30 minute timer
What a 30-minute timer is good for
- Exercise. The NHS advises adults to do at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, spread over 4 to 5 days or every day. Thirty minutes on five days covers it.
- Children's activity. Children aged 5 to 18 should average at least 60 minutes a day. Two half-hour sessions, such as a walk to school and a game after tea, add up to that.
- Revision. Thirty minutes of focused work followed by a five-minute break is easy to repeat through an evening.
- Cooking checks. Set it for the halfway point of a roast or a casserole so you remember to baste or stir.
- Half-hour meetings. Put it on full screen so the meeting ends on time.
- Reading. Half an hour gets most readers through a chapter of a novel or a long magazine feature.
How it works
Press Start and the 30-minute countdown begins; the bar and the browser tab show the time left. The timer counts to a fixed end time, so it stays accurate if you switch tabs, and an alarm sounds at zero while the numbers flash. Full screen makes the digits readable from across a room. Space starts and pauses, R resets. To share a different length, add ?t= and a number of seconds to the address: datetime.uk/timer/?t=2100 opens a 35-minute timer.
Use the online timer for other lengths, or the interval timer to turn your 30 minutes into work and rest rounds.
Frequently asked questions
Is 30 minutes of exercise a day enough?
For adults, 30 minutes of moderate activity on five days a week meets the NHS guideline of 150 minutes. The NHS also advises strengthening activities on at least 2 days a week.
Will the timer keep going if I switch tabs?
Yes. The timer counts to a fixed end time, so it stays accurate in a background tab and the alarm still sounds. Closing the tab stops it.
Can I see the time left in the tab title?
Yes. While the timer runs, the browser tab shows the time remaining, so you can check it from another tab.