We have analysed XMM–Newton and Chandra observations of the transient magnetar XTE J1810−197 spanning more than 11 yr, from the initial phases of the 2003 outburst to the current quiescent level. We investigated the evolution of the pulsar spin period and we found evidence for two distinct regimes: during the outburst decay, $\dot{\nu }$ was highly variable in the range −(2−4.5) × 10−13 Hz s−1, while during quiescence the spin-down rate was more stable at an average value of −1 × 10−13 Hz s−1. Only during ∼3000 d (from MJD 54165 to MJD 56908) in the quiescent stage it was possible to find a phase-connected timing solution, with $\dot{\nu }=-4.9\times 10^{-14}$  Hz s−1, and a positive second frequency derivative, $\ddot{\nu }=1.8\times 10^{-22}$  Hz s−2. These results are in agreement with the behaviour expected if the outburst of XTE J1810−197 was due to a strong magnetospheric twist.