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Letters To Jan
Take the Time Awareness Challenge! by Kate Varness of Greenlight Organizing
Take the Time Awareness Challenge
by Life Coaching / Professional Organizer Kate Varness, CPO-CD, MA
The song “Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend” needs to be changed to “Timers are a Girl’s Best Friend!” One of the biggest challenges for people with ADHD is developing time awareness. Time awareness means matching how long you think something will take with the time it actually takes.
We often overestimate how long things we hate doing will take (dishes, laundry, filing) and underestimate how long things we enjoy doing will take (exploring Pinterest, connecting on Facebook). If your time awareness is low, it leads to chronic lateness, procrastination, feeling bad about yourself, and being out of balance.
The Time Timer is unique because it enables you to see the passing of time as well as hear when time is up. As a busy mom who hates routine household chores, I can tell you that timers are what get me from overwhelmed to done!
If I have been too busy to tackle dishes as they come and am faced with a dirty dish mountain at the end of the day, I set my Time Timer with the sound signal option for 20 minutes. More often than not I glance back at the timer and see I still have time left, or I hear the beep beep and realize that I am so close to done that I am motivated to finish.
How accurate is your time awareness? I have two challenges for you.
Challenge #1:
1. Make a list of tasks you hate doing.
2. Next to each task jot down how long you think it will take.
3. Pick two things on the list to “test” this week.
4. Set your Time Timer with your estimated time, then compare the estimated vs. actual time.
· What surprises you about the results?
· Was it easier or harder than you expected?
· How does using the Time Timer change things?
Challenge #2
1. Make a list of activities you love doing.
2. Next to each task jot down how long you think the activity will take.
3. Pick one activity on the list to “test” this week.
4. Set your Time Timer with your estimated time, then compare the estimated vs. actual time.
· Did things go as you expected?
· What was different?
· How would using the Time Timer help you to keep your time more balanced?
Once you realize the value of developing your time awareness, you will begin to use your Time Timer to keep focused on both beloved and despised activities. You can get a lot done in 20 minutes. Take my Time Timer challenge and find out. Then you too will be singing “Timers are a Girl’s Best Friend” while you get those dishes sparkling clean.
Kate Varness, CPO-CD, MA
Certified Professional Organizer specializing in Chronic Disorganization
Organizer - Speaker - Life Coach
Green Light Organizing
"Helping you navigate the busy road of life."
More information at www.greenlightorganizing.com
Or call (309) 251-2646
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!
Dr DClutter™ and the Ten-Minute Tidy™!
Dr Darnita L. Payden, aka "Dr DClutter™," is a gifted Life Management Specialist.
You may have seen her on Hoarders, The Diane Rehm Show or Costco Connection Magazine.
With a PhD in counseling psychology, Dr Payden helps clients understand the "how" and "why" of their own unique organizational struggles as they begin to create sustainable change.
Read Dr. Payden's story and try her Ten-Minute Tidy™ with your Time Timer at home!
By Dr. Darnita L. Payden:
Say goodbye to stopwatches and kitchen timers -- and hello the Time Timer! What an awesome, deceptively simple time management tool. I've been using two different sizes ~ the 3" and the 12".
Because I always use a product before I ask my clients to trust me about its usefulness or effectiveness, I spent three months discovering how many ways I could use the Time Timer in my professional and personal daily life.
Professionally, I use the 3" and 12" Time Timer for:
- Timing my free telephone consultations with prospective clients.
- Helping me stay on track in meetings.
- Delivering presentations. It sure beats a sign held up in the back of the room with a minute countdown!
- It's great in helping manage my time on the computer, especially while checking and responding to emails and checking social media. Set it for 30 minutes and go!!
Personally, it can't be beat for timing my workout routines. My Time Timer is right there with me.
You can't imagine the feeling of seeing the red disappear against the white background, while time melts away as I perform my "DNA removal exercises" (cardio and strength training folks). Never has a small chiming beep sounded more melodic to my ears than when the time has expired (yet the beep is quiet enough so as not to disturb others).
I use it while cooking, especially to remind me to pay attention to the pot of boiling deliciousness on th estove or in the oven. I've even given it to the older kiddies to monitor their computer time, homwork and chores.
Life Management Clients:
When I work with clients, time management is always an issue. I envision the Time Timer as an integral tool to help my clients keep track of their valuable time. I've found that if larger projects are broken into smaller, more manageable projects, clients report feeling much less overwhelmed, and they are less ikely to procrastinate.
Ten-Minute Tidy™:
I will encourage my clients to use the Time Timer to perform an exercise I call the Ten-Minute Tidy™. One of the biggest obstacles my clients face is the belief that they don't have enough time to pusue an organized and functional life. With the Ten-Minute Tidy™, we confront that belief. The exercise also enables the client to spend time focusing on the self vs. the huge seemingly insurmountable organization project.
How It Works:
Choose a big organization project at home or at work.
Each day, set aside just 10 minutes to work on one single aspect of your project. Then walk away (or do another ten minutes)!!
You'll experience instant gratification in that 10-minute success, inspiring and empowering you to continue.
Use your Time Timer to visualize that 10 minutes.
Complete some functional 10-minute tasks throughout the day (clearing your desk, shredding papers, creating your dailiy lists) so you begin to feel confident tackling your tough project for that amount of time.
Want more?? Try checking-in with your friends on Facebook for 10 minutes or watching a YouTube video; you deserve a break for fun too.
As you get good at the 10-Minute Tidy, a Time Timer can also help you gradually increase your time each day until your big project is successfully complete!
Visit DrDClutter.com for more ideas and contact Dr. Payden about YOUR Ten-Minute Tidy™ project.
Of course, there are many, many ways I forsee using the Time Timer in my business ~ the possibilities seem endless! I'll keep Jan informed and share more experiences in the future. I can say without a doubt that this is one product I will DEFINITELY use with my clients!
