Show HN: A meditation timer without guidance, music, or growth mechanics (opens in new tab)

I've worked in tech my entire career, and over time mindfulness meditation has become less of a "wellness habit" and more of a practical tool for keeping my mind clear.

I encourage mindfulness meditation to everyone because it's that impactful on stress and awareness in everyday life.

After years of practice, I've that most meditation apps eventually became distracting or costly.

To me, mindfulness apps that provide guidance, content, forced streaks, and incentives seem to replace the practice of mindfulness itself with some gamification of the act.

So I built Center, a silent meditation timer with a few constraints:

• No guided sessions, voices, or music • No subscriptions, ads, or paywall • Optional tracking, no gamification • Works across iPhone, Apple Watch, iPad, and Mac via iCloud • Donation-supported, with no features locked

The goal has never been growth or engagement, but reliability. I wanted something closer to a clock than a coach.

This is a side project, but it’s been interesting to see how a deliberately "boring" tool changes how I personally practice mindfulness, and how that carries over into my work (especially decision-making and stress tolerance).

Site: https://centertimer.com