When someone interrupts a Pomodoro, the technique’s answer is “Inform, Negotiate, Call Back”: tell them you are in the middle of something, agree on a specific later time, then follow up as promised. When the interruption comes from you, such as a sudden urge to check email, you jot it down and keep working until the timer rings. If you must stop, the Pomodoro is void and you start a fresh one later. A timer you can always see, like TimeFence from Automata Labs, makes it easier to say “give me 12 minutes” and mean it.
Keep the remaining time on screen so you can protect the session, not guess at it.
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What does the Pomodoro Technique say about interruptions?
Francesco Cirillo’s original paper, The Pomodoro Technique (version 1.3, 2007), devotes a whole objective to “Cut Down on Interruptions.” It splits them into two kinds: internal interruptions, where “we interrupt ourselves,” and external interruptions, where “we’re interrupted by others.”
The core rule is strict. The paper says “A Pomodoro can’t be interrupted; it marks 25 minutes of pure work,” and calls this “A Pomodoro Is Indivisible.” If a Pomodoro is “definitively interrupted,” it “should be considered void.”
That sounds rigid, but the method is not about ignoring people. Cirillo describes the mechanism as inverting the dependency: instead of your work depending on interruptions, “interruptions depend on us,” meaning on the Pomodoros you choose to schedule them into.
In a blog post published on 18 October 2026, The Pomodoro Technique Was Never Just a Timer, Cirillo adds a softer framing: “An interruption is not always a failure of discipline. Sometimes it reveals an unclear priority, an unrealistic plan, an environment that needs to change, or a concern we have not yet addressed.”
How does Inform, Negotiate, Call Back work?
It is a three-step script for external interruptions. The paper sums it up as “inform effectively, negotiate quickly to reschedule the interruption, and call back the person who interrupted you as agreed.”
- Inform. Tell the person you are busy right now. Cirillo notes some people use the line “I’m in the middle of a Pomodoro.”
- Negotiate. Offer a specific time. The paper’s examples are calling back “in 25 minutes, or in a few hours, or tomorrow, depending on how urgent and important the matter is.”
- Call back. Keep the promise. This is what makes the system work over time: the paper says that once interrupters learn “you’ll really call them back,” they start protecting your Pomodoros too.
The paper’s view is that “true emergencies that need to be dealt with instantly are rare in real life,” and that a 25-minute or two-hour delay is “almost always possible” for things commonly treated as urgent. You know your job better than any rule does, so treat that as a default, not a law.
Phone calls and email get a simpler version of the same idea. Let calls go to voicemail, and turn off sounds for new email so messages can arrive without pulling your attention.
What should I do when I interrupt myself?
Internal interruptions are the urges to grab a snack, make a call that “suddenly seems terribly urgent,” look something up or check email. The paper’s method:
- Make it visible. Put an apostrophe (’) on your record sheet each time you feel the urge.
- Capture the task. Write it on today’s list under “Unplanned & Urgent” if it cannot wait, or in your activity inventory marked “U” for unplanned.
- Go back to work. “Once a Pomodoro Begins, It Has to Ring.”
The point of writing it down is that the need is real and should not be lost. Cirillo writes that the aim “is to accept the fact that needs do emerge, and they shouldn’t be neglected.” Many of them look different at the next break. Some get done in the next Pomodoro, some get rescheduled and some get deleted.
How do I record interruptions?
The paper uses two simple marks next to each Pomodoro on your record sheet.
| Situation | Mark | What you do | Pomodoro status |
|---|---|---|---|
| You feel the urge to switch tasks | Apostrophe ‘ | Note the task, keep working | Continues |
| Someone tries to interrupt you | Dash - | Inform, Negotiate, Call Back, note the promise | Continues |
| You give in or a real emergency happens | Apostrophe or dash | Stop, note why | Void, start a new one later |
| The timer rings with no break in focus | X | Take your break | Complete |
For external interruptions, the paper says to add “the promised deadline in brackets” when you write the item down, so you remember your commitment. Handling should take “a few seconds at most.” If it takes longer, the Pomodoro counts as interrupted.
At the end of the day, those marks become data. Counting apostrophes and dashes tells you whether your main problem is your own attention or other people, and that tells you what to change.
Does a visible timer actually help?
It helps with the negotiate step in particular. “Can I get back to you in 12 minutes?” is an easy offer to make when the remaining time is in front of you, and it is a more convincing offer than “in a bit.” It also helps with internal interruptions: a progress ring that keeps moving is a quiet reminder that the session is still running.
This is where TimeFence fits. Its Microsoft Store listing describes:
- An always-on-top HUD, a progress ring that floats above your editor, browser or documents so the time left never hides behind a tab.
- Click-through: you can type, click and scroll beneath the overlay without it taking keyboard or mouse focus.
- Strict mode, which disables the Pause and Quit buttons so you cannot abandon a sprint on impulse.
- Phase chimes that signal the warning and overtime phases.
- A global hotkey, Win+Alt+2, to start or stop a 25-minute sprint from anywhere.
- Private session history with CSV export, kept on your PC with no account and no telemetry.
Start a 25-minute sprint with one hotkey and keep the ring in view while you work.
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Should I use strict mode if my work has real emergencies?
Strict mode is built for internal interruptions, the urge to quit early that the paper describes. It removes the easy exit. If your role includes genuine emergencies, such as on-call support or caring for someone, decide in advance how you will handle them. You might leave strict mode off for those sessions, and accept that a real emergency voids the Pomodoro, exactly as Cirillo’s rules say.
TimeFence’s session history logs your focus duration, planned durations and overtime. It does not record your apostrophes and dashes, so keep those on paper or in a notes file. Then export the history to CSV and compare planned time with actual time alongside your interruption counts.
If the fixed 25-minute length is the real problem for you, rather than interruptions, our Flowtime technique explainer and timeboxing vs Pomodoro comparison cover other approaches.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to a Pomodoro if I get interrupted?
If you stop working on the task, the Pomodoro is void, even if it was about to ring. You note the interruption and start a new Pomodoro later. Brief interruptions handled in seconds, with Inform, Negotiate, Call Back, do not void it.
Can I pause a Pomodoro?
The original paper says no: a Pomodoro is indivisible. Many apps offer a pause button anyway. If you want to follow the rule, TimeFence’s strict mode removes Pause and Quit during a sprint.
What is the difference between internal and external interruptions?
Internal interruptions come from you, such as urges to check messages. External ones come from other people or devices, such as a colleague’s question or a phone call. Both are written down and rescheduled, but external ones need a conversation, which is where Inform, Negotiate, Call Back comes in.
How do I tell coworkers I am in a Pomodoro?
Keep it short and specific: say you are focused right now and offer a time to come back to them. Then do come back. Following through is what makes people respect the next session.
Does TimeFence track interruptions?
It tracks focus sessions, planned durations and overtime, and exports them as CSV. Keep your interruption marks separately and review both together.
Try TimeFence
Get TimeFence from the Microsoft Store. It is a one-time purchase with no subscription, and the Store listing shows the current price.
To see how a floating timer fits into the method, read how to use a HUD for the Pomodoro Technique.
Protect your next Pomodoro with a timer that stays visible and hard to abandon.
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Pomodoro and Pomodoro Technique are trademarks of Francesco Cirillo. Microsoft and Windows are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. TimeFence is not affiliated with or endorsed by Francesco Cirillo or Microsoft.
Last updated 23 October 2026. Published by Automata Labs, a software company in Canada.