How to Time Tasks, Laps and Events Accurately

Every phone has one, which raises a fair question about why this exists. The answer is that the thing you are timing is usually already on the screen in front of you, and reaching for a phone is the moment the measurement goes wrong.

What the Stopwatch does

Times elapsed duration to a hundredth of a second, with lap splits recorded as you go.

It reads the system clock rather than counting its own ticks, so it stays accurate even when the browser throttles a background tab — which is exactly when a naive timer drifts.

Open the Stopwatch and follow the settings and checks below.

Accuracy and behaviour

Setting	What it means
Resolution	Hundredths of a second in the display
Method	Elapsed against the system clock, not accumulated intervals
Background tabs	Stays correct — browsers throttle timers, not the clock
Laps	Recorded on demand and kept until reset
Realistic precision	Human reaction time is 200-250ms — the hundredths are for splits, not records
Runs	On your device; nothing is stored between visits

How to use it

1. Start it.
2. Hit lap at each split you want recorded. Laps stay on screen and keep numbering until you reset.
3. Stop when you are done. Reset clears both the time and the laps.
4. Copy the numbers out before you close the tab — nothing is saved.

Practical advice

Do not read too much into the hundredths when a human is starting and stopping it. Reaction time alone is 200-250 milliseconds at each end, so a hand-timed result carries roughly a quarter-second of uncertainty in each direction regardless of what the display shows. The precision is genuinely useful for comparing laps within one session, where the same reaction delay applies to every split and cancels out.

Common questions

Does it keep running if I switch tabs?

The time stays correct. Browsers throttle background timers to save power, which is why some web stopwatches drift badly when hidden, but this one measures against the system clock rather than counting its own ticks — so the elapsed figure is right when you come back even if the display was not updating.

How accurate is it really?

The measurement is as accurate as your system clock, which is far better than you need. The limiting factor is you: human reaction time adds roughly 200-250ms at the start and again at the stop. Treat the hundredths as meaningful for comparing splits in the same session, and not for anything that would count as a record.

Are my laps saved?

Only while the page is open. Nothing is written to your device or sent anywhere, so closing the tab discards the session entirely. If the numbers matter, copy them out before you leave — there is no history to come back to.

Why use this instead of my phone?

Because whatever you are timing is usually already on the screen, and picking up a phone is the moment you look away and start late. If your hands are already on the keyboard, a timer in a tab is measurably closer to hand than one in a pocket.

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