21 Minute Timer

Press Start to count down 21 minutes.

This free 21 minute timer counts down 21 minutes with a shrinking red disc you can read at a glance. 21 minutes is 1,260 seconds (one thousand two hundred and sixty seconds). It fits a study block or a full yoga sequence.

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What a 21 minute timer is good for

Twenty-one minutes is a comfortable length for practices that need a warm-up and a cool-down. A short yoga sequence fits it neatly, and it also works as a slightly longer study block for people who find twenty minutes just too short.

A yoga sequence

A sun salutation warm-up, a few standing poses and a short relaxation fit comfortably in twenty-one minutes.

A study block

Work for twenty-one minutes, then rest for five or six. Three of these cycles fill about an hour and a half.

A 21 day habit

Many habit challenges ask for a daily practice over 21 days. Twenty-one minutes a day is a memorable pairing.

Slow-cooked eggs

Eggs simmered for about twenty-one minutes for a tea egg or marbled egg recipe take on more flavour.

To pace yourself, glance at the disc rather than the numbers. With the 21 minute timer running, half the colour has gone after 10 minutes 30 seconds, and when only a quarter is left you have 5 minutes 15 seconds to wrap up. Open fullscreen if the timer needs to be read across a room, and add a label so everyone knows what the 21 minutes are for.

How to use the 21 minute timer

  1. It is ready

    The dial is already set to 21 minutes. To change it, drag the disc, tap a preset or open Custom.

  2. Press Start

    Or press the Space bar. The red disc shrinks back towards 12 o’clock as the time runs down.

  3. Watch the disc

    Read the time left at a glance, or open fullscreen for a big dial that fills the screen.

  4. Time’s up

    Your alarm plays until you press Stop. Press Reset or R to run the same time again.

21 minutes in other units

21 minutes equals
Seconds1,260
Minutes21
Hours0.35
Fraction of a day7/480

Why use this timer

Why a visual timer helps

A shrinking disc turns time into something you can see. You read how much is left at a glance, without doing sums on a clock, and an invisible deadline feels less stressful when you can watch it approach. That is why visual timers are a staple in classrooms and are widely used by people with ADHD and autistic children and adults. Read our guide to using a visual timer, how it helps with ADHD time blindness, classroom transitions and autism.

Why this timer is accurate

The countdown is anchored to your device clock rather than counted in animation frames. It does not drift if you switch tabs or your screen sleeps: it keeps running in the background and still sounds the alarm on time. When you come back, the disc jumps straight to the correct position.

Frequently asked questions

There are 1,260 seconds in 21 minutes. That is 0.35 of an hour, or one thousand two hundred and sixty seconds written out.

A complete short yoga sequence with relaxation, a study block a little longer than twenty minutes, or a daily practice for a 21 day habit challenge.

Yes. The 21 minute countdown is anchored to your device clock rather than counted frame by frame, so it stays accurate in a background tab and the alarm still fires when the 21 minutes are up.

No. The 21 minute timer runs in your browser on phone, tablet and desktop. It is free, and there is no account, app or download.

Yes. Press the fullscreen button or the F key. The dial fills the screen, so the remaining part of the 21 minutes is readable from the back of the room.

Yes, once this page has loaded. Nothing is sent over the network while the 21 minutes count down, so a dropped connection will not stop the timer.

Yes. Many people pair a 21 day challenge with 21 minutes a day of reading, exercise or practice. Press Start on this 21 minute timer at the same time each day.

When the 21 minutes are up the disc is empty, the screen shows Time’s up! and your alarm plays until you press Stop. It stops by itself after five minutes.

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