Reason #3: A Timer Helps me STOP Focusing
Last week, I shared how a timer helps me improve focus. On the flipside of that, I know some of us (self-included) may have a tendency to hyperfocus or simply dive into something and lose track of time. Setting a timer helps me move on from one thing to the next. I regularly set a timer (or an alarm), so I don’t get lost in work and forget a meeting or neglect to do something that needed to be done that day. For a personal example, when my daughter was little, I made sure to set my timer (or an alarm) so that I left in time to pick her up from school!
I do appreciate Outlook’s meeting reminders, but I can way too easily ignore them. Or, I may have stepped away from my desk and they won’t get my attention. Having a timer or alarm that makes a sound loud enough to catch my attention is critical.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of this trick is that I don’t have to keep checking what time it is as I work (which that, in and of itself, is an interruption and extra drain on your mental resources!)
If you miss one of the parts to my Summer Series, you can find it along with other A-ha! tips on our blog.
One of my favorite timers (right) is from Time Timer, a company in Cincinnati. In future newsletters, I’ll be sharing more about how helpful this timer can be in the workplace. If you’d like to pick one up, you can find it, along with some of my other favorite resources, on our Products page.
