2 Minute Timer
Free shareable timer - copy the link and anyone can start counting down instantly.
Why a 2 minute timer?
Two minutes is the most prescribed short duration there is. It is how long the American Dental Association asks you to brush, twice a day - and studies of untimed brushing consistently find people stop around the one-minute mark while believing they went longer.
It is also the threshold in David Allen's Getting Things Done: if a task takes less than two minutes, do it immediately rather than filing it, because the overhead of tracking it exceeds the cost of just finishing it. Timing the rule is how you find out what actually fits.
What people use a 2 minute timer for
- Brushing your teeth. The full ADA-recommended time. Run it twice a day and the difference from untimed brushing is immediate.
- The two-minute rule. Test whether a task really is a two-minute task before you decide to do it now or schedule it.
- Standup speaking turns. Two minutes per person keeps a daily standup for a team of six under fifteen minutes including handover.
- Steeping green tea. Most green teas are done between two and three minutes; longer pulls out the bitterness.
- Breathing and reset breaks. Long enough to slow your breathing down measurably, short enough to take between meetings.
Other preset timer lengths
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I really need to brush for a full two minutes?
That is the American Dental Association's recommendation, twice daily. The reason a timer helps is that self-estimated brushing time is reliably short - people who think they brushed for two minutes usually managed about one.
What is the two-minute rule?
From David Allen's Getting Things Done: if an incoming task would take under two minutes, complete it immediately instead of adding it to a list, because capturing and revisiting it costs more than doing it.
Can I share this link with my class?
Yes - just copy the link from the box above and paste it into your LMS, email, or messaging app. When students open it they get a 2m timer that's ready to start with one tap. No account or download needed.
Does the timer save my progress?
The timer runs entirely in your browser - progress is not saved between page loads. If you refresh or close the tab the timer resets to 2m. For a timer that auto-starts when someone opens the link, add ?autostart=1 to the URL or use the shareable timer generator.
Can I add a label to my timer?
Absolutely. Add a ?label= parameter to the URL - for example https://stopwatch.now/timer-link/2m?label=Math+Quiz. The label appears above the countdown. You can also use the timer link generator to build a labelled timer link without editing URLs by hand.
Can I make the timer auto-start when someone opens the link?
Yes. Add ?autostart=1 to the URL. For example: https://stopwatch.now/timer-link/2m?autostart=1. The timer will begin counting down the moment the page loads - no click required.