Do you lose track of time and end up late for scheduled appointments because you need to straighten up every room you walk through...before you reach the door? Then...do you get annoyed with yourself because you're late? That's me. I purchased a simple device called a Time Timer which enables me to visually watch time elapse. When it dings--and it only does so once--I have to stop the task I'm working on and leave.
I also use the Time Timer when working with organizing clients. The timer gets set for 60 minutes for the first hour of an organizing session, so we "see" how much time it takes us to evaluate/sort/organize the contents of a box, or one area in a room. We continue this way, except for the last hour when the timer gets set for 45-50 minutes. The last few minutes are used for gathering tools, discussing progress made, and talking about goals for the next session. Clients pay attention to the Time Timer, notice when it "dings," and seem to speed up their decision-making the next time we work together.
Fellow Professional Organizer and Coach Megan Spears, Disorder2Order, finds the Time Timer I-Phone application useful for her two young sons when setting amounts of time allotted for reading and play. Her comment, "It's awesome!"
The Time timer also works as a helpful tool for managing projects and homework. Imagine the Time Timer's possibilities, especially for those of us challenged with keeping track of time with a more traditional method.