How To Never Be Late For Anything Again!

Tick, tick, tick, tick. That's the sound of the clock ticking off the minutes that you are late.

Or is it?

All shapes & sizes!

In my house, the ticks aren't the tick of a clock, it's the silent tick of a timer. Why?

Because timers make the world go 'round.

What's that? Not familiar with this concept?

You should be.

Timers are one of, if not the best, time saving device ever invented.

Imagine, no more checking the clock every few seconds.

No more screaming at your kids that it's TIME TO GO RIGHT NOW!

No more craziness.

How? This is how.....

Simple Ways To Use A Timer To Bring You Health, Wealth and A Sane, Organized Existence:

• First, get a bunch of timers. At least 4. And not the wind up timers that your mom had in the kitchen. I'm talking about an electronic timer. I've seem them in the dollar store and I've seen them in Williams Sonoma. Your choice. They all keep time. Just get ones that track minutes and hours. If your mobile phone has this function, use that. Just get a few extra ones to leave around the house.
• Familiar yourself with how they work.
• Now the world is your oyster.......
• Taking the kids to the playground? Bring along a timer. Why? Cause when you have to go in  5 minutes, tell the kids you need to go in five minutes. Set the timer, when it beeps, hold it up so the kids can hear it, tell them the 5 minutes are up. They may balk at first, but do it a few times and, strangely enough, when you say time to go, they will come. It's the giving them the 5 minute warning, combined with the fact it's not you saying the 5 minutes are up, it's the timer. that makes it work. And work beautifully. You just have to stay consistent. Give the warning. Set the timer. When it beeps, tell them it's time to leave. Then leave.
• Leaving for school? Set the timer to ring 5 minutes before you need to leave. When it rings, tell the kids to put their shoes on, get their backpacks. Voila, you are leaving on time.
• Need to remember to do something later in the day? Set the timer. Doesn't matter if it's hours from now. Set the timer. Then you don't have to think about it again. For example, let's say I need to leave the house at 2:30 for a meeting. It's 7:30 am now. I set the timer to beep at 2:15 to give me enough time to gather whatever I need. When it beeps, I pack up whatever I was doing, gather & go. No way I can be late. Especially if I factor in a 5 minute buffer zone. Always, always plan to arrive wherever you have to be 5 minutes early. Adds years to your life by reducing stress.
• Have 15 minutes to yourself to read a book? Set the timer. That way you don't have to keep checking the clock and you can get the full 15 minutes, which is probably the only time you have for yourself all day.
• Bidding on something on eBay? Set the timer to beep 5 minutes before the auction ends so you are there if you need to up your bid. My kids do this all the time.

After you get the hang of the timer gig, I'm sure you'll find a zillion more ways you can use it to simplify your life and keep you on schedule. That's why you need a few. Your kids will figure out it works for them also, and jump on the bandwagon. Pretty soon the whole family will join in, (maybe!)

It's a beautiful thing when you realize you are teaching them life skills that they will actually use. And that make your life easier.

Now go set the timer for how long you should be on the computer. When it beeps, get off and go do something in the real world.

be organized.....evelyn