Timer

How to use the Alexa app for your alarms, reminders and timers

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ April 21, 2020

Siri is a great assistant and HomePod is a terrific smart speaker. But these aren’t the only players in the game, right? Maybe you don’t want to spend the money on an expensive HomePod and appreciate that other assistants exist besides Siri.

Alexa and Amazon Echo are excellent alternatives. Plus, you don’t have to have an Amazon smart speaker to use Alexa because the app works on your iPhone without one.

If you want to give the Alexa app a try for your alarms, reminders, and timers, with or without a speaker, here’s how to set them up.

The best free time trackers for Mac to log the hours you work

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ April 8, 2020

If you’re a freelancer, remote worker, or another job type where you need to log your time, then you want a good time tracking app for Mac.

Time trackers come in all shapes and sizes. From those that have a basic start and stop button to those that have built-in task management features, do you have the time to try them all and see which is best for you?

To help you out, we’ve tried several time trackers for Mac and have narrowed that list down to these best ones.

The best free Mac apps to help you focus when working from home

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ March 24, 2020

When you work from home, there are a lot of distractions. And while you certainly have interruptions in a physical office or workplace, those you have at home are just a bit different. So if you aren’t used to working at home every day, you need to prepare for these disruptions.

To help you readjust after an interruption and concentrate better on your work, we’ve assembled a list of Mac apps to help you focus. These apps use different techniques and combinations of them such as the pomodoro timer and Eisenhower Matrix methods.

If you need some assistance getting used to working in a home office, these apps should help.

How to set a sleep timer for an audiobook in the Apple Books app

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ January 15, 2020

It’s one thing to fall asleep listening to music or relaxing sounds. But nodding off while listening to an audiobook is as bad as falling asleep during a movie. What did you miss? Are you going to start it over? Do you remember where you left off before catching those Z’s?

To make sure you don’t miss a thing with your audiobook, you can set a sleep timer in the Books app. You have flexible options and this way you’ll know right where you left off. Plus, the book won’t keep on playing while you’re sawing logs.

Here’s how to set a sleep timer for an audiobook in the Books app on both iOS and Mac.

Sleepizy makes it easier to fall asleep to your favorite music

Anthony Bouchard ∙ June 30, 2019

Your iPhone’s native timer feature includes a function to play music from your library until the timer ends right out of the box, and this is particularly useful for falling asleep to your favorite music. But a newly-released jailbreak tweak called Sleepizy by iOS developer AnthoPak can make falling asleep to your favorite music more accessible than ever.

In a nutshell, Sleepizy lets you set a timer to stop your music directly from the Control Center interface, and it plays nicely with any music-playing application, be it Apple Music, SoundCloud, Spotify, YouTube, or something else.

How to set multiple timers on your HomePod

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ Updated March 15, 2024

In this tutorial, we will show you how to set multiple timers on your HomePod using Siri or the iPhone, iPad, and Mac Home app.

The best free focus timers for Mac to work, break, and concentrate

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ August 15, 2018

When you’re hard at work on your Mac, sometimes you forget to take a break. Then there are other times when that’s all you can think about doing. In both cases, a handy focus timer can help.

Set the timer, focus on the job at hand, and take a short break when time is up. This helps you stay focused on what you need to do for a certain amount of time and take that necessary break without forgetting.

Check out these awesome free focus timers for Mac you can snag on the Mac App Store.

How to turn TickTick into a convenient Pomodoro timer

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ Updated May 29, 2019

If you haven’t heard of TickTick, this handy app helps you manage your tasks. Keep lists, add your to-dos, and be reminded so you never forget a task.

In addition to managing to-dos, TickTick offers a built-in Pomodoro timer. For managing your time, the Pomodoro method has you break down your work into intervals. Normally, you set the timer and work for 25 minutes, take a break, and then work for another 25 minutes. While the durations of work and breaks can be adjusted, the general idea is the same.

So, let’s take a look at how you can use TickTick as a Pomodoro timer.

The best time tracking apps for iPhone

Sandy Writtenhouse ∙ May 20, 2018

If you are a contractor, a freelancer, or want to keep track of your time for personal reasons, there are plenty of apps that can help you do it. But, how do you choose which to use?

Here are four of the best time tracking apps for iPhone along with their notable features.

This tweak makes it easier to access a stopwatch or timer from the Lock screen

Anthony Bouchard ∙ October 25, 2017

Are you one to use stopwatches or timers frequently? If so, then you might like the convenience of a new jailbreak tweak release called Simple Timer (iOS 10) by iOS developer NeinZedd9.

This tweak speeds up your access to handy stopwatch and timer functions from the Lock screen by letting you bypass the stock gestures in Control Center entirely.

DynamicTimer automatically configures iOS timers to “Stop Playing” when music is playing

Anthony Bouchard ∙ September 16, 2017

Anyone who uses the timer in iOS knows that it's useful for one of two things: 1) to count down for something special, or 2) to make your music playback stop after a designated amount of time.

If you use your iOS timer for both cases mentioned above frequently, then it can be cumbersome to switch back and forth between your favorite sound and the "Stop Playing" option for each situation. Fortunately, a new free jailbreak tweak called DynamicTimer by iOS developer KingPuffdaddi helps automate this process.