# Focus timer widget > Start a five-minute focus session from your Home dashboard with one click, watch it count down, and end it from the same widget. Source: https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-widget-focus-timer Section: Home dashboard > Home widgets Plans: All plans Updated: 2026-10-10 The **Focus timer** widget starts a five-minute focus session from your Home dashboard. Five minutes is short enough to begin even when a task feels hard to start. When the time is up, you decide whether to stop there or keep going. A session started from this widget is not tied to any desk, so you can work wherever you like in PlexiDesk while it runs. ## Before you start - The widget is available on every plan. - You can add it to **Home**, **Office Home**, **People Home** or **Brain Home**, once on each. - It comes in two sizes: - **Small**: a card with a **Start 5 min** button, and the countdown and an **End** button while a session runs. - **Icon**: a small square that starts or ends a session with one click. Four icon-size widgets fit in the space of one Small widget. ## Add the widget to your dashboard 1. Open your Home dashboard and click **Customize** at the top right. 2. Click **Add widget**. 3. Click **Actions**, or type "focus" in **Search widgets**. 4. Click **Focus timer**. The preview opens at **Small**. 5. For the icon size, click the arrow to the left of the preview or the first dot under it. The label under the preview reads **Icon**. 6. Click **Add widget**, drag the widget into place, then click **Done**. ## Start and end a session ### With the Small widget 1. Click **Start 5 min**. 2. The widget shows the time left, counting down, and a timer pill appears at the top of the window. 3. Work on whatever you chose to start. 4. To stop before the time is up, click **End** in the widget. ### With the Icon widget 1. Click the icon. It reads **Focus**, and its tooltip says **Start 5 minute focus**. 2. While the session runs, the icon shows the time left and the word **Focusing**. 3. To stop early, click the icon again. Its tooltip now says **End focus session**. ## What you see while a session runs - **The timer pill.** A pill at the top centre of the window counts down the same time as the widget. Its **×** also ends the session early. - **Pauses when you step away.** The timer only counts while PlexiDesk is the window you are using. If you switch to another app or minimise PlexiDesk, the countdown pauses and the pill says **paused**. After a minute away it also shows how many minutes you have been gone. Moving between Home, desks and other screens inside PlexiDesk does not pause it. - **When the time is up.** An alarm sounds and a card asks what you want to do next: - **Done for now** ends the session. - **Keep going · 5 more**, **15 min** or **25 min (pomodoro)** starts a new countdown of that length. The widget follows the new countdown. Pressing `Esc` or clicking outside the card counts as **Done for now**. For more about the card and the timer pill, see [Start a focus session](https://plexiidesk.com/help). ## The Focus mode button does the same thing At the top of every Home dashboard, next to **Customize**, there is a **Focus mode** button. It starts the same five-minute session, and reads **End focus mode** while the session runs. The widget and the button control the same session. You can start a session with one and end it with the other. If you started a focus session somewhere else, such as on a desk, the widget shows that session's countdown and its **End** button stops it. ## Change the size or remove the widget 1. Click **Customize** at the top of the dashboard. 2. To switch between **Icon** and **Small**, click the size button at the top-right corner of the widget. It shows the current size. 3. To take the widget off the board, click the **×** at its top-right corner. 4. Click **Done**. ## Good ways to use it - **When you cannot get started.** Click **Start 5 min** and do the first small step. If it is going well when the time is up, choose **Keep going**. - **Between meetings.** Five minutes can be enough to clear one small task. - **With other one-click icons.** The icon size sits neatly beside the [New desk](https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-widget-new-desk), [Discover](https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-widget-discover) and [New meeting](https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-widget-new-meeting) icons. > **Tip:** > **Set up with Plexii** can add the Focus timer for you, for example if you answer **Straight into one thing** to **How do you like to start the day?** See [Set up a dashboard with Plexii](https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-setup-wizard). ## Common questions ### Can I set a different length? The widget always starts five minutes. When those are up, you can keep going for 5, 15 or 25 more. For other ways to start a session, see [Start a focus session](https://plexiidesk.com/help). For a countdown that lives on a desk and that you set yourself, use the [Timer widget](https://plexiidesk.com/help/widget-timer). ### Why did the countdown stop? The timer pauses while PlexiDesk is not the window you are using, or when it is minimised. Come back to PlexiDesk and it carries on from where it stopped. ### Can I tie the session to a desk? Not from this widget. Start the session from the desk instead, and it counts the time you spend on that desk. See [Start a focus session](https://plexiidesk.com/help). ### Nothing happens when I click the widget While you are customising the dashboard, widgets do not respond to clicks. Click **Done** first. ## Related tasks - [Start a focus session](https://plexiidesk.com/help) - [Focus tools in Plexii](https://plexiidesk.com/help) - [Customize your Home dashboard](https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-customize) - [The Home dashboard](https://plexiidesk.com/help/home-dashboard)