Pomodoro Focus

Mindwtr includes an optional Pomodoro timer panel in the Focus view on desktop and mobile.

By default, this feature is off to keep Focus minimal and distraction-free.

---

Enable Pomodoro

Desktop

1. Open Settings.
2. Go to GTD.
3. Turn on Pomodoro timer under Features.
4. Open Focus view.

Mobile

1. Open Menu → Settings.
2. Go to GTD.
3. Turn on Pomodoro timer under Features.
4. Open the Focus tab.

---

How It Works

• Optionally pick one Timer task from your current Focus candidates, or leave it as Timer only.
• Choose a preset: 15/3, 25/5, 50/10, or one optional custom preset from Settings → GTD
• Start your focus session.
• When a focus session ends, Mindwtr switches to break and pauses so you can start intentionally.
• When a break ends, it switches back to focus.

When a phase ends while the desktop window is in the background, Mindwtr flashes its taskbar entry on Windows and most Linux desktops; on macOS, the Dock icon bounces.

Task linking is optional and off by default. Turn on Settings → GTD → Pomodoro timer → Link timer to task when you want the Timer task picker and Mark task done action in Focus.

On both desktop and mobile the panel can be folded away: the chevron in its header collapses it to a slim row showing the remaining time and phase; on mobile it also shows Running or Paused. The timer keeps running. The fold state is remembered per device rather than synced, and it starts expanded. On desktop, pressing a task's play button reopens the panel.

Controls:

• Timer: Start/Pause, Reset, and Switch phase
• Task update: Mark task done, which completes the selected Timer task

The task picker controls which task, if any, the Pomodoro panel is attached to. Timer controls affect the timer. Mark task done is only available when a Timer task is linked, and mutates that selected task by moving it to Done and removing it from today's focus.

Time Spent

Tasks have an optional Time Spent value next to the Time Estimate in the task editor. Time Spent requires v1.1.0 or later; earlier versions such as v1.0.5 do not have it.

Time Spent is opt-in and off by default: its surfaces only appear while both the Pomodoro timer feature and Link timer to task are enabled: the editor field and task-row badge on desktop and mobile, the completion-time dialog on desktop and mobile, and the quick-start button on desktop. Turn them off and nothing time-related shows anywhere (recorded values are kept and reappear if you re-enable it). Hiding the Time Estimate field in the task editor layout hides Time Spent with it.

• Every completed focus session with a linked Timer task adds the session's focus minutes to that task's total.
• You can also set or correct the total by hand in the editor.
• Tasks with recorded time show a small badge in task lists on desktop and mobile, and the total syncs across your devices like any other task field.

By design there is no per-session log, reporting screen, or free-running stopwatch. The total is a single number per task. For external reports, read timeSpentMinutes through the Cloud API or MCP server.

Start a session from a task (desktop)

When both the Pomodoro feature and Link timer to task are enabled, hovering a task row shows a play button:

• Click it to link that task and start a focus session at once, with no hunting through the Timer task dropdown.
• The button also shows how many focus sessions you have completed on that task.

The play button is available wherever a task appears. A linked task stays selected even outside Focus and remains in the picker until you unlink or delete it.

---

Focus vs Next Actions

The Focus view is not a 1:1 copy of the full Next Actions list. It is an Engage dashboard:

• Today's Focus: tasks you explicitly marked for today, up to your configured Focus limit
• Today: next tasks due today, overdue, or starting today
• Next Actions: currently available next tasks
• Review Due: waiting/tickler items that need attention

Focus intentionally hides tasks with future start dates and later tasks in sequential projects. That keeps the view limited to work you can act on now. Use Contexts, Projects, or Search when you want to inspect broader task inventory, including future-start tasks.

---

When To Use It

• Use it when you want a lightweight timer without leaving the current GTD Focus workflow.
• Keep it off if you prefer Focus to stay strictly list-based with no timer UI.
• Treat it as an aid for doing the next action, not as a separate planning system.

Practical Patterns

• Use 15/3 for inbox cleanup, small admin work, or getting unstuck.
• Use 25/5 as the default daily rhythm for normal next actions.
• Use 50/10 for deep project work when the task is already clear enough to start.
• Use a custom preset if you need one different rhythm, but keep it simple.
• Use Mark task done only when the linked Timer task is actually finished; otherwise pause or switch phase and keep the task alive.

---

Notes

• Pomodoro can run as a plain timer, or you can link it to a Timer task when you want task-level completion from the panel.
• The panel is intentionally opt-in so users who prefer a clean GTD Focus page can keep it hidden.
• The built-in presets stay fixed and simple. Mindwtr only adds one optional custom preset so Focus does not turn into a timer customization screen.