FocusLoop

Study timer

Study in focused sessions with planned breaks. Add the topics you need to cover, pick a sound, and let the timer handle the clock.

Timer

How to study with this timer

  1. List what you need to cover. One task per topic or chapter, for example “Biology: cell transport” or “Maths past paper Q1 to Q6”.
  2. Set a goal for the session before you press Start: answer five questions from memory, or summarise one section in your own words.
  3. Study until the chime, then take the break away from your desk. Questions that come up go on a scrap of paper for later.
  4. After four sessions, take the long break. Eat something, go outside, then decide what the next cycle is for.

Testing yourself (closing the book and writing down what you remember) usually teaches more than re-reading, so aim to finish each session with a quick self-quiz.

A sample revision afternoon

This plan uses the classic 25/5 setting and fits about three and a half hours. Swap in your own subjects.

Example study plan with 25/5 sessions
TimeSessionWhat to do
1:00 PMFocus 1Read and annotate the first section
1:30 PMFocus 2Close the notes and write what you remember
2:00 PMFocus 3Practice questions on the same topic
2:30 PMFocus 4Mark your answers and fix the gaps
2:55 PMLong break15 minutes away from the desk
3:10 PMFocus 5 to 7Second topic, same pattern

For a timed exam paper, switch to a longer single block with the 45 minute timer, 60 minute timer or 90 minute timer.

Study sounds and settings

The “Rainy study” preset mixes soft rain with a little brown noise; “Café” adds the murmur of a coffee shop. Lofi-style is the feel we aim for, but these are ambient sounds, not music, so there are no lyrics to pull your attention. Turn on “Pause sounds during breaks” if you want the silence to signal break time. More on the evidence about noise is on the brown noise page.

Useful settings for studying: start breaks automatically so you don’t keep working through them, keep focus sessions on manual start so you begin each one deliberately, and enable notifications so the end of a session reaches you in another tab.

Why scheduled breaks help

In a 2023 study, university students who took a 6-minute break after every 24 minutes of study reported less fatigue and distraction and more motivation than students who decided their own breaks, and they finished the same amount of work. A 2022 review of short-break studies found that breaks of 10 minutes or less reliably reduce fatigue, though their effect on test-style performance was small. Breaks aren’t a magic trick, but planning them stops you from either skipping rest or drifting off for an hour.

New to the method? Read what the Pomodoro Technique is, or go back to the main Pomodoro timer.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best study timer setting?

Start with 25 minutes of study and a 5-minute break. If you keep getting interrupted mid-problem, move to 45/10 or 50/10. The best setting is the one you can repeat for a whole afternoon without dreading the next session.

How long should I study before taking a break?

Somewhere between 25 and 50 minutes works for most people. In a 2023 study, university students who took scheduled breaks (24 minutes on, 6 off) reported less fatigue and distraction than students who took breaks whenever they felt like it, and they got the same amount done.

Can I use this for GCSE, A-level, HSC or finals revision?

Yes. The timer doesn’t care what you are revising. Plan one topic or past-paper section per session, and use the stats panel to see how many sessions you managed each day of your revision week.

Does studying with music or background noise help?

It depends on the person. A 2024 meta-analysis found that white or pink noise helped young people with ADHD a little on attention tasks, but slightly hurt people without ADHD. If you notice you are listening instead of reading, turn the sound down or off. This is general information, not medical advice. Speak to a clinician about ADHD or hearing concerns.

What should I do in a study break?

Something that rests your eyes and mind: stand up, stretch, get water, look out of a window. Short breaks reduce fatigue in research reviews; scrolling social media during a 5-minute break makes it easy to overrun.

Will it track how much I studied?

Yes. Every completed focus session is added to today’s and this week’s totals in the stats panel. Skipped sessions are counted separately. The numbers are stored only in this browser.

Can I list the topics I need to revise?

Yes. Add each topic as a task with an estimate of sessions (1 to 20). Pick one as current; each completed session is credited to it, so you can see where your time went.

Will the timer keep running in a background tab?

Yes. The timer stores the time it should end, not a count of ticks, so it stays accurate when your browser slows down background tabs. When you press Start, the alarm is also scheduled on the browser’s audio clock, which background throttling doesn’t delay. What can lag: in Chrome, a tab hidden for more than 5 minutes with no sound playing checks timers only once a minute, so the tab title and notification may arrive up to a minute late. Phones may pause background tabs completely, and nothing runs while a computer sleeps.

Can I use it on my phone?

Yes, it works in mobile browsers and the layout is built for small screens. Keep the page open and on screen: phones often pause background tabs, so a timer in a tab you switched away from may not ring on time. Fullscreen mode asks the phone to keep the screen on where the browser supports it.

Sources

Updated · Written by the FocusLoop team