Kitchen Time Technology

 A basic tenet of effective time management is having an awareness of the passage of time. One great technique for accomplishing this is to use a kitchen timer. The ways to use it are limited only by your imagination. 

Key principles:

1)       Don’t use the one in your kitchen! Buy several and stick them where you need them.

2)       Set the timer for short periods depending on your past pattern of distractibility or procrastination.

3)       Use the timer to help you remember to do something, to stay focused on a task, as an incentive to start a task (i.e., “…in 10 minutes, I will begin exercising.”), and to end an activity at a specific time.

This time management technique also works wonders with children from about 3 to 8 years old.  It can help them transition from one activity to another such as from playing to picking up.  It can also help distractible children focus on a chore or homework in short time segments with both the focus-time and the break-time signaled by the timer. It can set a deadline for completing a project such as getting ready to leave the house in the morning. Older children can be taught to use the time management technique themselves. Let children pick out their own timer and set it themselves. Setting and watching their own time gives them a sense of control and mastery.

Remember, though, that too much of a good thing can become burdensome.  We don’t want our whole lives run by the clock!

For more ideas about managing your time and having time left over that you don’t need to manage, contact the EAP at 433-1211.