Visual timer

How it works

The timer shows time as a coloured area. At the start the whole clock is green. The less time is left, the smaller the green part. So you do not need to be able to tell the time or do sums to see how long something will take. The number next to it is large, so you can read it from a distance too.

1. Choose how long: 1, 5, 10, 15 or 30 minutes. Or choose your own time, from 1 to 120 minutes.
2. Press Start. The green part of the clock gets smaller and smaller. Next to it you see how many minutes are left. In the last minute you see the seconds.
3. When the time is up, it says ‘Time is up’. Want to hear a soft sound as well? Turn it on in Settings before the time is up. With Try the sound you can hear there how it sounds.
4. To stop in between, use Pause; with Continue the clock carries on. Start again sets it back to the time you chose.

What to use it for

The timer is for at home, for a conversation and for a group. At home, for example, for something you are dreading: ten minutes of tidying, and then stop. In a conversation, to see together how much time is left, without anyone having to look at their watch. In a group, for a break or a task, large on the screen.

At the end the timer only says that the time is up. It does not start again by itself. Nothing is kept: there is no record of how often or how long you used the timer.

Good to know

• Together in a group? Press Full screen. The timer then fills the whole screen, also on an interactive whiteboard or a projector. Press the Esc key to go back.
• The timer keeps running if you open another tab. The sound only plays if this page stays open. When the time is up, the tab name says so too.
• While the timer is running, the page asks your device to keep the screen on. Not every browser does this.
• Is ‘reduce motion’ on for your device? Then the green part gets smaller in calm steps, instead of smoothly.
• If you choose a new time while the timer is running, the timer stops and is set to the new time.

On paper

Is the timer not working, or would you rather have something on the table? Then make a timer on paper.

• Draw a big circle and put a mark at the top, like the 12 on a clock.
• Divide the circle into four equal parts, like a cake. Colour in all the parts.
• The whole circle is the whole time. So for 20 minutes, each part is 5 minutes. Set an ordinary alarm clock or your phone for the whole time.
• When one part of the time has passed, cross out that part, going clockwise from the mark at the top.