Begin with fewer bells

A meditation timer with interval bells lets you choose when sound interrupts the silence. You can use a bell as a quiet marker, or leave the whole session silent until the end. There is no need to follow every available cue. Start with the simplest arrangement you will actually use.

If you are beginning, choose a 10-minute session with one end bell. Turn interval bells off, leave the start bell off, and keep the end bell on. Press Start when you are ready. You do not need a sound at the beginning to know that the timer has started.

The meditation timer opens on its setup screen, so a link never starts a session for you. Set the length, decide which bells you want, and press Start when you are sitting comfortably.

What the default means

The default session is 30 minutes long, with an interval every 10 minutes. That gives you interval bells at 10 and 20 minutes. The bell at 30 minutes is the optional end bell, not another interval cue. By default, the start bell is off and the end bell is on.

Think of the interval setting as the space between markers, not the length of the session. With these defaults, you have three stretches of silence. You can stay with the same practice throughout, or use the two interval bells to mark a change without checking the remaining time.

Choose each sound separately

Interval bells, the start bell, and the end bell are independent options. You can keep the interval bells and turn off the end bell, or switch off intervals and use only an end bell. Add a start bell if an audible opening is useful. None of those choices requires the others to be on.

Global mute silences all bells, including any start or end bell you have selected. If you want a completely silent timer, use mute. If you want just one sound, leave mute off and disable the individual cues you do not want. Before settling in, check the device volume as well as the timer settings. Preview bell plays the tone once, so you know what to listen for.

Give the markers a purpose

You might spend the first 10 minutes sitting, the next 10 walking slowly, and the final 10 sitting again. Or let each bell be a simple reminder to notice what you are doing. Decide beforehand so the sound does not become another decision to make during the session.

If the bells feel too frequent, increase the interval or turn intervals off. A short session does not need to be divided into smaller parts. The timer is there to hold the time you chose, not to make you complete a sequence. You can pause or stop whenever you need to.

Keep the timer available

Keep the timer tab open for the session. After a cached visit, the timer can work offline; open it once while connected before relying on it somewhere without a connection. For an unfamiliar device, try a short session first so you know what the bell sounds like at your chosen volume.

Background audio is not guaranteed. Browsers and phones can suspend a tab or restrict sound when you switch apps or lock the screen. If hearing the bell matters, keep the page visible rather than assuming it will sound in the background. A timer in an open tab is not a guaranteed alarm.

Bells within a session, or work and rest

Need alternating work and rest periods instead of markers within one session? Use the interval timer for work and rest. It is a different setup for repeating two phases, with a distinct sound for each change. The meditation timer is for one continuous sit with quiet markers inside it.

Try it: meditation timer.