30 minute timer

Ways to use a 30 minute timer

Thirty minutes is long enough to make real progress on a task but short enough to fit between other commitments, which is why it is such a common length for study blocks, piano practice and home workouts. It is also the length of a traditional Pomodoro including its break: 25 minutes of work plus 5 of rest.

In the kitchen, half an hour covers a lot: roasting vegetables, simmering a soup or letting dough rest. Put the phone away and leave this tab open; the chime and an on-screen message tell you when it is done. White noise or rain can make a noisy shared flat feel calmer while you study.

What you can do in 30 minutes

• A study block with five minutes at the end to test yourself
• Roast a tray of vegetables or simmer a soup
• A run, a cycle or a yoga session
• Instrument practice: scales, then one piece
• Read a long chapter and make notes
• Fold and put away a load of washing while listening to a podcast
• One focused round of job applications

If you would rather split the half hour, set 25 minutes here and take a 5-minute break, or use the study timer, which alternates them for you. For 30 minutes of rain with an automatic fade-out, use the rain timer.

Make the most of 30 minutes

A thirty-minute block is long enough that it pays to plan the end. Leave the last five minutes for wrapping up: test yourself on what you studied, clean the pan, or stretch after the run. For cooking, start the timer as soon as the oven door closes, and keep the tab visible so you can read the clock with messy hands. If you study in a busy space, try the white or brown noise at a low level to soften other people’s conversations. When you finish, write one line about what you managed: over a week those lines show how much half an hour can hold.

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