Twenty minutes fits a nap, an interval workout, a recipe's marinade or an interruption-free reading block. Press Start, focus on what you set out to do and let the alarm sound when the time is up.
The 20-minute nap and the "coffee nap"
Twenty minutes is the upper limit of a short nap: long enough to enter light sleep without sinking too deep. There is also a technique called the "coffee nap": drink a coffee or another source of caffeine and then nap straight away. Because caffeine takes 20 to 30 minutes to work, you wake up with the rest and the stimulant acting together. Driving-simulator experiments have shown reduced sleepiness with this combination, but it does not replace a good night's sleep and is not meant for people sensitive to caffeine.
The 20-20-20 rule for your eyes
People who work at screens often suffer from dry, tired eyes. Eye doctors commonly recommend the 20-20-20 rule: every 20 minutes, look at something about 20 feet (6 meters) away for 20 seconds. Set the 20-minute timer, take the visual break when it rings, blink plenty and restart. It is so short that it fits any routine.
Mid-length focus blocks
Twenty minutes sits between the classic Pomodoro (25 minutes) and shorter sprints. It works well if you struggle to hold attention longer, for school-age children or for mentally demanding tasks such as drafting a hard piece of writing. Prepare your materials, silence notifications and jot any random thoughts on paper to deal with later instead of opening another tab.
In the kitchen
- Marinade: 20 minutes is enough for fish, shrimp, diced chicken and vegetables; big cuts of red meat need hours.
- Roasted vegetables: many chopped-vegetable roasts are done in 20 to 25 minutes at 400 °F (200 °C).
- Rice: after turning off the heat, let it rest covered for 10 to 15 minutes so the grains separate.
- Soaking: split lentils and peas become ready quickly after a short soak.
A 20-minute workout
In 20 minutes you can do a solid high-intensity interval workout: 3 minutes of warm-up, 14 minutes of circuit alternating 40 seconds of effort with 20 of rest and 3 minutes to cool down. Choose movements you know well and prioritize technique when fatigue sets in. Health guidelines recommend at least 150 minutes of moderate activity a week, and 20 minutes every day of the week comes to 140.
Remember that you can add or subtract minutes during the countdown and follow the remaining time in the tab title.
Reading and writing in 20 minutes
Twenty minutes is also a fair block for reading: at a normal pace you get through roughly ten pages of a book. For writing, try drafting without editing until the alarm sounds, then use the next block to revise. Separating the two jobs makes both faster, because you stop polishing a sentence you may delete anyway.
Other durations
See also the customizable online timer, the online stopwatch and the workout timers (CrossFit, Tabata, EMOM).