Your 10 minute timer is ready
The timer is already set to 10 minutes. Press Start and the countdown begins: the digits, the progress bar and the tab title all show the time left. When it reaches zero, the sound rings until you stop it. Ten minutes is long enough to cook pasta, meditate or make real progress on something you keep putting off.
What a 10 minute timer is good for
- Pasta: Many dried pastas are al dente in 9 to 12 minutes. The Pasta preset in Cooking is set to 10.
- Meditation: The Meditation preset in Relax also lasts 10 minutes, with a calm illustration on screen.
- Short nap: A nap of about 10 minutes can lift alertness with little grogginess. For a classic power nap, use the 20 minute timer.
- Evening tidy: Ten minutes on one room, every evening, keeps the house under control.
- Interval run: Alternate one minute of running and one minute of walking, five times.
- Reading: About 2,500 words at an average pace, roughly a short story.
- Class warm-up: A review question or silent reading to start the lesson.
- Screen time warning: Let kids know they have ten minutes left before the tablet goes away.
10 minutes in seconds, and what fits in them
10 minutes is 600 seconds, one sixth of an hour. A 2006 study at Flinders University in Australia compared naps of 5, 10, 20 and 30 minutes, and the 10-minute nap gave the best mix of quick alertness and little grogginess.
A tip for your 10 minutes
For pasta, start the timer when the water comes back to a boil after you add the pasta. Taste a piece a minute before the end, and save a cup of the cooking water for the sauce. For rice, go to the 12 minute timer; for a longer focus block, try the Pomodoro timer.
How to use the 10 minute timer
- Press Start. The countdown runs from 10 minutes down to zero.
- Pick a sound if you like. Turn the list to hear a bell, a chime, a classic beep, a digital beep or a gentle rise.
- Switch tabs freely. The countdown follows your device clock and stays exact. Keep this tab open to hear the sound.
- Stop the sound at zero, or tap +1 min if you need a little longer.
Need another length? Turn the minute wheel, or tap the digits and type the time on the keypad. The online timer also has presets for cooking, sport and relaxing, and a full screen mode that makes the countdown readable from across the room.