Tomorrow is National Inventors Day, a day to recognize the contributions of inventors across the world and a particularly special day for us here at Time Timer. Our company started with the inventor and founder of Time Timer, Jan Rogers, and we are excited to celebrate Jan alongside her fellow inventors.
How Time Timer Got Started
Over 20 years ago, Jan saw the need to help her daughter visualize the passage of time as she struggled with transitions in daily routines, and she created the Time Timer, a simple yet incredibly effective time management tool designed to “show” the passage of time through the use of a patented red disk. It started with meeting a need to support her youngest child.
Many inventors begin simply by working to solve a challenge in their own personal sphere, and for Jan she soon recognized that others would likely benefit greatly from the Time Timer. What started out as a project to help her daughter led to Jan registering over 30 patents for her work, and today Time Timer remains passionate and committed to helping everyone manage the passage of time with tools that support more productivity, organization, and calm to “make every moment count.”
As Jan shared in an interview on the Time Timer blog in 2021, “The best part is simply to find that you have created a resource to make life a little easier for all age and ability levels. Whether it is a life management tool or something to make life more enjoyable, there is great satisfaction in knowing that your product has made a difference.”
Jan Rogers and Innovation Nation
In late 2021, Jan was featured on the CBS weekend show, Innovation Nation, to share the history of the Time Timer. Innovation Nation showcases present-day change-makers from all over the world who are creating solutions to real needs. Jan and the Time Timer are a beautiful example of an innovation that truly made an impact in the lives of many, and we are grateful for the opportunity to not only share our story and highlight our incredible founder, but also to invite in curiosity and inspire others.
We love what Jan shared with Innovation Nation about how she tells science classes what it takes to be an inventor: “This is what an inventor looks like. I look like your grandmother. We don't have a specific look. We don't have a specific level of intelligence. We just have found the answer to a problem.”
Check out the short clip on Innovation Nation here!
Time Timer inventor and founder Jan Rogers at an early trade show, circa 2000
Honoring Past, Present, and Future Inventors
While there are some inventors in the history books and familiar to every middle schooler, there are many more inventors working in the world, researching and tinkering, with the goal to create a solution for something that has the potential to bring positive change in the world.
This National Inventors Day, we celebrate Jan and honor past, present, and aspiring inventors. We hope that we will take a little time today to be curious, find inspiration in unexpected places, and stay open to the possibilities that await us in our lives!