Every timer app counts down. We asked: why?
A countdown says your time is running out. It frames focus as depletion — a resource draining away. That framing creates anxiety, not flow. Psychoacoustic research calls it the Depletion Frame. We call it the wrong default.
Particle now counts up. Your timer starts at 0:00 and grows. A small goal indicator below shows your target — 25 min, 52 min, 90 min — but the big number is what you've built, not what's left. When you reach your goal, a gentle chime marks the moment. The timer keeps going. Overflow isn't an exception. It's the natural state of deep work.
"Already 47 minutes" feels different from "13 minutes left." One builds pride. The other builds pressure.
Count-Up is the new default. If you prefer the classic countdown, it's one toggle in Settings. But we think once you see your time accumulate, you won't want to go back.