How long should a focus session be?
Long enough to get into the work and short enough that you will agree to start. For most people that begins at around 25 minutes. The right length is the one you will actually start, and it can grow from there.
Where 25 minutes comes from
The 25-minute session comes from the Pomodoro Technique, which Francesco Cirillo developed in the late 1980s: 25 minutes of work, a short break, and a longer break after four rounds. The number was chosen because it is short enough to agree to, not because anyone measured it as the best.
Cirillo. francescocirillo.com
What the research says
The evidence on the ideal length is thin. One of the few studies to compare approaches followed students through a real day of self-study: some took fixed breaks, 24 minutes of work and then 6 of rest, and some took breaks when they chose. Both groups got the same amount done, but those choosing their own breaks worked longer at a stretch and reported more fatigue and less concentration.
The practical reading is that regular breaks do not cost output and may make a long day feel better, and that without a plan for breaks many people keep going past the point where they are still doing good work.
Biwer et al., 2023. British Journal of Educational Psychology 93(S2)
How to find your length
- Start with the length you can say yes to right now, even if it is ten minutes.
- Take a short break at the end, away from the screen, before you decide whether to go on.
- If you often want to keep going when the time is up, make the next session longer. If you often stop early, make it shorter.
- Use longer sessions, 50 or 90 minutes, for work that takes a while to get into, such as writing or problem sets.
Why going over is fine
A timer that ends a session while you are in the middle of something is working against you. Treat the length as the least you agreed to, not a limit: if you are still going, keep going, and take the break afterwards.
How Sailyn runs a session
Sailyn offers 25, 50 and 90 minutes and remembers what you pick. The screen shows the task and the time left as plain text, with nothing measuring how far through you are, and going over is fine and counts. Breaks are offered, never forced.
Sailyn is a planner and a focus timer. It is not a medical device, it treats nothing, and nothing on these pages is advice about a condition.
Know what you need to do, but can't get started? Sailyn gives you one next step, a plan that adapts, and no penalty for difficult days.