We use timers everywhere, and most of the time how they work is fine. But I’ve come across a slightly different need. For those who struggle with working, and procrastinate, there is the “Pomodoro” technique which advises on setting a timer for 20 mins and commiting to focusing on work throughout that 20 mins before stopping for a break. I like this and have used it a couple of times to just get going on a project, but this use case actually means a normal timer is often not quite the right thing.