3 Minute Timer

Three minutes on a disc of three slices: press Start with music and one slice goes each minute.

Timer length: 3 minutes

Music

Tap the time to set your own length.

Ready-made routines (16)

Turns and rounds

Speaking and retelling

Quick checks and warm-ups

Getting set up

More options

View

Sound

When the time is up

Chime at halfway

On a phone or a tablet the silent switch mutes this sound as well, and the page cannot tell. Press Test sound to check.

Music Volume

It plays while the timer runs and stops at the end.

Repeat starts the countdown again by itself, for stations.

Keys: Space starts and pauses, R resets, F is full screen. They rest while a button or a field has the focus.

Copies a link that opens this timer at this length.

Next step Need longer? See every timer

How it works

This online 3 minute timer with music opens already set and stopped. The first press starts the countdown and a track together, and the Music list by the button changes the track.

Read the full guide

How to set a timer for 3 minutes

1. Leave the length alone: the digits already read 3:00. 2. Press the main button, then Full screen on the timer. 3. When the screen says Time is up, press Start again for the next 3 minutes.

A 3 minute countdown for taking turns

Switch on Repeat under More options and each turn begins the second the last one ended, so ten turns take exactly 30 minutes. Under Ready-made routines, Three speakers, a minute each gives every speaker one slice, and Teach it back, then swap changes at 1:30.

For a 3 minute classroom timer on one table, prop up a tablet, choose Three-minute turn and let Repeat run the line.

Questions and answers

Can I get a 3 minute timer with relaxing music?

The page opens on Drift, the slowest of the four tracks: soft pads, one chord every four seconds. Meadow is soft plucked notes and Lantern is a music box. None has words, and all are made in your browser.

Is there a 3 minute timer with no music?

Yes. Pick No music at the end of the Music list. The main button changes to Start the timer and the 3 minutes run in silence. The list stays that way on your next visit in this browser.

How do I set an alarm for 3 minutes?

Open More options and choose Soft chime, Hand bell or Wood block under When the time is up, then start the timer. The sound plays once when the 3 minutes end. Test sound lets you hear it first.

Is this a 3 minute visual timer?

Yes. The time is a shape as well as digits, so kids who cannot read 3:00 yet can count the slices that are left. Sand, under More options, shows a sand glass.

Does it work as a 180 second timer?

It is one: three minutes is 180 seconds. Chime at halfway, a checkbox under More options, rings once at 1:30, with 90 seconds gone and 90 left.

All 16 routines

Turns and rounds 3

Six-move desk stretch Six moves of 30 seconds each, standing behind the chair: neck rolls, shoulder shrugs, a reach for the ceiling, side bends, wrist circles and a shake-out. The cue names the next move, so you can stretch with the class and not watch the clock. Cues: 2:30 Shoulder shrugs; 2:00 Reach for the ceiling; 1:30 Side bends, slow; 1:00 Wrist circles; 0:30 Shake it all out.
Three-minute turn One turn at the computer, the listening station or the class pet's cage. Press Repeat and the next turn starts by itself the second this one ends, so the line keeps moving without you. At 0:30 left the cue tells the next pupil to get ready. Cues: 0:30 Finish up. Next person, get ready.
Up-and-down court games Pupils play short games side by side on numbered courts: four square, badminton or table tennis. Play runs for 2:30. At the cue the game stops, whoever is ahead moves up a court and the other player moves down. With Repeat on, six games take exactly 18 minutes and everyone meets new opponents. Cues: 0:30 Stop. Winner up, other down a court.

Show all 16 routines (13 more)

Speaking and retelling 4

Hot seat in role One pupil sits at the front as a character from the class novel or the history unit. For 2 minutes the class asks questions and the pupil answers in role. In the last minute the pupil steps out of role and the class says what it learned about the character. Cues: 1:00 Out of role. What did we learn?
Stop, sum up, ask Break into a long explanation and give groups of three 3 minutes. Minute one: sum up what you just heard. Minute two: link it to something you already know. Minute three: agree on one question to ask. Cues: 2:00 Minute 2: link it to what you know; 1:00 Minute 3: agree on one question.
Teach it back, then swap Partner A teaches the method from the lesson as if B had missed it, for 90 seconds. At 1:30 left they swap, and B teaches it back with a different example. Tick Chime at halfway and the swap happens without a word from you. Cues: 1:30 Swap. Partner B teaches it back.
Three speakers, a minute each Three pupils, one prompt, one minute each. Every slice of the disc is one speaker, so the class can see whose minute it is and how much of it is left. The next speaker stands up as a slice disappears. Cues: 2:00 Speaker 2, your minute; 1:00 Speaker 3, your minute.

Quick checks and warm-ups 6

3-2-1 exit slip Three things I learned, two things I found interesting, one question I still have. One minute for each line, so the slip gets finished and not just started. The cues tell pupils when to move down a line. Cues: 2:00 Now 2 things you found interesting; 1:00 Now 1 question you still have.
Estimate, discuss, decide Hold up a jar of cubes or show a photo of a crowd. One minute to look and think in silence, one minute to compare estimates with a partner, one minute to write a final number and the reason for it. Cues: 2:00 Compare with your partner; 1:00 Write your number and why.
One-minute pose sketches A volunteer holds a pose for one minute while the class sketches the whole figure with fast, loose lines. Three poses fill the time. There is no erasing, because the point is to look more than to draw. Cues: 2:00 New pose. New sketch; 1:00 Last pose.
Read it three times A pupil reads the same short passage aloud three times, one minute each, to a partner who puts a pencil mark where each minute ended. The three marks show whether the third reading got further than the first. Cues: 2:00 Mark it. Second reading; 1:00 Mark it. Third reading.
Six-question mental math Read one question every 30 seconds and take answers only, no working. The cue gives the question number, so you never lose your place. Six questions fill the 3 minutes exactly. Swap papers to mark them when the time is up. Cues: 2:30 Question 2; 2:00 Question 3; 1:30 Question 4; 1:00 Question 5; 0:30 Question 6.
Vocabulary sketch Say one word from the unit each minute. Pupils draw a quick picture that shows what it means, with no letters allowed. Three words, three boxes on the page, and a fast way to see who has the meaning. Cues: 2:00 Word 2. Next box; 1:00 Word 3. Last box.

Getting set up 3

Attendance and lunch count Pupils move their own name tag to here and pick a lunch choice while you greet them at the door. At 1:00 left the cue makes a last call, and the tags still unmoved are your absence list. Cues: 1:00 Last call: move your name tag.
Hand in and hand out Row monitors collect yesterday's homework during the first 90 seconds and give out today's sheets during the second 90. Everyone else reads the board. Two jobs, two halves of the bar. Cues: 1:30 Collected? Now hand out sheets.
Materials out, names on One minute to fetch what the lesson needs, one minute to set it out, one minute to write the name and date and read the first question. When the disc is empty, the first hand can already be up. Cues: 2:00 Everything on your desk?; 1:00 Name and date, then question 1.

How this list was compiled: Own work, written on 2026-09-18 from common classroom practice. Each routine is one way to spend exactly 3 minutes (180 seconds) with a class, and each cue is given as the time left on the countdown when it appears. Every routine is built on a split that only 180 seconds gives, and each split was added up twice: 3 parts of 60 seconds for Three speakers, a minute each, 3-2-1 exit slip, Read it three times, Vocabulary sketch, Estimate, discuss, decide, One-minute pose sketches and Materials out, names on; 2 parts of 90 seconds for Teach it back, then swap and Hand in and hand out; 6 parts of 30 seconds for Six-question mental math and Six-move desk stretch, with cues at 2:30, 2:00, 1:30, 1:00 and 0:30 left; 2:00 + 1:00 for Hot seat in role and Attendance and lunch count; 2:30 + 0:30 for Three-minute turn and Up-and-down court games, where six rounds make 6 x 3 = 18 minutes; 1:00 + 1:00 + 1:00 for Stop, sum up, ask. The timings are suggestions, not rules or research findings. Change them to suit your class. Licence: own work