Session Pomodoro Focus Timer

I was using a super basic pomodoro app on my phone for years, and I came about this app when looking for a good pomodoro app for my computer, since thats really were I work. It just felt easier to not have to go on my phone. Turns out this is the app I have been looking for. Custom time intervals, custom break durations, can keep working (as in not incredibly strict 30 min sessions) so I can over by like 2 min or something if I have to finish something up, notifications, also has an iOS app which is what I was avoiding but the connection to my Mac is so useful. It has custom categories to stay organized. It has analytics!!! And one thing I did not think I was going to like and thought it was annoying at first was the ability to take notes after a session about what I did, but after many sessions or even days, it is actually really cool to have it. Also the integration with my calendar app on my Mac and iPhone, chefs kiss. Mr., Philip Young deserves all the credit. He was also very very helpful when I emailed customer support (at least I assume it was him). Also the breath before each section actually makes a difference and locks me in. Finally, I have not even explored the AppleScript functionalities and/or shortcuts, but they are there. I only explored a bit but for me at the moment it is not a must. Eventually I will want to automate everything, and I only want to do it because I learned it was possible because of the app. Could not recommend more. Sorry for the rambling but it really is worth it.

I was using Sunsama for a while, but the price and features were too much for what I needed. I was also using Toggl Track to measure my time. While I still might use Toggl in the future to record overall time (including breaks) this has been a great replacement, especially the small status bar. I use Obsidian for tasks and time block in apple calendar so the directions of Sunsama focusing on notes and AI does not appeal to me. I want an app that can see time planned vs time spent and this does just that. While Sunsama is very very clean, Session replaces the timer and visualizes time spent much much better. While there are certain things to get used to on Session, it has been a great addition to my productivity. With that said, I do wish that there were more options for breaks or even gray colors to create a category for break times. I would also like to be able to break down my time by larger categories. I’m ADHD and a PhD student and find this really useful for tracking time at work, gym, and cleaning but there is no way for the outputs to distinguish these categories (at least none that I have found) with that said, for what it is, this is a great app and the only tool that I have found that successfully lets me see time planned vs time worked.

Edit: I’ve been using it for a while now, and the updates, discord server, live actions + shortcut capabilities make this app exceptional to use! Admittedly I haven’t been using it long, but this is a great app! The UI is sleek and very easy to use. The intention and the categorization capabilities are nice, and the free tier has basically all functionality minus the unlimited categorization. Integration with the Calendar app is great. The stand out functionality that I absolutely love is the amount of automation (and through that, customization) of the app. It’s particularly wonderful when you get it to sync through all your devices. I played around with scripting and with “shortcuts” and loved it! I also really loved the notes feature and that these notes can be as long as you want. I’d recommend the app just purely on this feature because it has been so helpful. That said, one of the parts I don’t like is that there is no task tracking or subtask tracking, which seems like a feature of the app (and design). Task and subtask are supplanted by categories and intentions; the categories and intentions seem like a good alternative and really helped me when I procrastinate by planning to the last detail on certain tasks. I also never really got the hang of its scheduling functionality, but that’s user error rather than app dysfunction. All in all it’s a great app, and I’d definitely recommend it!