20 Minute Timer
A free 20 minute countdown timer. Common uses: focused study sessions (the Cornell-method block size), HIIT workouts, oven preheating, and short college lectures.
What is a 20 minute timer used for?
- ✓Power naps (20 minutes is optimal)
- ✓Workshop and classroom activities
- ✓Cooking tasks
- ✓Short focused work sessions
How to use this timer
- 1Start the countdown
The timer is pre-set to 20 minute timer. Press the play button or hit Space to begin.
- 2Customise (optional)
Click the settings icon to change font, colour, background, and size. All settings are encoded in the URL — bookmark it to reuse your exact setup.
- 3Go fullscreen or add to OBS
Press F for fullscreen — ideal for classrooms and presentations. For streaming, enable transparent background and paste the URL into OBS as a browser source.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is 20 minutes ideal for a power nap?
Sleep researchers recommend 20 minutes as the optimal nap duration — long enough to feel rested but short enough to avoid entering deep sleep (which causes grogginess on waking).
Why is 20 minutes a popular study block?
The Cornell note-taking method recommends 20-minute focused study blocks followed by 5-minute review. It is shorter than a Pomodoro (25 minutes) and works well for high-density technical reading.
Is 20 minutes a complete HIIT workout?
Yes — a classic HIIT (high-intensity interval training) session is 20–30 minutes including warm-up. Tabata-style protocols can be as short as 4 minutes, but full HIIT sessions typically target the 20-minute mark.