# 15 Minute Timer on Mac


I need to take a small break every 15 minutes when using my computer. I looked at various timers for OS X to help notify me when 15 minutes were up. I wasn't overly impressed with any of the options that I found.

Then I stumbled upon a neat feature in OS X that will announce the time every hour, half hour, or quarter hour. To enable it, go into `System Preferences`, then `Date & Time`. Select the `Announce the time` check box and the desired interval.

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">[![](https://cdn.hashnode.com/res/hashnode/image/upload/v1692191094893/29f94fd0-7434-4d65-a170-48441590a877.png)](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-O-c5RTC8sws/VTPGtMKbXtI/AAAAAAAAHAc/nyJKI46m3rQ/s1600/Snip20150419_10.png)</div>

You can also change the voice for the time announcement by clicking on the `Customize Voice` button.

Though this solution isn't perfect it seems to be working well for me. The only catch is that in noisy environments or when I have the audio off I can't hear the notification.