The pitch
Work 25 minutes, break 5. Simple, famous, everywhere.
What actually happened
The timer was not the problem. The transition was. Every break was an exit ramp my brain happily took, and getting back on the highway cost more than the break gave back. Some days the 25 minutes ended right when I finally got traction, and the timer cut the one productive stretch of the day.
What worked instead
- Start the timer, ignore the stop. Use it to begin, not to end.
- On low-energy days, shrink the start to 5 minutes. Permission to stop after 5 is real — take it sometimes.
- Track which days it helped. For me: admin tasks yes, deep work no.
Verdict
Mixed. A starting pistol, not a metronome.