1 minute timer

One minute to reset your desk

Use a minute between two tasks to prepare the next action rather than begin another large job. Choose a single surface and keep only the materials needed next. You do not have to finish organizing everything; stop with a clearer starting point.

The suggested checkpoints are a plan you follow, not separate timer alarms. If you share this one-minute setting with a group, give a start signal. The link carries the duration and mode, without private labels or a synchronized clock.

• First 15 seconds: close the previous task and note its next step.
• Next 30 seconds: put away unrelated items.
• Last 15 seconds: open the next file or place the next material.

Rehearse a one-minute introduction

Before a meeting, try an introduction with three points: who you are, what you are working on, and what you need from the group. Start when you begin speaking. Practise with the notes you intend to use, rather than silently reading them.

At the end, check whether the request was clear. If you spent the whole minute on background, remove a detail before trying again. This is a rehearsal limit you chose, not a required speaking speed.

• Plan a spoken presentation

Decide whether a minute is enough

A minute suits a narrow action that is ready to begin. Finding a file, connecting a microphone or collecting missing information may take longer than the action itself. Prepare those first, or choose a longer duration instead of racing the countdown.

If you do not know how long an introduction takes, try Stopwatch first. Note the elapsed time, then decide what to shorten. A timer gives you a limit; a stopwatch helps you observe the length you actually used.