Set the timer to 46 seconds

Online timer for 46 seconds

Leave the mug beside the office kitchenette urn and return to your desk while the tea bag steeps for forty-six seconds. The countdown covers the brief gap when you can answer a message, rinse a spoon or collect milk from the fridge without relying on a glance at the wall clock. When the alert sounds, head back and remove the bag before adding milk.

A shared kitchenette can mean brewing several cuppas for colleagues, with each mug started at a slightly different moment. Run separate countdowns one after another as the hot water reaches each tea bag, rather than treating the whole row as a single batch. Label each countdown by mug or colleague if the screen allows it, so an alert identifies the tea that is ready.

For a quick trip away from the bench, a phone is easier to keep with you and its alert is less likely to be missed over office chatter. A laptop suits someone staying at their desk, but its sound may be muted during a meeting or routed through headphones. Keep the phone in a pocket, not beside the mug, if you expect to move between rooms.