Rolling Focus Method
Focus that doesn’t break.
A work rhythm in three rules. You can learn it in a minute.
No sign-up. Free to share under CC BY 4.0.
The problem
Sound familiar?
Your Pomodoro timer goes off mid-thought. When you come back: where was I?
Your agent asks for approval at minute 35. Your timer has no idea.
Mid-task, a bug, an idea, and “pick up milk” all pop into your head. Where do they go? Do you have to decide now?
The problem isn’t you. It’s the rhythm.
The shift
Stop where you know what comes next.
Pomodoro was built for a world where you did the work. Today, more and more of the work is done by AI, and you direct it.
Hemingway stopped writing while he still knew exactly what would happen next, so he never started the next day with a blank page.
From A Moveable Feast →With Pomodoro, the clock decides when you stop. Here, the state of your work does.
In film, rolling focus means adjusting the focus during a shot so a moving subject stays sharp. This method does the same for your attention.
The method
The three rules
Your own rhythm, a natural stop.
Pick a rhythm that suits you. The length is up to you. When the time is up, don’t stop right away. Stop as soon as your work reaches a well-defined state: a passing test, a commit, a finished thought. Kicking off a longer AI task counts as one too: while you take a break, the agent keeps working.
Jot it down, keep going.
Whatever comes up, capture it as a jot in one move and get right back to work. Whether it becomes an issue, a prompt, or a to-do, you decide later.
Review your jots at every switch.
Before a break, when you start working, when a task is done: does your next step come from the list? The list holds the context of your earlier thinking. That’s what keeps the thread unbroken.
The agent waits for you, not the other way around.
If it’s waiting for approval when you get back from your break, that’s fine. Its time is cheap. Your attention isn’t.
What counts as a break?
Any time your mind is off the project. Filing a GitHub issue is work. A phone call or a grocery run is a break.
Example
One session at a glance
A thought, a jot, a break, and back to work. Nothing gets lost along the way, and you always know your next step.
- “Send the summary” Written down during the first work block, done back at the desk.
- “Get milk on the way home” Written down during the first work block, still on the list for the way home.
- “Call Eva back” Written down during the first work block, done during the break.
- “Move references to the end of the doc” Written down during the first work block, done back at the desk.
In practice
A day with the method
- Morning
Open your jot list. It tells you where you left off.
- While you work
Something comes up? One line, then back to work.
- A longer AI task starts
Check the list and take your break. A good time to return that call.
- Back at your desk
The agent’s results are waiting. Sort your jots: turn them into issues, prompts, or to-dos, or delete them.
- End of day
Whatever’s left on the list is how you start tomorrow.
The tool
Why not another to-do app?
| To-do app | Jot |
|---|---|
| You have to decide as you write: due date, project, priority | No decisions as you write |
| Tasks sit there for weeks | The list stays short and fresh |
| The due date sets the time | The moment sets the time |
You buy milk when you head home. A bug becomes an issue when you start a new AI session. Anything with a real deadline can go in your to-do app.
“The method works with any tool that lets you jot down a line fast. I use Inosace Jot because I built it for exactly this: one keystroke, one line, done. One more move copies it into a prompt or a message.”
Free
Take the method with you
The whole method in one PDF. Share it freely. Just credit the author.
For teams
Teaching it to your team?
The method stays free for everyone. The team pack saves you the prep work, so a team lead can introduce the method at the next team meeting.
- Infographic of the method (PDF)
- 7-slide deck you can click through (PDF)
- Editable version for your own branding (PPTX)
- Speaker notes, so anyone can present it without prep
$39 one-time, per organization
Buy the team packSecure checkout and invoicing through Polar.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Who can use this method?
Anyone, at work or in everyday life. You don’t need AI, and you don’t need to be a programmer, but it works especially well alongside AI agents.
So is Pomodoro bad?
Not at all. It’s built around a fixed block of time. This method is built around the state of your work.
How long should my rhythm be?
There’s no set length. Pick whatever feels right to you. What matters is where you stop: when your work is in a well-defined state and you know what comes next.
Do I need Inosace Jot?
No. Any tool works, as long as you can write down a line in one move. I built Inosace Jot specifically for that: jotting things down fast. It syncs your jots between your iPhone and your Mac.
Does it work for teams?
Yes. I suggest everyone on the team try it deliberately for at least two days.
What does the CC BY license mean?
It’s an open license. You may share, copy, and adapt this material, even commercially. Credit is required: name István Pató as the author, link to the license, and note any changes you made.
What’s in the team pack that isn’t in the free PDF?
Ready-to-use training material: an infographic, a slide deck, an editable version, and speaker notes.
About
Who’s behind it
István Pató
I’m an independent developer who works with AI agents every day. Pomodoro stopped working for me: the clock said one thing, the work said another. The Rolling Focus Method is the rhythm that took its place, and I’ve used it ever since.