A method to monitor the current of a handheld power tool (3) operated by a battery (2), by at least one counter (5), includes the following steps: measuring (S1) the electric current (I) drawn from the battery during the operation of the electric tool; incrementing (S2) a reading (Z, Z1, Z2) of the counter (5) by a certain increment (IN) whenever the measured current (I) is higher than a specified upper limit value (G1, G2) during a given counting interval; decrementing (S3) the reading of the counter by a certain decrement (DE) whenever the measured current is lower than the specified upper limit value during the given counting interval; and switching off (S4) the electric tool when the reading (Z, Z1, Z2) of the counter is higher than a specified limit value (T1, T2) for the counter.