Another frequently asked question regarding meditation when outside of a class setting is - "How do you time yourself?". To me, timing yourself doesn't really matter as much later on. For myself I keep a cell phone nearby so I can glance at the time just as I'm going to begin, and again when I'm done. Just for curiosity's sake and to see if I'm meditating for a longer or shorter amount of time than yesterday. Overall I don't think the actual TIME you spend meditating in a given session is all that important. The very fact that you're meditating counts and is progress.
In the beginning, however, it can be helpful to keep up with time because you may have an initial goal of, say, 5 minutes. If 30 seconds in, you feel like it's been 30 minutes - and you keep checking the time - you're going to defeat the purpose and just irritate yourself. Setting a timer can be helpful. There are special meditation timers all over the internet that will play bells, chimes, or nature sounds to gradually draw you out of your meditative state, but they are crazy expensive. If you're going to be a few rooms away from it - a kitchen timer could work in a pinch. Just don't be too near it or it will startle you when it goes off. The same goes for most alarms.
When I need something like this timed I occasionally use the husband. Sometimes I find myself being paranoid that he's gotten "into" what he's doing and isn't paying any attention to the time, but I figure worst case I'll get a few extra minutes meditation or Savasana and that can only be a good thing. Another method I've employed is to listen to a playlist that I am familiar with. Most songs are about 3 minutes long, so if I can sit through 3 songs then I'm right around 10 minutes in. If I get all zoned out then great - I'll just pick up counting where I left off.
Once you're sitting for at least 5 minutes just fine - you can pretty much stop timing yourself if you want. I like to set an intention to sit longer today than yesterday, but I listen to my body more than anything. I time myself these days by checking the time, beginning meditation, and staying under as long as my body can take it. When my legs eventually become uncomfortable I remind myself that "It's not pain, it's just different" and this buys me some more time. Eventually I say - it's just different, but I can't take it anymore! and I slowly draw myself out and straighten my legs out in front of me. This method has helped me to lengthen my comfortable sitting time (most days) from 5 minutes to 30. 
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