Set the timer to 86 seconds

How to use the online timer

A quick tidy-up sprint works best with a limit, and 86 seconds is long enough to clear a bench or a lounge room without turning into a full afternoon of cleaning. Set the timer, pick one space, and move fast because you know exactly when you get to stop. It's a decent trick for getting started on a job that felt too big before you broke it down like this.

Press Start and it gets going immediately, no sign-up screen or settings menu standing in the way. The one thing to remember is that it counts down inside this browser tab, so it needs to stay open rather than closed or replaced by another site if you want an accurate result. A sound plays once the time is up, which is your cue that whatever you were timing is done.

Kitchen timers are great until you need one outside the kitchen, and most phone timers sit behind a lock screen and a couple of taps. A browser tab is already open on most devices anyway, so the timer is right there without hunting for an app or a gadget. It's free, needs no registration, and works the same whether you're cooking, exercising, or trying to focus. Set a timer for 86 seconds, set the timer to 86 seconds, start a 86 seconds timer — it is the same countdown either way.