A five-minute timer, one click away
Five minutes is one of the most useful lengths of time: long enough to get something done, short enough to fit anywhere. This page opens with a 5 minute timer already set, so there is nothing to type — press Start and get on with it. Big digits, a progress bar, the time left in the tab title and an alarm at the end make it easy to follow from across the room or while you work in another window.
Popular ways to use five minutes
- Short breaks — step away from the screen, stretch, refill your water or look out of the window. A timer stops a five-minute break from quietly becoming twenty.
- Pomodoro technique — after each 25-minute focus session, take a 5-minute break; after four rounds, take a longer one.
- Getting started — if a task feels too big, promise yourself just five minutes. Once you have begun, it is usually easier to keep going.
- Tea and coffee — many black teas steep for 3–5 minutes, and French press coffee is usually ready after about 4.
- Classrooms — tidy-up time, a quick quiz, a five-minute free write or a reading sprint, shown on the projector in full screen.
- Meetings — time-box a stand-up update, a brainstorming round or questions at the end of a talk.
- Meditation and breathing — five minutes of quiet breathing is a manageable daily habit for beginners.
- Games and kids — turns on a console, a board game round, or "five more minutes" before bedtime that really means five.
Tips
Go full screen for groups. The Full screen button hides everything except the countdown, which works well on a TV, projector or tablet propped up in a kitchen or gym.
Keep the page visible on phones. Mobile browsers can limit sound when the screen is locked, so leave the page open and the screen on for a reliable alarm.
Repeat easily. When the alarm rings, press Reset and Start to run another five minutes — handy for repeated rounds or a series of short tasks.
Accurate in the background
Instead of counting ticks, the timer remembers the moment the five minutes should end and compares it with your device clock. Browsers often slow down timers in background tabs, but this countdown still finishes on time. The alarm is generated by your browser, so it works offline once the page has loaded.
Need a different length?
Try the 1 Minute Timer, 10 Minute Timer or 15 Minute Timer. For work sessions with automatic breaks, use the Pomodoro Timer, and for any custom length use the Countdown Timer.