How to use Pomi: a beginner's guide

Your first session: three steps

1. Add a task. In the Tasks tab, write something concrete: "derivative problem set 40-48". Every session is linked to a task, so at the end of the day you can see how many sessions each piece of work received.
2. Start the timer. The default cycle is 25 minutes of work and a 5-minute break. While the retro pixel timer runs, do one thing. You can turn the phone face down and move it away; the timer keeps counting with the screen off and the app in the background.
3. Complete the session. When time is up, a new plant joins your garden and your focus minutes are added to your city's score. The break timer starts automatically.

If you abandon a session, no plant is added. No penalty, no withered tree; the session simply does not count. For the technique itself, see the Pomodoro guide.

The pixel garden and collection

The garden is a visual record of your focus history. Every completed session is a plant; plants come in species, growth stages and rarities. New species unlock as you focus, and the collection screen shows which ones you have found and which are missing. Reading last month's work at a glance from the garden tends to motivate more than the raw number does.

Rooms: with friends, each on your own timer

When you create a room from the Rooms tab, the app generates a 6-character invite code. Send it to your friends; they enter it in the Rooms tab to join. In the room you see everyone's name and timer status.

An important design decision: there is no shared timer. Everyone starts and ends their own session whenever they like. You can be mid-session while a friend takes a break; your session is unaffected. There is no camera, microphone or chat either; the room exists to create the feeling of "we are quietly working together". Why that works is explained in the study with me article.

For a good room routine: fix a time ("every evening at 8"), have everyone write their task in advance, and save talking for the break.

The conquest map

The feature that sets Pomi apart from other timers. You pick your city in your profile; the minutes of every session you complete are added to your city's score. As the score grows, regions on the map turn your city's colour. Regions change hands through the day: you take one today, a rival city takes it back tomorrow. Seasons last 7 days; at the end of a season the city holding the most regions wins. Turkey's 81 cities compete. It is the mechanism that makes you feel part of a team even when you study alone.

The weekly league

The league is an individual ranking: you compete with other users in the same league on weekly focus time, and at the end of the week you move up or down depending on your position. You also see where your city stands overall. The league's purpose is to judge your week rather than your day; one bad day does not ruin the week.

Focus sounds

You can turn on rain, café, forest and other sounds during a session, adjust each one's level separately and mix them: light rain over a distant café murmur, say. The sounds stop with the timer. Which sound suits which work is covered in the background sounds article.

Settings: durations and theme

Statistics

A weekly focus-hours chart, completed session count and a breakdown by task. "Did I really give time to my weak subject this week?" becomes a number rather than a guess. For realistic weekly targets see how many pomodoros a day.

Free and Pomi Pro

The timer, garden, tasks, rooms and conquest map are in the free version, and there are no ads. Pomi Pro is an optional subscription with extra features and personalisation. You manage it through your store account and can cancel any time. Restoring purchases and deleting your account are covered on the support page.

Offline and background

The timer and garden work without internet; rooms, the conquest map and the league need a connection. Sessions completed offline are credited to your city when the connection returns. The timer keeps counting when the app is closed; allow notifications and you will be told when a session or break ends.

5 tips for the first week

1. For the first three days, just the timer and tasks; look at rooms and the map later.
2. Aim for 3 to 4 sessions a day and raise the count once a week.
3. Pick your city and invite one friend from the same city; the map makes sense from then on.
4. Open a room at a fixed time each evening; share the code once, the room persists.
5. Check the statistics on Sunday evening and write one target for next week.

Frequently asked questions

Transparency note: This article was written by the developer of Pomi. Information about other apps is based on their public store listings at the time of publishing; prices and features may change. Spotted a mistake? Email us and we will fix it.