5-minute timer
A fixed 5-minute countdown: press Start and you'll hear an alert when it hits zero.
05:00
Ready to start
How to use the 5-minute timer
This tool is already set to exactly 5 minutes, so there's nothing to configure: just press 'Start'.
You can pause and resume it whenever you want; when it reaches zero, an alert will sound and the time will change color.
Great for quick breaks, boiling a soft-boiled egg, timing your teeth-brushing, or keeping speaking turns short in a brief meeting.
It's also the exact duration behind the productivity '5-minute rule': if a pending task takes 5 minutes or less, you do it right away instead of postponing it, and this timer is a way to check whether it really fits under that limit.
Worked example
Press 'Start' and the countdown will go from 5 minutes down to 0:00, sounding an alert when it finishes. Five minutes is also the standard recommended time for a soft-boiled egg with a runny yolk.
Frequently asked questions
- Can I change the duration?
- No: this timer is fixed at 5 minutes. If you need a different duration, use the customizable countdown timer.
- Can I pause it midway?
- Yes, the pause button stops the countdown without losing the remaining time.
- Does the alarm sound even if the tab is in the background?
- Yes, the sound alert plays even if you've switched to another tab, as long as you haven't closed this page.
- What's the 5-minute rule for?
- It's a productivity technique that suggests doing any task that takes 5 minutes or less right away instead of writing it down for later, to keep small pending items from piling up.