The classic cycle is the default. The two longer ones suit work that takes a while to get moving — writing, reading, problem sets — because the fixed cost is the restart, not the work.
A way of working in fixed short blocks with real breaks, created by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s and named after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer he used. One block is 25 minutes of undivided attention on a single task, followed by a 5-minute break; every fourth block earns a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes.
Yes. The Focus, Short, Long and Rounds fields set your own cycle, and Auto-start decides whether the next phase begins on its own or waits for you to press Start. The three cycles above are the ones in common use — press one to load it.
One block of focus with no interruption. If something genuinely cannot wait, the rule in the original technique is that the block is abandoned rather than paused: note what interrupted you, deal with it, and start a fresh block. It sounds strict, and it is what makes the count meaningful.
Because a round count is a target you can act on. “Eight rounds today” is a decision; “work harder” is not. It also makes the total visible without a separate log — the footer shows the focus time accumulated so far this session.