Perfect Timing!

There was a time when the only place you found a timer was in the kitchen. Unless, of course, you had to be coerced into getting in all your piano practice – in that case you might find one hovering close by to ensure you didn’t stop so much as a minute early. But timers have released themselves from the constraints of kitchens and piano lids and serve valuable purposes in additional areas of our lives. Here are some other uses for timers besides letting us know when dinner’s done:

• Add some exercise to your day in 10-15 minute increments by marching in place or doing free-weight exercises while watching TV.
• Keep yourself accountable for only spending (how many?) minutes per day or at a time on social media. (Yes, we know you can check your watch or computer clock, but will you?)
• Keep your New Year’s Resolution to organize or de-clutter a section of your home for 10 minutes every day. The portable timekeeper left in a must-trip-over-it location serves as a reminder to get it done as well as helping you count off the paces.
• Focus entirely on the project you have set aside a specific amount of time to do. Are you trying to write an hour a day? Setting aside time to write thank you or encouraging notes to others? Determined to get a 20-minute meditation session in?

Sure you can set your phone to time any of the above activities for you, but the phone itself is a distraction. Better to turn it off and let one of the friendly forms below announce when you’ve accomplished your goal!

1. This ladybug timer was the inspiration for this post  (and a bargain at $3.99). When I saw it I thought I could turn its cuteness into a Friday Five if I could find a few more just as appealing. So I did a timer search and donated hours to the cause that I’ll never be able to get back. Not only did it turn from a Friday Five to a Whatever Wednesday, it serves as a great reminder of exactly why we should be using timers!

2. Things have come full circle and it is now being confirmed – again – that eggs are, indeed, good for us! (Seen on Ebay for $3.99)

3. Take a trip down memory lane with this ringing telephone timer. (I couldn’t find a price – maybe it falls under the if you have to ask you can’t afford it category!)

4. OK – maybe this isn’t the best choice for the exercise thing. (Apparently these are more for pinning than buying – but there were lots of cupcake options available.)

5. Another way a mouse in the house can make us jump! ($4.29)

6. How can you NOT want this sitting on your desk counting down for you? ($4.99)

7. Man’s best friend is available to remind you to get off Facebook or take your real canine for a walk. ($10)

8. There was no shortage of food items to help you maintain your organizational goals. ($19.95)

9. This vintage blue (about $20) may remind you of your grandmother’s kitchen – as well as her reminders that a stitch in time . . . uh, I don’t remember the rest.

10. These winged timers are a little pricey at $42 – the cost for that modern look. (Are they suppose to look like angels??)

11. At $62 for this ‘designer’ duck, I’m assuming the thing swims, flies, AND keeps time!

HAVE A GOOD TIME!  -El