How it works
Each item gets the minutes you plan for it. When the meeting starts, the timer counts down the current item, and you press Next when it's done, because a person, not the clock, decides when a topic is finished.
The bar is the meeting from its start to your end time (or, without one, to the planned end). When an item runs over, its extra minutes come out of what's left: first the spare time before the end, then every remaining item shrinks by the same share. That's a picture of the choice you face, not a rule the timer applies; the countdown for each item still uses its planned minutes. "Ends at" assumes the remaining items take their planned minutes.
Our rule of thumb: leave a few minutes spare. Asana's agenda guide suggests a few minutes of buffer per topic, and some teams set a 60-minute meeting's timer to 57.
Times come from the clock, so they stay right if you switch tabs. Chimes are scheduled ahead, but a phone may pause a background page, so keep this tab open and the screen on. Agendas never leave this device unless you share a link.
Questions people ask
- How much time should each agenda item get?
- Give each topic a realistic estimate and a few minutes of buffer, as Asana's agenda guide suggests, and treat a topic that keeps running over as one that may need its own meeting. This timer shows what each item took last time, so your next estimate starts from a real number.
- What happens when an item runs over?
- The extra minutes come out of what's left: first any spare time before your end time, then the items still to come, which shrink in proportion on the bar. The end time shows when the meeting finishes if those items still get their planned minutes, so you can decide what to cut.
- How do I show the timer in Google Meet, Teams or Zoom?
- Share this tab or its window: Google Meet can present a single tab, Teams can share one window, and Zoom can share one application. Press Present first for a big, uncluttered view. To keep the timer to yourself while you share slides, use Pop out in Chrome, Edge or Firefox on a computer: it floats above other windows and isn't part of a shared tab or window.
- Does it keep time if I switch tabs?
- Yes. It works from the clock rather than counting ticks, so times stay right in a background tab. Chrome checks background timers about once a second, and once a minute after five minutes hidden, so the display may catch up when you look, but chimes are scheduled ahead on the audio clock. On a phone, keep the screen on, because phones pause background pages.
- Is my agenda private?
- Yes. Agendas stay in this browser on this device. "Share link" puts the name, items and end time in the part of the link after the #, which browsers don't send to any server, and only when you press it.
Sources
- Asana: meeting agenda template (time per topic and buffer)
- Atlassian: how to write a meeting agenda (time-boxing items)
- Google Meet Help: present during a video meeting
- Microsoft Support: share content in Teams meetings
- Boston College: screen sharing in Zoom
- Chrome for Developers: timer throttling in Chrome 88
- MDN: Document Picture-in-Picture API
- MDN: Screen Wake Lock API
- Atomic Object: a three-minute cushion with a Time Timer (a practitioner's habit)