Thirty minutes is a common slot for meetings and calls, a typical workout length, and a comfortable size for a single focused task.
Common uses of a 30 minute timer
- Half-hour meetings. Many calendar apps default to 30 minutes. Put the timer on a shared screen so people see the time remaining, and stop on time.
- Workouts. A walk, a run, a cycle or a home circuit. Add a bell every 10 minutes (More options) to mark your progress. Do what is appropriate for your fitness, and stop if you feel unwell.
- Revision or deep work. A single block of focused attention is often better than several fragmented ones. Set a goal first.
- Lesson segments and tutoring. A half-hour tutoring slot: start the timer, and teach to the clock.
- Household tasks. A tidy, a cook-in-advance session, a load of laundry folding.
- Breaks. The upper end of the long Pomodoro break (15 to 30 minutes).
Long timers and tab behaviour
For longer timers it is worth knowing how browsers behave. While this page is running it asks the browser to keep the screen awake (if you leave Keep screen on ticked and your browser supports it), and it measures time against the real clock, not by counting ticks. That means short stalls do not make it drift. If a laptop lid is closed or a phone sleeps, the page may be paused by the system, so for anything important use a second timer as a backup.
Getting started
Press Start. The ring empties as time passes; switch to Disk or Digits to change the display. Open More options to add a label, loop the timer, choose an ambient sound or copy a share link.
Neighbours: 25 minute timer, 45 minute timer, 1 hour timer.
Four ways to divide 30 minutes
| Plan | Split | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| One block | 30 min | Writing, coding or revision with no switching |
| Pomodoro plus break | 25 + 5 | One focus session and the break afterwards |
| Two halves | 15 + 15 | A meeting with agenda items in two blocks: halfway bell link |
| Three tens | 10 + 10 + 10 | Three tidying tasks or three practice pieces: 10 minute bell link |