The tea will steep in five minutes; the laundry will be done in a half hour. You need to wake up at 7 tomorrow.

Timers and alarm clocks are extremely useful, which is why there are plenty of great apps and websites out there for the job. Today we're going to look at six such tools.

That's right: while Apple's putting computing power into a watch, we're going to offer you a list of ways to put watch functionality into your oversized digital devices – we're progressive like that. Let's get started!

Timerrr.com: An Easy-to-Use Kitchen Timer

timerrr

Yep, that's a kitchen timer on a website. And yes, it works exactly as you imagine: turn the dial with your mouse, then hit "Start". It's simple, sure, but if you need a quick way to be notified when a certain amount of time has passed – with an extremely familiar interface – this site is just a URL away. There's even an alternative egg timer skin.

egg-timer

e.ggtimer.com (Web): Launch Timers With URLs

Of course, you might not be one for skeumorphic design – or using your mouse to do things. If so, consider e.ggtimer.com, a website that lets you launch timers using URLs.

eggtimer.com-urls

You can simply go to e.ggtimer.com and type a duration, or you can skip the homepage entirely by using custom URLs. This means you can also create shortcuts that will directly launch the timers you use most often.

Timeless (iOS, $2): Elegant iPhone Timer

Your iPhone is always with you, so it makes sense to use it as a timer. Timeless is probably the best-looking app out there for that, letting you quickly create countdowns with a few taps.

Oh, and Android users: we've already outlined a bunch of Android timer apps, so there's not many new things we could add to this article for you.

Pomodoro One (Mac, Free): Elegant Pomodoro Timer

pomodoro-one

We've outlined all sorts of Pomodoro Timers, but we've never gotten around to this simple free Mac app. It's got a simple design without a lot of clutter, and focuses entirely on timing – no built-in todo list here. Unlike similar apps out there, it always shows how much time you have left in the menubar, pops up when a session is complete, and only ever stops if you tell it to.

Those who would prefer a web option should check out Tomato.es, a great web-based Pomodoro timer.

Carrot Alarm Clock (iOS, $3): An AI That Wants You to Wake up

We previously introduced you to Carrot, the to-do app that mocks your laziness. Turns out this sadistic AI also comes in alarm clock form, forcing you to solve puzzles before it will stop making sounds.

If you have trouble waking up in the morning, this app will help. It's more annoying than the average alarm clock, and that's really the point.

AllTheMinutes: A Tweet-Based Clock

alltheminutes-twitter-clock

And now for something completely useless. AllTheMinutes is a "clock" that, instead of just showing you the current time, shows you tweets that mention it.

Can You Spare Some Time (Apps) For Us?

Your relationship with time has a lot to do with your productivity, so anything that helps you keep track of time is very useful. Which is why I'm curious: do you know of better timers, alarm clocks and other similar apps? Please: point them out in the comments below.

Also feel free to let me know what kind of things I should dig for in future Cool Websites and Apps articles, because I'm writing these for you! I'm looking forward to hanging out with you in the comments below.