10-minute focus session — press Start when the timer loads.
10 Minute Timer
This is a free online 10 minute timer built for focus. Press start and it counts down a full 10 minutes, then rings and rolls you into a 3-minute break. You can also press “Float” to pop the countdown into a small always-on-top window that stays visible while you work in another app.
Ten minutes is the smallest block that reliably finishes something rather than merely starting it. Five minutes buys you the transition into a task; ten usually buys you the task itself, provided the task is small and well-defined. That difference is what this length is for, and it is why “give me ten minutes” is the unit people naturally reach for when they mean “this is quick but not trivial.” The timer on this page is preset to ten minutes — press Start and it counts down, rings, and rolls into a short break.
The way to get value out of a ten-minute block is to name the finish line before you start it. “Tidy up” is open-ended and will expand to fill whatever time you give it; “clear the desk and put the mugs in the kitchen” is done or not done. The same applies to work: “look at the inbox” drifts, while “reply to anything from a client and archive the rest” ends. When the target is concrete, ten minutes is often more than enough, and you get the genuine satisfaction of a completed thing instead of a vague sense of having poked at it.
Where it really earns its keep is batching. Small tasks are expensive not because they take long but because each one costs a decision — when to do it, whether now is the moment, whether it is even worth it — and those decisions accumulate into the background hum of an untidy to-do list. Running four or five ten-minute blocks back to back removes the decisions: the only question is which item is next. An hour spent that way will typically clear a week of accumulated small admin, and it works precisely because you never once had to ask whether you had the energy for a long session.
Ten minutes also fits a lot of things that are not desk work: a short workout circuit or a single interval, a language drill, an instrument practice session, a proper stretch, a tidy of one room, prepping something in the kitchen, or a walk that is long enough to reset your head between meetings. Because the countdown is visible and audible, you are not checking a clock throughout — which matters for anything physical, where clock-watching is most of what makes a short session feel long.
It is a deliberately poor fit for deep work. Writing, coding, designing, or studying something unfamiliar all need a warm-up period before they click, and ten minutes tends to end right as that is happening — which is frustrating rather than productive. If you notice yourself repeatedly wanting “just a bit longer,” that is the signal to move up: 25 minutes is the classic focus block, and longer presets exist for work that needs real runway. Use ten minutes for the small stuff and give the hard stuff the room it needs.
Practically: the countdown runs against a real wall-clock deadline rather than a counter inside the page, so it stays exactly right through tab switches, a sleeping or locked screen, and page reloads — you can start it and genuinely forget about it. Press Float to pop it into a small always-on-top window that stays visible over your other apps, allow notifications for a desktop alert at zero, and set any custom length when ten is not the right size. Finished sessions are tallied locally in your browser, with no account and nothing sent to a server.
Other timer lengths
From the blog
Frequently asked questions
How do I set the timer to exactly 10 minutes?
It already is — this page loads preset to ten minutes, so you only need to press Start. To change it, use a preset or type a custom focus and break length; the timer will remember your choice on this device for next time.
What can I realistically finish in 10 minutes?
Anything small and well-defined: clearing an inbox down to real replies, making a call you have been putting off, outlining a document, tidying a desk or a room, a short workout circuit, a language or instrument drill, or prepping something in the kitchen. The trick is naming the finish line before you start, so the task ends rather than expands.
Is a 10-minute timer better than a 5-minute one?
They do different jobs. Five minutes is mainly for starting something you have been avoiding, or for a break between focus blocks. Ten minutes is long enough to actually complete a small task. If you want the win of a finished thing, use ten; if the problem is purely that you cannot get going, five is the lower barrier.
Can I run several 10-minute blocks in a row?
Yes, and batching is the strongest way to use this length. Line up your small tasks, run one block per task with a brief stand-up between them, and four or five rounds will clear a surprising backlog in under an hour — without ever committing you to a long session.
Does the 10 minute timer keep time if I switch tabs?
Yes. It counts down against a real clock deadline instead of ticking inside the page, so tab switches, a locked or sleeping screen, and reloads do not affect it. Float mode keeps the countdown visible in a small always-on-top window if you would rather not leave the tab in view.
Is 10 minutes long enough for deep work?
Usually not. Writing, coding, and studying unfamiliar material need warm-up time, and a ten-minute block tends to end exactly when focus is arriving. For that kind of work, start at 25 minutes and move up to longer blocks if the task needs more uninterrupted runway.
Will it tell me when the 10 minutes are up?
Yes — the timer shows a clear finished state, and with browser notifications allowed you also get a desktop alert at zero. That is what makes the timer usable for physical tasks, where checking a clock is most of what makes a short session drag.