Study Timer
Fifty minutes of study, ten minutes off, repeated. The longer block suits reading, essays and revision, where the first ten minutes go on remembering where you were.
Study
50:00
Why fifty minutes rather than twenty-five
The twenty-five minute pomodoro is built for work you can pick up instantly — clearing tasks, answering things, writing something you already know how to write. Study is usually not that. Reading a chapter, working through a proof or drafting an essay all have a warm-up cost, and if the block is short you pay that cost again every time.
Fifty minutes is roughly two of those warm-ups' worth of actual work for one warm-up paid, which is why it is the length most universities settled on for a lecture and most schools for a lesson. It is also about as long as most people can hold concentration on difficult material without the quality quietly dropping.
The ten minute break is not padding. Getting up, looking at something more than a few feet away and moving is what makes the third block as good as the first. Breaks spent on a phone tend not to work as breaks, because the thing being rested is attention rather than the eyes.
The longer break after the last block matters more here than on a short cycle. Three fifty-minute blocks is two and a half hours of concentrated study, and going straight into a fourth without a proper stop is where the returns turn negative.
None of these numbers are fixed. Ninety minutes with a twenty minute break suits some people and some subjects; forty and eight suits others. The value is in the block having an agreed end, not in its exact length.
What people use it for
- Revision and exam preparation
- Reading a chapter or a paper properly
- Essay and coursework drafting
- Problem sets and past papers
- Language practice and vocabulary sessions
How it works
The blocks and breaks run one into the next on their own, with a beep at each change and a longer break after the last block. You press start once at the beginning of the session.
Each phase records the moment it should end and then reads the clock. Over a two and a half hour session that is the difference between finishing on time and finishing several minutes short, because a browser throttles a background tab hard and a study tab is usually a background tab.
The tab title shows the time remaining, so a glance at the tab strip tells you how long is left without switching to it.
Changing any of the lengths rebuilds the session from the start, so adjust before you begin rather than mid-block.
- Space
- Start or pause.
- R
- Reset.
- Tab title
- Shows the time left, so a background tab still tells you.
Questions
How long should a study session be?
Fifty minutes of work with a ten minute break is a good default, and two to four such blocks is a realistic sitting. Beyond about three hours of genuinely concentrated study in one go, most people are re-reading rather than learning.
Is 50/10 better than the 25/5 pomodoro?
For material with a warm-up cost — reading, proofs, essays — yes, because a short block makes you pay that cost repeatedly. For clearing lots of small tasks, 25/5 is better. The subject decides, not the method.
What should I do in the break?
Stand up, move, and look at something far away. What you are resting is attention, so a break spent scrolling tends not to count as one. Ten minutes away from a screen is worth considerably more than ten minutes on a different screen.
How many blocks in a day?
Four to six blocks — three to five hours of concentrated study — is a full day for most people, spread across morning and afternoon with a real break in between rather than run back to back.
Should I stop mid-sentence when the timer goes?
Finish the sentence or the problem, then stop. The point of the fixed end is that the break actually happens, not that it happens to the second.
Can I change the lengths?
Yes — study, break, long break and the number of blocks are all editable above, and the changes take effect from the next reset.
Will it still be right if I switch tabs?
Yes. It reads the clock rather than counting its own ticks, so a session spent in another tab finishes at exactly the right moment.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes, and the screen is held awake while a block runs, on browsers that support it. If the screen does go off, the timing is unaffected.