Break Timer

What it's for

A countdown big enough to read from the back of a room, for the breaks in a workshop, training day or long meeting. It shows when everyone is due back, changes colour and wording as the end gets close, chimes at zero and then counts how late it is, which nudges people back on time better than a plain clock.

• When you’re running a workshop: start a 15-minute break, go full screen on the projector, and leave it running.
• When you’re training: the Intervals timer counts work and rest rounds, chiming at each change, for circuits, drills or sparring rounds.
• When you just need to time something: the Stopwatch counts up until you stop it.

How to use it

For a Break countdown, give its length in Minutes, or a clock time in Or back at (which wins when both are set; a time already past today means tomorrow). In the messages, {time} becomes the time to be back. For the last few minutes, set by Urgent for the last, the digits turn amber and the Urgent message shows; at zero they turn red, the When time’s up message shows, a chime sounds and the timer counts up how far past the time it is, until you press Stop.

For Intervals, set the Work and Rest times in seconds and the number of Rounds; rests are green, and there’s no rest after the last round. The Stopwatch keeps its reading when stopped.

Full screen fills the screen with the timer (press Esc to leave). While a timer runs, the screen is kept awake where the browser allows it. Untick Chime for silence, or press Test chime to check the volume before you start. Settings are remembered in this browser, and Copy a link keeps them.

Example

Choose Intervals, set Work to 20, Rest to 10 and Rounds to 3, then Start. The timer shows 0:20 and “Round 1 of 3: work”, counting down; after 20 seconds it chimes and shows 0:10 and “Round 1 of 3: rest” in green. After the third work round it shows “Done” and “3 rounds done”.

Good to know

Times come from this device’s clock, and a hidden tab may update the display less often, though the timing stays right. The screen is kept awake only while this tab is open and in view; if the browser can’t (some browsers, or battery saver), the screen may still sleep. The chime is set up when you press Start, as browsers only allow sound to begin from a click; its volume follows the device’s, and a muted tab or device stays silent.