How to use this meditation timer
- Choose how long to sit: 1, 3, 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes, or type your own length (up to an hour) in the Other box.
- Press Start meditation. A short countdown gives you time to get comfortable before the start bell. You can change it, or turn it off, in the settings.
- When the bell rings, close your eyes or lower your gaze. The ring fills slowly as the time passes, but there is no need to watch it.
- The end bell rings twice when the time is up. Take a moment before you open your eyes and get back to work.
- Every sit of a minute or more counts toward your sessions today, your minutes for the week and your streak, even if you end it early.
The bells are a synthesized singing bowl, played at your Supabreak volume. Use Preview the bell in the settings to hear it, and turn on interval bells if you would like a softer bell during the sit.
A simple 5-minute meditation you can do at your desk
Five minutes is long enough to settle and short enough to fit between two meetings. Set the timer to 5 minutes and turn on an interval bell every minute: each bell is your cue for the next step.
- Settle (minute 1). Sit upright with both feet flat on the floor and your hands resting in your lap. Let your shoulders drop. Close your eyes, or rest your gaze on a spot in front of you. Notice the weight of your body on the chair.
- Find your breath (minute 2). Notice where you feel your breath most easily: the air at your nostrils, your chest or your belly rising and falling. Don't change it; just follow it.
- Count (minutes 3 and 4). Silently count each breath out, from 1 to 10, then start again at 1. When you notice you have lost count or drifted into thinking about work, that is fine: come back to 1.
- Widen (minute 5). Let go of the counting. Notice the sounds around you, the air on your skin and your body as a whole, without needing to do anything about them.
- Come back. When the end bell rings, take one slower, deeper breath, wiggle your fingers and open your eyes. Notice how you feel before you pick up your phone or your mouse.
How long should a beginner meditate?
Start small. Three to five minutes is plenty at first, and even a single minute of sitting still counts. Once that feels easy, add a minute or two at a time, up to 10 or 20 minutes if you want to. Many meditation courses build up gradually in the same way.
Regular practice matters more than length. A short sit on most days, at roughly the same time, is easier to keep up than an occasional long one. In a small 2023 Stanford study, people who spent five minutes a day on mindfulness meditation for a month reported a better mood and less anxiety, as did the groups who did breathing exercises instead. It suggests that even a few minutes a day is worth trying.
What is the interval bell for?
An interval bell is a softer bell that rings during your sit, for example every 2 or 5 minutes. You don't have to use one, but it can help in a few ways:
- as a check-in: notice where your mind has gone, then come back to your breath;
- as a cue to relax your posture again: shoulders down, jaw soft, hands still;
- to move through the steps of a practice, like the 5-minute meditation above or a body scan;
- to get a sense of how far into a longer sit you are, without opening your eyes.
The interval bell never rings at the very end, so it can't be mistaken for the end bell, which rings twice.
Meditating at work
You don't need a quiet room or a cushion. Most people can meditate at their desk with nobody noticing: with your eyes lowered and your hands still, you simply look as if you are thinking.
- Wear headphones in an open-plan office. You will hear the bells without anyone else hearing them, and noise-canceling headphones also soften the chatter around you.
- Mute notifications for a few minutes: turn on Do Not Disturb or Focus mode, and set your chat status to away.
- Pick a regular moment, such as after lunch, before a big meeting or at the end of the day to help you switch off.
- Find another spot if your desk is too busy: an empty meeting room, a quiet corner or a bench outside works just as well.
- Start with your breath. If your mind is racing, a minute of box breathing or a few rounds of 4-7-8 breathing can help you settle before you sit.
Tips for a calmer sit
- Sit upright but not stiff, as if a thread were gently lifting the top of your head.
- Put your phone face down or out of reach before you start.
- If you feel sleepy, open your eyes slightly, sit up a little straighter or try a time of day when you are more awake.
- Be kind to yourself when your mind wanders. Noticing it and coming back is the whole exercise.
- Pair it with your other breaks: after a 20-20-20 eye break or a round of desk exercises, a few minutes of stillness is a good way to finish.
- End on a kind thought. After the final bell, read today's line from the daily affirmations to carry the calm into your next task.
Is meditation right for you?
For most people, sitting quietly for a few minutes is a simple, gentle way to take a pause. Occasionally it brings up difficult thoughts or feelings. If that happens, open your eyes, move around and come back to it another time, or not at all.
Meditation is a way to take a calm break, not a treatment for stress, anxiety, low mood or sleep problems. If any of these are affecting your daily life, talk to a doctor or a mental health professional.
Supabreak provides general wellbeing reminders and information, not medical advice.