Otto is a focus timer that uses elements from video games to make work fun and mindful. It uses the Pomodoro technique as its guiding philosophy because the structure of short work sessions aligns with the mindful approach we like.

Currently, Otto is designed as a Chrome extension and works exclusively in the browser. This allows us to build an integrated and reactive experience that makes it less challenging for those who struggle with doing things.

We're not fans of the brute-force approach most productivity apps take — it's bold, bland, and homogeneous, all centered around doing more and being productive. But life isn't always about doing more, sometimes it's about sitting still and feeling the air touch your skin and feeling the water when it rains. It's about being present.

Otto is just that, it's about being mindful and being present when doing things. It isn't about maximizing productivity. It isn't about restricting yourself, it's about realizing that it's okay that you are distracted and allowing yourself to get back by being present.

We believe that more hours don't always mean better results—work can be more meaningful and yield greater outcomes when approached mindfully, often in less time. And having a long term approach is much better than a short sighted one.

We just have one long term goal, to make Otto the best at what it does - that is helping people become more mindful while working. Beyond that, we don't have any grand plans. We're not here to save humanity from distractions or claim to save a bazillion hours; we believe you can handle that just fine.

Hi! We're Layover. We're an Indie software company trying to build things we wish existed in the world.

We're not a big company, not even a mid-sized company, and definitely not small. We're tiny. Right now, we're just two people pursing what we love, working from two different corners of the world.

Our mission is to make serious and fun software that people love to use.

We're also bootstrapped, which means who don't take external funding. We like to call ourselves customer funded. This keeps us accountable to our customers and drives us to make our products sustainable and better.