Set the timer to 156 minutes

How to use the online timer

A long-haul flight of 156 minutes goes faster when you break it into chunks instead of watching the in-flight map crawl across the screen. Set the timer for a stretch of reading, sleeping, or a movie, and let it mark the end of that chunk rather than checking your watch every twenty minutes. It won't make the flight land any sooner, but it makes the hours feel like they're moving somewhere.

Hit Start whenever you're ready and the timer runs on its own from there, no further clicking required until it finishes. It only counts while the tab stays open, so leave it running in the background rather than closing the browser or navigating away if you need the time to stay accurate. Once it reaches zero, an alarm sound lets you know without you having to keep checking the page.

A kitchen timer only works in the kitchen, and a phone timer competes with texts, calls, and every other app fighting for your attention. Keeping the countdown in a browser tab sidesteps both problems: it goes wherever your laptop or phone goes, and it isn't trying to notify you about anything else. Minimise it, work on something else, and it'll be counting when you check back. If you would rather say put a timer on for 156 minutes, that works too — press Start and the page does the rest.