Why most Pomodoro apps get abandoned
The friction is in the switching. You open a browser tab to research something, which leads to another tab, which leads to you forgetting the timer entirely. Or you set a timer in a separate app and it's invisible while you work, easy to ignore.
Pinodock's focus timer lives where you already are. Every new tab shows the current timer state — whether you're in a focus session, on a break, or haven't started yet. The context is always visible without switching.
Starting a session
When you have active tasks in your list, a small · focus timer button appears in the dashboard status bar alongside your task and habit counts. Clicking it starts a 25-minute Pomodoro and navigates to your Todos panel in the same action — one click takes you from idle to focused.
If the timer is already running, the dashboard shows the current phase and remaining time inline: Focus 18:42. Clicking it navigates to the timer panel without stopping the session.
The timer panel
The dedicated timer view shows the full Pomodoro interface: a large countdown, the current phase (Focus, Short Break, Long Break), and your session count for the day. After four Pomodoros, Pinodock automatically transitions to a longer break — the standard 15–20 minute rest that the original technique prescribes.
Integration with the task list
Pinodock is intentional about not being a full project management tool. The task list is exactly that — a focused list of things to do today, with no sub-tasks, no priorities, no projects. This keeps the Pomodoro integration clean: you see what needs to be done, you start a session, you work through the list.
Checking off a task during a Pomodoro session is satisfying in a way that logging completion in a separate app isn't — the physical act happens in the same view as the timer counting down.
Notifications at session end
Pinodock uses the browser notification API to alert you when a session ends — even if you've navigated away from the new tab. You need to grant notification permission once; after that, a subtle notification fires when your 25 minutes are up, giving you a clear cue to stop and take the break.
Customising the timer
The default 25/5/15 cycle matches the classic Pomodoro Technique, but you can adjust it in Settings → Timer to match how you actually work. Some people prefer longer focus blocks (45 or 50 minutes) with proportionally longer breaks. Others prefer shorter sprints for tasks that require high context-switching.