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Letters To Jan
7 New Features in Time Timer iPhone App!
Seven new features will appear in the Time Timer iPhone App next week, giving fans of this visual timer new groundbreaking ways to manage and enjoy their time! See the Pinterest Preview. 
If you currently own the Time Timer iPhone or iPod Touch App, look for this free update in your iTunes soon. New users can download the $1.99 Time Timer App here.
Top New Feature
With this new update, you will be able to display up to four Time Timers at once, helping you visualize time for multiple projects, children or blocks of time simultaneously.
Check out the full new feature list below – features marked with a star * were suggested by Facebook Fans!
All New Features
1. *Name and customize your Timers.
2. *Save each Timer to use again.
3. Run up to four Timers at once.
4. View each Timer full-screen – or see up to four together on a single screen.
5. *Set by touch – or simply pick a number.
6. *Quickly pause, edit and restart your Timers.
7. *Awake Mode: make sure your iPhone doesn't fall asleep while Timers are running!
How It Works
1. From the "My Timers" screen, press "Add Timer."
2. Choose a Timer Mode: Original 60 Minutes, Custom or Clock.
3. Set the Duration, Number of Plays and Options. Save.
4. From any screen, tap the Home icon in the upper-left corner.
5. Select up to four Timers and press "Play Timers."
6. Tap "Play All!"
Check in tomorrow for more updates on the Time Timer iPhone App
Letters to Jan: Surgery, Sailors, ADHD and Autism!
Jan Rogers invented the Time Timer to help families like hers make every moment count. If you use your Time Timer in a clever or fun way, please email your Letter to Jan!
This month, we received one of our best-ever Letters to Jan. A man recovering from surgery wrote:
"I have to tell you my personal experience with your Time Timers. I developed a detached retina and went through surgery. As part of the recovery, I had to keep my head parallel to the floor 50 minutes of every hour of the day and sleep face down as well for two weeks. I sat in a massage chair, face down, most of the day. I got a 3-inch Time Timer and would set it for my 50 minutes and placed it on the floor where I could see it. Due to complications I ended up having 2 additional surgeries and each time had to repeat the process. My Time Timer was one of the few things that got me through it without going nuts." Wow!
Time Timer for – Sailing?
Here's a first! In March, we visited seaside Baltimore for the NSSEA Ed Expo. A family from the Bahamas visited our booth and imagined using the Time Timer for youth sailing competitions, timing how quickly they completed the course. Very cool! Click here to see the new Time Timer trade show booth!
More time in the morning!
This mom uses her Time Timer the same way Jan does – to help her get ready in the morning.
"I love using the Time Timer! It has helped my ADHD son learn how to pace himself in the morning so that he can get dressed for school and still have time for play. My Autistic son has learned better turn taking/sharing by having the timer count down how much time he has to play with the computer, or watch his favorite TV show. And I use it to keep track of how much time I have before I have to get out the door, so I can make better use out of my time, And it's incredibly durable! It stands up to the humidity of my sons' shower time, and has just survived a fall to my brick patio. Replaced the battery and it's still working and still accurate!"
Thank you for your sweet letter! Learn more about Time Timer for Special Needs >>
Mommy Shorts!
MommyShorts.com wrote a fun blog about setting time limits for her toddler, Mazzy:
"Mike and I are now on the same page because we can both use the clock for reference. He doesn't have to remember what limit I set for Mazzy because it's right there in front of him. And we are both less likely to go against the other's wishes by allowing Mazzy additional time.
In other words— the timer not only makes setting limits easier, it makes us more apt to stick to them." Read more from MommyShorts >>
Suburban Snapshots sums it up best: "I like (Time Timer) a lot better than my "It's about as long as one Dora" method." Haha!
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!
