How to time an exam practice session on a Mac

To time a practice exam, open NotchStar’s Timers tab in Timer mode, pick the length and press play. It counts down on the clock, keeps running when the notch is closed and plays a sound when it ends. The longest countdown is 60 minutes.

Steps

1. Open the notch and choose Timers. Select Timer in the segmented control at the top.
2. Choose the length in the menu. If your paper is 45 minutes, pick 45.
3. Pick the finish sound. Choose one you will notice, or No Sound if you will check the clock yourself.
4. Close any other app that could distract you, then press play when you turn the page.
5. Leave the notch. The timer keeps counting while it is closed. Nothing shows beside the closed notch, so hover over the notch whenever you want to read the time left.
6. If you must stop, press pause, and play to resume. Reset returns it to the full length.
7. At zero a sound plays. The timer then resets to the chosen length, ready for the next run.

Making it feel like an exam

Practice with the same limit you will face. Some people set the timer a few minutes short to leave time for checking. Do not look at your phone, and do not pause unless a real exam would let you. NotchStar will not enforce any of that. It is a clock, and it will not stop you opening other apps.

For papers longer than an hour

The countdown tops out at 60 minutes. For a two hour paper, you have two choices. Run a 60 minute countdown twice, which means pressing play again after the first sound. Or use the stopwatch mode, which counts up until you stop it, and read the elapsed time yourself. The stopwatch use case describes it.

What the timer does not do

• Timers reset when NotchStar quits, so do not quit it partway through the paper.
• No banner or notification. The end is a sound only. With your volume at zero you will not hear it.
• No warnings partway through, such as ten minutes left.
• No record of past attempts. Write your times down.
• It does not lock your Mac or hide your notes from yourself.

If you plan to alternate practice with rest, the Pomodoro mode in study with a Pomodoro timer handles blocks and breaks. The Timers page lists every mode.