Pomodoro Timer That Shows Your Current Task on Stream

A countdown timer on stream tells viewers one thing: how long until something happens. It does not tell them what that something is. "18:32" sitting in the corner of a coding stream could mean anything, a bug fix, a feature, a break countdown. Viewers either guess or wait for you to explain it out loud.

A task display overlay closes that gap. The same timer, with a short line of text showing what the current Pomodoro block is actually for. No extra window, no manual text-source updates, no interrupting your flow to narrate it in chat.

Why a Countdown Alone Is Not Enough

Most stream overlays, and most Pomodoro apps built for solo use, treat the timer as the entire product. That works fine at a desk where you already know what you are doing. It works less well the moment an audience is watching.

• New viewers have zero context. Someone who joins mid-session sees a number counting down and nothing else. They do not know if you are deep in a task or about to take a break.
• You end up narrating the same thing repeatedly. Without a visible task label, "I'm working on X right now" becomes a sentence you repeat every time someone new shows up or asks in chat.
• Session structure gets lost in VODs and clips. A clip of just a countdown means nothing out of context. A clip with "23:00, fixing the login bug" is self-explanatory.

None of this requires a second overlay or a manual text source you have to babysit. It just requires a timer that was built to hold a task label in the first place.

How Task Display Works in Focusdoro

Focusdoro's overlay has a task field built into the same component as the countdown, not bolted on as a separate OBS source you have to keep in sync yourself.

• One field, one place to update it. Type the task once, in the same view where you start the Pomodoro session. It appears on the overlay automatically.
• Updates without resetting the timer. Changing the task mid-block does not interrupt the countdown or reset your streak.
• Survives across sessions. Start a new Pomodoro block and the overlay keeps showing the current task until you change it, so you are not re-typing it every 25 minutes if the task has not changed.

How to Set Up a Task Display Overlay in OBS

The setup is the same browser-source flow used for any Focusdoro overlay, task field included.

1. Sign in at focusdoro.app. Your personal overlay URL is generated automatically, no separate task-display link needed.
2. Type your task before starting the session. The task field sits directly next to the start button. Keep it short, see the labeling tips below.
3. Add a Browser source in OBS. In the Sources panel, click +, choose Browser, and paste your overlay URL.
4. Size it to fit both the timer and the task text. A task label adds a little vertical space compared to a bare countdown. 240x160px is a reasonable starting point, adjust based on your theme and scene layout.
5. Update the task whenever it changes, without touching OBS. Everything happens from the Focusdoro tab. OBS never needs to be reopened or the source refreshed.

For scene placement, transparency, and multi-scene setup beyond the task field itself, see the OBS Pomodoro setup guide.

Writing Task Labels Viewers Actually Read

A task label is a glance, not a status report. A few things separate a label that works from one that gets ignored:

• Two to four words, not a sentence. "Refactoring auth middleware" reads instantly. "Working on fixing the bug where the auth middleware fails on token refresh" does not, especially at overlay size.
• Concrete over vague. "PR review" beats "coding stuff." "Chapter 4 problem sets" beats "studying."
• Update it when the task actually changes, not every block. If you are still on the same feature across three Pomodoro cycles, leave the label alone. Constant churn is noise, not information.
• Skip internal jargon on a public stream. "Fixing ticket FD-482" means nothing to a viewer. "Fixing the login bug" does.

For streamers running a coding-focused channel specifically, the Twitch Pomodoro overlay guide covers overlay setup end to end, task field included. For study-with-me channels, the study with me overlay guide covers the same setup from a study-stream angle, where the task field usually carries more of the "what is happening right now" weight than the timer itself.

Task Display: What Each Option Actually Shows

Here is what a viewer actually sees from the common overlay choices, beyond the countdown.

A separate manually-typed text source can technically show a task label, but it means opening OBS source properties every time the task changes, which most streamers stop doing after the first week. A task field built into the timer itself is the only option here that survives daily use. For a broader look at overlay options beyond task display specifically, see the best Pomodoro timers for streamers roundup or the Pomodoro timer for OBS overview. Lo-fi and aesthetic streamers should also check the lo-fi Pomodoro overlay guide, which covers keeping the task label visually quiet on an ambience-driven scene.