2 Minute Timer
A 2 minute timer counts down 120 seconds and sounds an alarm when it reaches zero. That is 0.03 decimal hours on a timesheet, or 3.33% of an hour.
A two minute timer is the length behind the best known rule in personal productivity, and the length dentists have recommended for brushing since the 1970s.
Paused at 2:00
What a 2 minute timer is used for
The two minute rule, brushing teeth, and steeping tea that turns bitter if forgotten.
- The two minute rule
- David Allen's rule in Getting Things Done is that any task finishable in two minutes gets done immediately rather than filed, and a timer is how you find out which tasks actually qualify.
- Brushing teeth
- Two minutes twice a day is the standard recommendation, and most people stop well short of it when guessing.
- Steeping green tea
- Green tea turns bitter past roughly two minutes, unlike black tea which wants three to five.
- Timed speaking rounds
- Debate rebuttals and stand-up meeting turns are commonly capped at two minutes per person.
Using the two minute rule without letting it take over
The rule works best in batches. Go through your inbox or task list and, for each item, ask whether it would take less than two minutes. If it would, do it now. If not, write down its next step and move on. Timing the first few items is worth it, because small tasks are easy to underestimate.
The trap is a whole morning spent on two minute tasks while the one important task waits. Give the quick jobs a fixed window, such as a single 15 minute timer, and stop when it rings.
The 2 minute timer at a glance
| Attribute | Value |
|---|---|
| Length | 2 minutes |
| Seconds | 120 |
| Decimal hours | 0.03rounded |
| Clock format | 0:02 |
| Share of an hour | 3.33% |
| Blocks per hour | 30 |
| Blocks per 8 hour day | 240 |
| Pomodoros (25 min each) | 0.08 |
| Decimal hours are rounded to two places, as payroll does. Block counts are whole blocks with no breaks between them. | |
For other lengths, use the minutes to decimal hours converter or the hours calculator.
Your focus time, counted and kept
A countdown tells you when the block ends. PomoTodo records that the block happened, which task it went to and what the week added up to, so a month of 2 minute blocks becomes something you can actually look at.
Free plan tracks unlimited focus time across unlimited tasks. No card required.
Timers either side of 2 minutes
If 2 minutes is the wrong length, the two nearest are 1 minute and 3 minutes.
Questions about the 2 minute timer
What is the two minute rule?
If a task takes less than two minutes, do it now instead of adding it to a list. The rule comes from David Allen's Getting Things Done, and its point is that capturing, filing and revisiting a tiny task costs more than the task does.
How long should I steep green tea?
About two minutes, in water that has cooled a little after boiling, around 75 to 80°C (roughly 165 to 175°F). Boiling water and longer steeps pull out more of the bitter compounds, which is why green tea left in the pot turns harsh.