Workshop timer

A facilitation tool that shows a countdown for a session, visible to everyone on the board.

Also called: timer, countdown, countdown timer, workshop timer, time limit, stopwatch, five minutes, time for an exercise, time's up, clock, meeting timer

What it is for

It manages attention and time during live activities such as brainstorms and votes. It keeps the team in sync, sets firm limits for exercises and signals when time is up.

Where you see it

• Miro, FigJam — a timer widget built into the board
• Video call platforms — limiting speaking time
• Stand-ups — a time limit for each person’s update

What it is called in code

• setInterval
• countdown timer

See also

• Loading indicators — Anything that shows the site is busy: a progress bar, a spinning icon, or gray placeholders where content will appear.
• Collaborator cursors — The pointers of other people who are in the same document at the same time, usually marked with a color and a name.
• Sticky note — A digital version of a paper sticky note, used to write down a short piece of text.