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Letters To Jan
New TimeTimer.com!
Thank you for visiting the new TimeTimer.com! Here you'll find new visuals, videos and a brand-new store created with help from customers around the world.
For First-Timers:
If you're discovering Timer Timers for the first time, the new website helps you get started.
1. Watch the animated video on the home page to see what the Time Timer is, how it works and how it can help you make every moment count.
2. Click "Explore Uses" to see dozens of ways you can use a Time Timer in your life.
3. Browse the brand-new store, where you can decide which Time Timer is right for you.
Questions? Click the new Contact Us page or email Support@TimeTimer.com. We're happy to help!
For Life-Timers:
If you've been a fan of Time Timers for years, you'll find new interactive ways to connect:
1. Sign into Facebook and click "Like" or "Send" beneath your Time Timer product to share it.
2. Discover some of the non-profit organizations that Time Timer LLC supports.
3. Write Letters to Jan, a new page you can share the unique ways you use Time Timers.
Your letters go directly to inventor Jan Rogers.
The very first "Letter to Jan" comes from Lindsey, a kindergarten teacher. She says:
I use my time timer for centers during literacy and math times at school. This [enables] my young students to monitor their time and know when they need to get ready for a switch. It also [enables] them, if they finish early, to know how much time they have to work on the extra activities I have provided.
It is a wonderful tool for young learners who do not yet know how to tell time. It gives them a sense of independence and helps me manage my classroom which [gives] me more time to work with individuals and small groups.
Thank you so much Lindsey! Seeing young children actually monitor their own time is one of the coolest things you can do with a Time Timer!
Ready to send your Letter to Jan? Click here
Special Time of Year: Coming of Age Day in Japan
Special Time of Year Series
Happy New Year! Welcome back to the Time Timer Blog: Make Every Moment Count.
This year, Time Timer friends around the world will share how they celebrate the passing of time ~ marking holidays, birthdays, anniversaries, coming of age and the new year. To contribute, email Support@TimeTimer.com!
Special Time of Year Series #1: Coming of Age in Japan
By Lauren Steinmann, Japan-America Society of Greater Cincinnati
In Japan, the second Monday in January is a national holiday called “Coming of Age Day” or Seijin no Hi. This holiday celebrates young people who have turned 20 or will turn 20 within the year, officially becoming adults. Seijin no Hi grants them the right to vote, drink and marry without parental permission, and subject to all laws and social responsibilities.
“Coming of Age Day” dates back to 714 A.D when young princes would don new robes and a new hairstyle to mark passage into adulthood.
For today’s Japanese youth, this 1400-year-old tradition is still cool: young women wear gorgeous and intricate kimonos while the men look sharp and smart in their traditional hakama or western tuxedos.
Buying or renting the kimonos, hakama and tuxedos for the Coming of Age Day is much like prom dresses and tuxedos in America -- up until that point, it is the fanciest thing they have ever worn -- and with so many Japanese youth celebrating every year, reservations and rentals are made up to a year in advance.
For girls, it’s not just about the kimono. There are shoes, accessories and a trip to the hair salon to get a perfectly coiffed up-do.
“I was lucky,” Yukie Hall a member of the Japan-America Society of Greater Cincinnati recounted.
“My friend’s mom owned the salon so my hair appointment was at 5am. Most girls had their appointments at 1 or 2 in the morning. Then they would go home and sleep sitting up in chairs so they wouldn’t damage their hairstyles.”
On the morning of Coming of Age day, Japan’s youth sit in their municipal centers or local conference halls listening to speeches given by a mayor or other guest speaker extolling the virtues of becoming an adult. This is called seijin shiki or “adult ceremony”.
“Where you live affects where you celebrate the “adult ceremony,” explained Asami Ono, new resident to Cincinnati, Ohio.
Those lucky enough to have been born and raised in Urayasu in Chiba Prefecture, a city put on the map because of Tokyo Disneyland, get to celebrate their Coming of Age ceremony at, where else, Disneyland!
Sometime in the late afternoon or evening, after all the speeches and pictures, the newly recognized adults enjoy an evening out with the other local 20-year-olds to celebrate their new independence and position in Japan’s society.
To all Time Timer friends in Japan – have a safe and happy celebration!
New Year's Resolution: Be on Time!
Is your New Year's Resolution to be on time?
Do you know someone who's always late?
Scan this blog for five quick ways your Time Timer can help!
Add your family's ideas in the comments!
Being late can sound so glamorous ~
"Fashionably late!"
"Burning the midnight oil."
"The winning shot at the buzzer!"
... But it's also one of the toughest habits to break. "Time" is an abstract, intangible thing. That's why the first 20 minutes of your day can drag while the last 20 minutes of a deadline can zoom away in seconds!
Your Time Timer can help you stay ahead of the ticking clock.
That's how Time Timer inventor Jan Rogers uses hers:
"We attend so many trade shows in different time zones. I want to be wide awake and in my booth to see people when the doors open. So I set the iPhone App for 30 minutes in the morning to keep me from dawdling."
Have you met Jan at a trade show? Say hi on Facebook!
Keep that New Year's Resolution:
1. Improve your internal clock
Pick a manageable timeframe ~ say 20 minutes or a 1/2 hour. Display it on your Time Timer.
+ Spend part of your day (say, the morning) completing work in that timeframe.
+ Enjoy breakfast, write emails, schedule meetings and organize the house in 20 or 30-minute segments.
+ Over time, your brain will learn what that timeframe "feels" like.
+ Next time you're rushed with 30 minutes to go, you'll know how much you can accomplish in that time, reducing stress!
2. Do your driving first
This is surprisingly helpful.
+ If the kids are always late to soccer practice, drive there first, then do homework, games, even dinner while you wait.
+ If you're always late to work or appointments, drive there first then do your hair, emails, even workouts once you arrive.
+ Display your Time Timer in the car to help you de-stress.
Then, no matter how many distractions descend once you arrive, you're on time and not rushed.
– Remember: being five minutes late is OK. Driving while rushed is dangerous!
3. Maximize the first five minutes
Tempted to walk in the door, drop everything and chill? Not so fast! Maximize those first five minutes at home.
+ Place your shoes, coat, mittens, scarf, sunglasses, wallet, etc. by the door ready to go.
+ Leave most of your briefcase / backpack contents in the bag – take out only what you need.
+ Set your Time Timer for five minutes. Be sure everything is organized and easy to find.
+ Organizing in those first five minutes can eliminate frantic rushing when it's time to go!
4. Always leave the house the same way
This may feel robotic at first ~ but it'll help you be on time!
+ Using your Time Timer, create a 3-minute morning routine for leaving the house. Add 3 minutes for each family member.
+ Figure out which distractions are making you late in the morning, and set up a routine to avoid them.
+ Is it faster to pack your briefcase, then get your coat, then pull out your keys?
+ Get up & go in the same order every day. You'll minimize those distractions that are making you late!
5. Reward yourself
Tell people about your New Year's Resolution to be on time. It's one of the hardest resolutions to keep! Reward yourself for making every moment count. Use that extra time to do something you love.
Add your ideas in the comments!
