20 Minute Timer

20 minutes at a glance

In seconds	1,200 seconds
In hours	0.3333 hours
In milliseconds	1,200,000 ms
Written as	00:20:00

On a timesheet 20 minutes is 0.3333 hours. In code it is 1,200,000 milliseconds, usually written 20 * 60 * 1000 rather than as the literal number.

What fits into 20 minutes

• A nap that avoids grogginess
• A supermarket run
• Two exam questions

Twenty minutes is the nap length sleep researchers keep returning to. It is long enough to feel restored and short enough to stay in the lighter stages of sleep, so you wake clear rather than heavy.

Running a 20 minute block well

1. Name the one taskWrite it down in a sentence with a verb in it. A block that starts with 'what should I do' loses its first three minutes.
2. Remove the three usual exitsPhone in another room, unrelated tabs closed, drink already poured. Almost every abandoned block ends via one of those three.
3. Work to the alarm, not to doneIf the task finishes early, use the remainder to set up the next block rather than starting something new.
4. Write the next actionSpend the last thirty seconds noting where you got to. It is the difference between resuming in ten seconds and re-reading for four minutes.

It is also the length of a solid problem set, a serviceable interval session and the amount of time it takes most people to write a first draft of something they have already thought about.

Other lengths

• 1 Minute TimerOne minute is a plank, a rinse of the kettle, a held…
• 2 Minute TimerTwo minutes is the classic tooth-brushing block and…
• 3 Minute TimerThree minutes covers a boxing round, a soft-boiled…
• 4 Minute TimerFour minutes is one full Tabata block: eight rounds…
• 5 Minute TimerFive minutes is the standard short break, and long…
• 6 Minute TimerSix minutes suits a mobility flow, a warm-up jog or…
• 7 Minute TimerSeven minutes is the length of the original…
• 8 Minute TimerEight minutes is two four-minute rounds, or one slow…
• 10 Minute TimerTen minutes is the sweet spot for a first meditation…
• 12 Minute TimerTwelve minutes covers a Cooper test run or three…
• 15 Minute TimerFifteen minutes is short enough to start without…

Need a little more or less time? Try the 15 minute timer or the 25 minute timer.

Questions people ask

Why is 20 minutes the ideal nap length?

Because you generally stay in stages one and two of sleep. Going much beyond that risks waking from slow-wave sleep, which produces the groggy, worse-than-before feeling known as sleep inertia.

How many seconds are in 20 minutes?

There are 1,200 seconds in 20 minutes, because every minute contains 60 seconds.

Can I pause the 20 minute timer and carry on?

Yes. The space bar or the pause button stops it where it is, and pressing again resumes from the same point rather than restarting at 20:00.

Does the countdown drift if I switch tabs?

No. It reads your device clock rather than counting animation frames, so a background tab, a locked screen or a slow connection cannot make it lose time.

Is the 20 minute timer free to use?

Yes, for personal and commercial use, with no sign-up and no limit. Use it in classrooms, gyms and streams without asking.