What you see here is my handy dandy timer. I have been using it to time myself for swimming. Although I hoped to "up" my time to 30 minutes a day, it has remained at 20 most days. On the plus side, I have swum every day since I vowed to, even on days when it was raining and the pool was cold. I find using a timer gives me incentive to finish a task. I used this method on my daughter A.J. who, when doing her homework, would go off in search of a piece of paper and return an hour later. The kitchen timer helped focus her attention and gave her a tangible end point. I have been using this method for years to "trick myself" into cleaning the kitchen. I set the timer for 10 minutes and start cleaning. Most times, I am done before the buzzer rings, but if I'm not, I just usually keep cleaning the few minutes it takes to get it done. Who wants to look at dirty dishes? I have also employed this technique with writing, although I have to say with less success. It's like a gun to my head to get me to WRITE! Of course, there are variations on this theme, like an actor who gives themselves a year to break into the business, or a women who wants to have all their children before they're thirty. I was one of the latter, but after raising my three, I met Zeke, got married and am now raising three more. And A.J., the homework wanderer, has just moved back in with us, bringing our grand total of our children in the house to five. Maybe we are the Brady Bunch! This is also a great method for procrastinators. So, if there is an unpleasant task that you hate to do, see if the timer method works for you.
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