Beating task paralysis
Promise yourself just five minutes on the thing you are avoiding. Starting is the hard part. Five minutes in, you have usually found your way past the wall.
Free online timer
Online 5 minute timer for when you just need to start.
A free, full-screen 5 minute timer with a calm visual countdown and a gentle chime. No sign-up, no ads, no clutter. Hit start and go.
05:00Ready
A timer gets you started. Pinnix keeps you going.
Pinnix is the ADHD planner that turns your whole list into a calm daily plan: brain dump everything, AI breaks the big stuff down, and your day gets built around when you focus best. Free for 14 days.
Free for 14 days when you're in. No card needed. See how it works.
Best for
What a 5 minute timer is genuinely good for.
A proper short break
Step away from the screen, stretch, make a drink. A timed break ends on its own, so a five minute pause does not quietly become forty.
Quick admin sprints
Clear an inbox, reply to one message, book the appointment you keep putting off. Boxing a small job into five minutes makes it feel doable.
A breathing or reset moment
Five slow minutes to settle a racing brain before the next thing. Watch the ring, breathe, reset.
The five minute rule, and why it works.
If a task feels too big to face, shrink the commitment instead of the task. Tell yourself you only have to do five minutes, then start the timer. Almost always, the resistance was about starting, not about the work itself.
For ADHD and easily-overwhelmed brains this is a lifeline. You are not lying to yourself, you genuinely can stop at five minutes. You usually will not want to, because by then the hardest part is already behind you.
About this 5 minute timer.
Five minutes is the smallest unit of momentum there is. It is long enough to make a dent and short enough that your brain cannot talk you out of it. That is exactly why a 5 minute timer is one of the most useful tools you can have open.
This one runs right in your browser. The ring empties as the time goes down so you can see your five minutes at a glance, and it keeps counting accurately even if you switch to another tab.
Questions
5 minute timer questions.
Is this 5 minute timer free?
Yes. It is completely free to use, with no sign-up and no ads. Open the page and press start.
Will the 5 minute timer keep running if I switch tabs?
Yes. The countdown is based on the actual clock, so it stays accurate in the background. The remaining time also shows in the browser tab title so you can keep an eye on it from anywhere.
Does the timer make a sound when it finishes?
It plays a soft chime when the five minutes are up. It is deliberately gentle rather than a jarring alarm.
Can I add more time without resetting?
Yes. The plus one minute button adds time on the fly, whether the timer is running or paused.
More timers
Other popular timer lengths.
10 minute timerFree online countdown15 minute timerFree online countdown30 minute timerFree online countdown1 hour timerFree online countdownAll timersPick any length you like
A timer helps you start. Pinnix helps you work out what to start, breaks the big jobs into small steps, and plans your day around when you actually focus best. See how it works.
The planner behind the timer
Focus is step one. Let Pinnix plan the rest.
Pinnix is the daily planner for brains that don't run on autopilot. Brain dump everything, and it sorts, breaks down and schedules your day around your focus. In private beta. Join the waitlist to get in.
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