This page opens with the timer already set to 20 minutes. Press Start or hit the spacebar and it begins; when time is up the alarm rings and the disk blinks. You can always drag the disk to a different time.
Rest your eyes every 20 minutes
The American Optometric Association suggests the 20-20-20 rule for screen work: every 20 minutes, take a 20-second break to look at something 20 feet away.
- Open the mini timer so the disk floats above your work.
- At the alarm, look out of a window or across the room for 20 seconds.
- Press Start again for the next stretch of screen time.
Time a short nap
Mayo Clinic’s napping advice calls a 20- to 30-minute nap ideal and suggests not napping longer than 30 minutes on a regular basis, because longer naps make grogginess more likely.
Pick Chime or Beep and raise the volume enough to wake you. With Silent, the disk only blinks.
Reading a twenty-minute disk
Twenty minutes covers a third of the 60-minute dial, from 12 to the 20 label at the 4 o’clock position. With ten minutes left, the edge sits on the 10 label.
Questions about the 20 minute timer
Is 20 minutes a good length for a nap?
Mayo Clinic’s guidance puts the ideal nap at 20 to 30 minutes. People differ, so adjust the length if you wake up groggy.
Can it repeat every 20 minutes for eye breaks?
Not on its own; press Start after each break. To alternate automatically, set the Pomodoro tab to 20 minutes of focus and a 1-minute break, and turn on auto-start.
Does the mini timer keep moving when I switch tabs?
Yes. Since the update of October 28, 2026, the mini timer draws in its own window, so it keeps shrinking while the main tab is in the background. It works in Chrome and Edge on desktop.