READY
READY
Three minutes is the tea timer, the egg timer for a properly runny yolk, and the length of almost every song written before streaming. It is also the standard round in boxing and the amount of time a hold-your-breath argument can last before someone gives in.
What makes it a good unit is that it is too short to drift away from. You will not check your phone during three minutes; you will stand there, which is exactly what a lot of three minute tasks require. Rinse, steep, rest, cool, set.
Here is the tip that ruins fewer breakfasts: start the timer before the thing goes in, not after. The gap between putting an egg in water and remembering to time it is usually thirty to forty seconds, and at three minutes that is a fifth of the cook. Start the countdown, then act.
Press start or the space bar. If you need three and a half, the address bar takes it: add ?t=3m30s to this page.
For most black tea, yes: three minutes is the point where it is strong but not yet bitter. Green tea wants less and something closer to 80°C water.
The countdown stays correct because it is anchored to the clock, but a phone with the screen off may not make a sound. Keep the page open in front of you if you need the alarm.
Not on one page. Open a second tab for the second timer; each page keeps its own countdown, and the tab titles both count down so you can tell them apart.