[meko]

That's a good perspective. I drifted away from pomodoro's precisely because I found the intervals too be a bit too rigid and the breaks occurred when I'd be in the middle of something. Instead using one or more as a bootstrap for productivity is something I hadn't considered, but it seems obvious now.

[wool_gather]

I'll admit they kind of fade in and out of usefulness for me. But I always feel free to bleed into a break, too, if I'm right smack in the middle of something. I have found it important to actually take the break at some point, though. Timer rings, take a minute or two to finish the thought, then reset the timer for your break.