The Pomodoro Technique was invented by a student with a tomato timer

Francesco Cirillo developed the Pomodoro Technique in the late 1980s as a university student struggling to focus, using a tomato-shaped kitchen timer (pomodoro is Italian for tomato) to break work into 25-minute concentrated sessions separated by 5-minute breaks. The technique works by reducing decision fatigue — you don't negotiate with yourself about how long to work — and by making large tasks feel approachable. Research on attentional restoration theory by Kaplan and Kaplan supports why short deliberate breaks restore concentration better than continuous effort.

Source: Cirillo, The Pomodoro Technique (2007); Kaplan, Psychological Bulletin (1995)