute focus blocks easier to begin, then lengthen them as momentum builds. This page starts at 15 minutes; drag the dial to change it.
Does background noise help ADHD focus?
Some people find steady noise helps. Small studies, for example Söderlund and colleagues (2007, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry), found white noise improved some task performance in inattentive children while hurting it in others. It varies a lot, so try brown, pink or white noise and see what works for you.
What if I hyperfocus and ignore the alarm?
Set the alarm to “Loud beeps” and repeat it 3–5 times in Timer settings, and turn on automatic breaks so the break starts even if you keep working.
Is this a medical tool?
No. It is a free timer that many people with ADHD find useful. It doesn’t replace diagnosis, treatment or coaching.
Other rhythms
Classic Pomodoro 25/5Flowtime52/1750/10Animedoro20-20-20Ultradian