3 Minute Timer
Press Start to count down 3 minutes.
What a 3 minute timer is good for
Three minutes sits in a sweet spot: long enough for something to change, short enough to stand and wait for it. Cooks have used the three minute egg for generations, and it is also the standard steep for a strong cup of black tea.
The three minute egg
Lower a large fridge-cold egg into boiling water and start the timer. At three minutes the white is just set and the yolk is runny, ready for soldiers.
Black tea
Most black teas, from English breakfast to Assam, reach full strength in three to four minutes. Three gives a brisk cup that is not yet bitter.
Practising a short speech
Many school presentations, wedding toasts and open-mic slots are capped at three minutes. Rehearse with the disc in view and you will learn what three minutes of speaking really feels like.
A short reset
Three minutes of slow breathing or simply looking away from a screen is enough to break a stretch of intense work.
To pace yourself, glance at the disc rather than the numbers. With the 3 minute timer running, half the colour has gone after 1 minute 30 seconds, and when only a quarter is left you have 45 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 3 minutes are for.
How to use the 3 minute timer
It is ready
The dial is already set to 3 minutes. To change it, drag the disc, tap a preset or open Custom.
Press Start
Or press the Space bar. The red disc shrinks back towards 12 o’clock as the time runs down.
Watch the disc
Read the time left at a glance, or open fullscreen for a big dial that fills the screen.
Time’s up
Your alarm plays until you press Stop. Press Reset or R to run the same time again.
3 minutes in other units
| Seconds | 180 |
|---|---|
| Minutes | 3 |
| Hours | 0.05 |
| Fraction of a day | 1/480 |
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.