How to use the online alarm clock
As you hand the remaining work to a colleague at 12:32 pm, an alarm can mark when you need to leave for your free Citizens Advice consultation. It keeps the handover from drifting into the time reserved for gathering your papers or reaching the local office. With 1:00 pm approaching, the alert provides a clear boundary between explaining the case to someone else and turning your attention to the appointment.
Your handover may be happening beside a computer while headphones are still connected from an earlier call. The alarm can appear to be silent because its sound has gone to those headphones, so checking the audio output and volume beforehand avoids a missed cue. For the consultation alarm to sound, this page must remain open and the phone or computer must stay awake; closing it or letting the machine sleep means there may be no warning when it is time to go.
Before leaving around midday, a small, tidy snack is less awkward than starting a full lunch that could delay the handover. Water or tea can be finished without rushing, while anything messy or strongly scented is easier to save until after the consultation. Keeping the last few minutes free also leaves time to collect notes, identification and any relevant letters without carrying an unfinished meal out of the door.
Common questions
Will it still be right when the clocks change?
Yes. It reads your device's local clock, so the move between GMT and BST at the end of March and October is picked up automatically, as long as the computer's date, time and time zone are set correctly.
Can I use this on a phone?
It works in a mobile browser, but phones lock the screen and suspend background tabs far more readily than a laptop does, which can stop the alarm sounding. For anything important, a desktop or a plugged-in laptop is the steadier option.
Does the alarm still work if I close the tab?
No. Everything runs inside this page, so closing the tab — or quitting the browser altogether — ends the countdown there and then. Leaving it open in the background is all it asks, and switching to another tab makes no difference.
What happens if my laptop goes to sleep before 12:32 pm?
The tab sleeps along with it and the alarm will not sound on time, if at all. If you are relying on it, change the power settings so the machine stays awake, or keep a phone alarm running as well.
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