Blog — guest blog

Time Timer ® spoke with Beth Robeson, The Picky Eater Coach, who offers 3 Ways to Have More Fun with Less Sugar this Halloween:

ADHD expert Doug Diller writes a wonderful ADHD blog about his life living with ADHD, raising three daughters and helping clients with ADHD create success plans. He uses the Time Timer daily and offered his suggestions for Time Timer fans.

1. Where did you first hear about the Time Timer?

My wife is a special ed teacher in Portland and she is the one who told me about it.

2. How did you introduce your daughter to the Time Timer?

She was 8 years old and getting very distracted when cleaning her room. After the Time Timer arrived I talked with her about how our brains sometimes lose track of time. I explained that it is common to get distracted especially when doing something you really don't enjoy. I told her that we were going to use the Timer to set short blocks of time where she could clean and then do something else. We started with 15 min and it really worked well.

3. Why do you think people with ADHD can often struggle so much with time?

ADHD people typically live in the "now" or "not now" world. Making that transition between the two is difficult. We are often fully engaged in the activity at hand and is therefore difficult to think about the next step.

4. What advice do you have for other ADHD Coaches who may begin using a Time Timer?

I would tell them to start with short 10-15 min chunks of time. Get people used to using the Time Timer. Additionally I would recommend that it be used when working on one specific task.

For example; it is more effective to set the Time Timer for 15 min and have student work on their math homework. Then reset it for 15 min and have them work on science. Rather then set it for 1 30 min and have them work on homework in general.

5. Do you pair the Time Timer with any other visual supports?

Not directly but in a way similar to the example I gave in question 4. I might set the Time Timer for 15 min and then tell my daughter to pick-up all the clothes on the floor. Then reset it and say now pick-up anything that is red.

Thanks Doug! Visit Doug's blog for ADHD tips.

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!!

There are two types of people: those who can't do more than one task at a time, and those who think they can! Multi-tasking costs us. This is a fact. 

Why is multi-tasking a waste of time?

1. Our Senses Can't Handle It:

Have you ever answered your mobile while watching TV and eating popcorn? And how many times have you said: 'Yes... Uh huh... Yes..." without actually paying attention?

Both the television and the mobile demand our attention, and both demand that we use our sense of hearing. We just can't do it!

2. Stress:

Multi-tasking is also a stress response when we have to do many things – all important or urgent – at the same time.

We daily use our Time Timer for Tommy's reading. He struggled to read at all until we got him glasses and we started regularly using the Time Timer. Can you tell Jan thanks for us? Now he doesn't rush to get his reading done because it doesn't matter how much reading he gets done, it matters that he does his best for 45 min a day... and his perfectionistic personality is finally able to relax and read.

Share your Time Timer story.

Editor's Note: This week, to celebrate Occupational Therapy Month, Time Timer brings you a guest blog by pediatric OT Robyn Colley. Note how she uses the Time Timer to clarify expectations and help children of all age and ability levels achieve independence. 

As a pediatric Occupational Therapist, I often work with children who have transition difficulties or have a disorganized nervous system (generally both). The Time Timer has been an important tool in my practice for over a decade. 

Children need to be able to transition without feeling over-stimulated, frustrated, or mad. 

But they also need help knowing how and when to transition. Just telling a child that she has "five more minutes" and expecting her to comply is a lot to ask.

Many people set a kitchen timer that counts down. This can be over-stimulating due to the ticking or bell sound at the end - and over-stimulation does not help transitions! A kitchen timer also does not teach the concept of time.

I truly believe children learn the concept of time by using the Time Timer. They can see the difference between 5 minutes or 45 minutes. Then, when they connect what they see to what they feel, time is not so daunting.