diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index fe952db7..6f599b09 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 
 - Small bug fix: closing "Taskfile.yml" once we're done reading it
   ([#963](https://github.com/go-task/task/issues/963), [#964](https://github.com/go-task/task/pull/964) by @HeCorr).
+- Fixed a bug where watch intervals set in the Taskfile were not being respected ([#969](https://github.com/go-task/task/pull/969), [#970](https://github.com/go-task/task/pull/970) by @pd93)
 - Add `--json` flag (alias `-j`) with the intent to improve support for code
   editors and add room to other possible integrations. This is basic for now,
   but we plan to add more info in the near future
diff --git a/cmd/task/task.go b/cmd/task/task.go
index 842f8507..31cef824 100644
--- a/cmd/task/task.go
+++ b/cmd/task/task.go
@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime/debug"
 	"strings"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/pflag"
 	"mvdan.cc/sh/v3/syntax"
@@ -74,7 +75,7 @@ func main() {
 		entrypoint  string
 		output      taskfile.Output
 		color       bool
-		interval    string
+		interval    time.Duration
 	)
 
 	pflag.BoolVar(&versionFlag, "version", false, "show Task version")
@@ -99,7 +100,7 @@ func main() {
 	pflag.StringVar(&output.Group.End, "output-group-end", "", "message template to print after a task's grouped output")
 	pflag.BoolVarP(&color, "color", "c", true, "colored output. Enabled by default. Set flag to false or use NO_COLOR=1 to disable")
 	pflag.IntVarP(&concurrency, "concurrency", "C", 0, "limit number tasks to run concurrently")
-	pflag.StringVarP(&interval, "interval", "I", "5s", "interval to watch for changes")
+	pflag.DurationVarP(&interval, "interval", "I", 0, "interval to watch for changes")
 	pflag.Parse()
 
 	if versionFlag {
diff --git a/task.go b/task.go
index 22508eda..a4e801fd 100644
--- a/task.go
+++ b/task.go
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import (
 	"strings"
 	"sync"
 	"sync/atomic"
+	"time"
 
 	"github.com/go-task/task/v3/internal/compiler"
 	"github.com/go-task/task/v3/internal/execext"
@@ -45,7 +46,7 @@ type Executor struct {
 	Parallel    bool
 	Color       bool
 	Concurrency int
-	Interval    string
+	Interval    time.Duration
 
 	Stdin  io.Reader
 	Stdout io.Writer
diff --git a/taskfile/taskfile.go b/taskfile/taskfile.go
index 6cd23d44..fe8b3e84 100644
--- a/taskfile/taskfile.go
+++ b/taskfile/taskfile.go
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package taskfile
 import (
 	"fmt"
 	"strconv"
+	"time"
 
 	"gopkg.in/yaml.v3"
 )
@@ -20,7 +21,7 @@ type Taskfile struct {
 	Silent     bool
 	Dotenv     []string
 	Run        string
-	Interval   string
+	Interval   time.Duration
 }
 
 func (tf *Taskfile) UnmarshalYAML(node *yaml.Node) error {
@@ -39,7 +40,7 @@ func (tf *Taskfile) UnmarshalYAML(node *yaml.Node) error {
 			Silent     bool
 			Dotenv     []string
 			Run        string
-			Interval   string
+			Interval   time.Duration
 		}
 		if err := node.Decode(&taskfile); err != nil {
 			return err
diff --git a/watch.go b/watch.go
index 0aa6ab5a..15773a4a 100644
--- a/watch.go
+++ b/watch.go
@@ -38,23 +38,14 @@ func (e *Executor) watchTasks(calls ...taskfile.Call) error {
 		}()
 	}
 
-	var watchIntervalString string
-
-	if e.Interval != "" {
-		watchIntervalString = e.Interval
-	} else if e.Taskfile.Interval != "" {
-		watchIntervalString = e.Taskfile.Interval
-	}
-
-	watchInterval := defaultWatchInterval
-
-	if watchIntervalString != "" {
-		var err error
-		watchInterval, err = parseWatchInterval(watchIntervalString)
-		if err != nil {
-			cancel()
-			return err
-		}
+	var watchInterval time.Duration
+	switch {
+	case e.Interval != 0:
+		watchInterval = e.Interval
+	case e.Taskfile.Interval != 0:
+		watchInterval = e.Taskfile.Interval
+	default:
+		watchInterval = defaultWatchInterval
 	}
 
 	e.Logger.VerboseOutf(logger.Green, "task: Watching for changes every %v", watchInterval)
@@ -186,11 +177,3 @@ func (e *Executor) registerWatchedFiles(w *watcher.Watcher, calls ...taskfile.Ca
 func shouldIgnoreFile(path string) bool {
 	return strings.Contains(path, "/.git") || strings.Contains(path, "/.task") || strings.Contains(path, "/node_modules")
 }
-
-func parseWatchInterval(watchInterval string) (time.Duration, error) {
-	v, err := time.ParseDuration(watchInterval)
-	if err != nil {
-		return 0, fmt.Errorf(`task: Could not parse watch interval "%s": %v`, watchInterval, err)
-	}
-	return v, nil
-}