How to Use Timers for Improved Productivity — Part 5: Hybrid Timers and Bonus Material
Depending on how you feel about timers, you’re either relieved or disappointed that we’ve come to the end the series, where thus far we’ve had:
- How to Use Timers for Improved Productivity and Focus — Part 1
- How to Use Timers for Improved Productivity and Focus — Part 2: Picking a Good Timer
- How to Use Timers for Improved Productivity and Focus — Part 3: Tangible Timers
- How to Use Timers for Improved Productivity and Focus — Part 4: Digital Timers
In the past four posts, I’ve offered up the why and how of using and selecting timers to meet your needs, aesthetically and psychologically, and to ensure your greater productivity. Today’s post wraps up with a combo platter.
First, literally, we’ll look at combination timers, those hybrid devices that offer both an analog and digital approach to letting you concentrate on your work without fear that you’ll forget to rest your eyes, roll your shoulders, or pick the kids up from school.
Second, because there are still so many more timers than we had a chance to explore, I’m piling up bonus resources of the tangible and digital sort.
Third, thanks to the generosity of the creator of one of the timers I already referenced, I can offer a little real-world review.
HYBRID TIMERS
We looked at tangible, physical timers which usually (but not always, in the case of the Focus Timer®) express time in an analog-only format. We also examined digital timers timers that were, themselves, digital (in a browser, website, software platform, or app) and which also displayed time digitally in numerals rather than in clock-like, analog time.
However, there are hybrid timers which combine features — they are tangible but with digital (or both digital and analog) display, and digital timers with some measure of an analog display.
Time Timer Watch
The Time Timer Watch takes everything appealing in traditional Time Timers (the Originals, Plus, Mods, Retro ECO, and more) we discussed in the third post in this series and incorporate it all into a wristwatch.
The Time Timer Watch displays time visually with a digital (that is, electronic) version of the red time disk, but also includes a digital (numerical) readout for the clock and countdown settings.
Whether for you or your child, the Time Timer Watch is a discreet and portable timer that helps keep daily routines on track. It supports efforts to maintain and increase focus, and improve independence and self-regulation. As Time Timer notes,
“Whether you depend on Time Timer products to overcome ADHD, Autism, or other cognitive variances, or you just want the look of a fun sporty watch that increases productivity, the Time Timer Watch is your solution. The sporty design makes this wrist-watch a great accessory for students, adults, athletes, teachers, and professionals, of any age or ability.”
The watch band is made of soft silicone in two circumference sizes matched to their color: white (5″ to 7.5″ for small) and dark green (5.5″ to 8.25″ for large), while the watch face is 1.5 inches. Mix and match different silicone band colors (Caribbean Blue, Sedona Orange, and Baltic Blue) to reflect your style.
Alternatively, you can carry the watch face in a silicon watch fob accessory; wear it like an 1890s robber baron on a watch chain, on a cord around your neck like an ID badge, or attach it to your backpack.
The Timer Timer watch uses a CR2032 (coin-style) battery and works in three different modes:
- Time Timer — Set an original 60-minute timer or a custom timer for up to 99 hours. (Think you’d never need a timer that long? Imagine counting down how many hours are left having to be nice to a visiting relative who sets your teeth on edge!) You can set an optional repeating alert for circumstances requiring a regular reminders, like to take medication, use the restroom, bring likely-to-wander attention back to the task, or soothe your way into a transition between tasks or modes.
- Clock — The watch has both analog and digital displays in 12- or 24-hour format. (Paper Doll readers know I always prefer an analog clock to a) help children reinforce an understanding of analog time and b) makes time visible and proportional in ways that digital time does not.
- Alarm — While timers give us backup for paying attention to the ebb and flow of our day, an alarm allows us to stop paying attention altogether. Leave it to Jeeves! So, rather than setting a duration of five minutes or 3 hours from now, you can set a time-of-day alarm. The optional alarm has multiple settings such that the alarm can be off, beep, vibrate silently, or beep and vibrate. Pick what works based on sound or tactile sensitivities or variances in hearing abilities.
The Timer Timer Watch is particularly ideal for school and testing situations because it’s not a smart device, isn’t connected to the internet, and can be used in silent mode. Set the visual timer to the duration of a testing session and don’t worry about knowing how much time is left or calculating the time difference.
Time Timer Twist
For years, I used to visit the Time Timer booth at NAPO conferences, praising the different devices but wishing for a small magnetic version. I recall being a little giddy when the Time Timer Twist finally made it’s debut, and it ties with the MOD for being my favorite (and the most stylish) Time Timer.
To set the timer on the Twist, turn the outer ring until you reach your desired time, all the way up to 90 minutes, and then push the play button. (Push again to pause.) The digital display shows as a black, self-diminishing, digital version of the traditional red analog disk, while the digital version of the time remaining counts down in the center.
Then just attach it any metal surface, like the kitchen fridge, a filing cabinet in your office, or a magnetic classroom whiteboard, per Time Timer:
At home, use the TWIST® for everything from helping kids’ morning and bedtime routines, timing homework and study sessions, or baking the perfect batch of cookies.
In the classroom, it’s great for timing tests and turn-taking exercises, timing group activities, and helping kids with special needs transition between activities.
In the office, use it to keep track of presentations, team-building activities, and more.
There’s a volume control switch so depending on your environment, you can opt for a silent, low, or high volume alert when your time is up.
Timer Timer Twist runs on one AAA battery and comes in four color schemes: Dreamsicle Orange, Lake Day Blue, Pale Shale Gray, and Original Red. If you love this version and don’t mind sticking with the Original Red, there’s even a Time Timer Twist with Kickstand that’s not only magnetic, but can stand at attention, giving the MOD some competition!
Four-Channel Professional Kitchen Timers
We’ve talked about the convenience of using your cell phone timer when making a complex meal. While it’s pretty far afield from the kinds of timers we’ve been looking at, four-channel commercial kitchen timers are ideal for restaurant kitchens — wanna film your own version of FX’s The Bear? — or in Brady Bunch-style households with big families or lots of housemates.
Digital 4-Channel Kitchen Timers are tangible but digital, and made of sturdy stainless steel with LED lights. Set each of four timers independently. The time mode lets you set in hours and minutes or minutes and seconds, ranging from zero (0000) to 99.59 hours or 0-99.59 minutes. Designed for a busy commercial (or home) kitchen, there’s a loud, high-decibel buzzer.
It’s electric and requires no programming, so it’s plug and play. Find a variety of four-channel digital timers on Amazon or at restaurant supply stores.
BONUS TIMER RESOURCES
I could write another 5-post series and still never hit all of the variety of tangible timers and apps available. Still, there are many that deserve consideration for one or more unique attributes.
Bonus Analog Timers
In the second post of this series, I wrote two potentially conflicting pieces of advice. You want a timer both does something different and is aesthetically appealing. Well, I’ve recently discovered two products that intrigue me by putting more weight on the latter than the former.
Singles Timer
First, I discovered Zone Denmark, a sort of Danish-designer version of IKEA. Reader, I covet them. Their Singles Timer, made of powder coated steel, doesn’t do anything different, but its compact design caught my eye.
The Singles Timer is a squat cylinder measuring 3.5″ (8.9 cm) high and 2.13″ (5.4 cm) in diameter, and weighs 5.64 ounces. It comes in five colors: Black, Warm (light) Grey, Cool (darker) Grey, Lupine (a sort of violet) and Mud (beige). Turn the basket-like handle on top to set the timer, do your cooking (or whatever), and then carry your timer with you wherever you go.
The Singles Timer costs 25 Euros (about $28.47 US), plus shipping, and while it lacks the attributes necessary for someone needing a visual gauge of time, it’s just darned pretty, making it suitable as a simple household timer.
the dot
the dot wooden timer cube is a mix of ancient and modern, wood and metal and microchips, analog and digital. The base is a rounded block of wood measuring 3.54″D x 3.54″W x 0.98″H with a hole in the center (much like a toad-in-the-hole, egg-and-toast breakfast); affixed to the interior bottom is a metal bowl and suspended from the interior top is the string-and-ball mechanism that strikes the bowl to make it chime. However, the timer is set digitally on the outer top of the dot.
Thus, you have a digital LCD display for easy setting of the timer for meditation or deep work, but a mechanical chiming when the set time is up.
the dot uses one lithium polymer battery, which can be recharged with a USB-C charging cable. It’s a pricey at $80, but it’s an intriguing stylistic mix: yoga retreat-meets-corporate focus.
Bonus Digital Timers
Browser Timers
- Google Timer (browser-based) — Did you know that there’s a digital timer built into Google? The default is set for five minutes but you can customize for whatever time you need. Type your exact hour, minute, and second preference or use the pre-set buttons to bump up the time by :30, 1:00, or 5:00 increments. Opt to make the soothing blue background full-screen, mute or unmute the dingle-dingle alert chime, and start the timer. Pause and restart as you like. It’s right on Google, so it’s free.
- Focus Hours (browser-based) — This similar browser-based solution is a step up from Google. Click the timer to slide out a settings panel to name your activity, identity daily start times for habits you want to promote, set (one of only two possible) alerts to ring when your focus time is up. Opt for night mode if you prefer, and when you’re ready, click start. Do ad hoc tasks or set up a roster of personal and business high-focus tasks. This free browser app has extensive statistics to let you track your focus by day, week, month, or year.
- Juicy Timer (browser-based) — Scroll down to set the time, hit start, and watch as a traditional kitchen tomato timer turns slowly, ticking down to zero, with a digital countdown below. The mid-range (not high or piercing) alert brings you out of focus and prompts a 5-minute break.
- Zorro Timer (browser-based web app) — This timer is both simple and pretty. Select an ambiance (forest ocean, rain, or café sounds, or “peace” with classical music), select your focus and break times, and just start working.
- Tomodoro (browser-based web app) — This customizable, open-source web app has beautiful background colors from which to choose. Set the times for focus and breaks, pick how many rounds/cycles you want to work; choose themes, accent colors, whether you want white noise and whether notifications should be silent or enabled. It supports Always-on-Top, or Picture-In-Picture (PIP) mode without having to install any other app, so you can focus on the work in your browser window without losing sight of the timer.
- Amazing Timer (web browser) — If you’re running an online workshop, interspersing chat with co-working, this is an alternative to a built-in timer in Zoom. Share your screen as Amazing Timer offers a simple countdown with a variety of beautiful, calming, customized backgrounds.
You may also want to take a peek at a few more appealing browser-based timers:
- Big Timer — This full-screen timer is in-your-face with large, white block-face numbers on a solid black screen. Adjust whether you want a sound when time’s up or at each of the final ten seconds (or no sound at all). The timer can also count up after the end (in case you want to know how much more time you took to finish your task). Make the timer full-screen, and have it auto-repeat (in case you want to violate the precepts of Pomodoro and not take breaks).
- Pomotastic — This customizable Pomodoro timer lets you choose literally any RBG colors, with themed colors for focus, short breaks, and long breaks
- Timer.OneClock.Net — Try scary red numbers on a black background, in case you want to feel like you’re deactivating a bomb. (Hey, some people prefer the stick to the carrot!)
- Timesets — Customizable Pomodoro timer has 5 color schemes and drag-and-drop focus and break options.
General Timer Apps
- Time Timer App — This free app is available for iOS through the App Store and for Android on the Google Play Store. It’s fully customizable: select colors, notifications, and multi-timer lists exactly as you like.
- Minidoro (iOS) — This super-customizable timer app is no-nonsense. Set sessions, breaks, goals, and cycles, color schemes and dark or light themes, sounds and notifications. It cycles through analog time rather than providing a full “slice” of time as with Time Timer. Unlike Time Timer’s app, Minidoro isn’t free; it’s $2.99.
Digital Timer Apps for Wellness Experiences
- Tide (iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Android, Chrome) — Unrelated to the detergent of the same name (though it cleans the stress out of your brain), Tide is a mobile and browser app with an immersive timer and features to help you sleep, rest/relax, or meditate. Select a soundscape (like a Hawaiian beach, restaurant, rainforest, a mahjong parlor (!), dishwasher, typewriter, and hundreds more), meditations, or sleep stories. Whether you want to focus and do deep work or empty your mind, relax, and bliss out, Tide has a mode for what you need.
- Marshmallows (iOS) — This is more of a gamified timer, rewarding you with breaks of random lengths after each 25-minute Pomodoro focus session. The breaks range from 5-30 minutes, adding na element of excitement, anticipation, and pleasant uncertainty. (However, it’s not the best option if you’re on a tight turn-around schedule.) This intermittent reinforcement to keep you engaged and motivated is supposed to excite a level of curiosity and encourages focus so you’ll finish your session. The varied break times should reduce stress and burnout. (There’s also a social option to connect with and compete with friends.)
Work Productivity Timers Built Into Productivity Suites
- Focus To Do (Windows, Mac, Chrome extension, iOS, Android, Apple Watch) — This app blends Pomodoro timers with task management features. Create to-do lists, break down tasks into ever-smaller sub-tasks, and set progress reminders and due dates. Generate detailed statistics regarding your time use and the number of tasks completed so you can analyze and improve your productivity patterns. Focus To Do syncs across devices so you can access your timers, tasks, and stats from anywhere. It’s free; the Lifetime Premium level is $11.99.
- TogglTrack (Chrome extension, iOS, Android, Apple Watch) — The Pomodoro timer is just one part of a powerful time tracking and productivity suite for knowledge workers ranging from solopreneurs to small teams to enterprise-levels. It’s designed to track time spent on various projects and tasks, and it generates reports on how individuals and teams use their time, prompting deeper analysis.
- Traqq Pomodoro Timer (Mac, Windows, and Linux, and browser-based) — Traqq is a comprehensive time-tracking suite for solopreneurs, small businesses, teams, and large companies, monitoring how employees spend time on tasks, projects, and breaks. The Pomodoro Timer can be used independently in the browser; it defaults to 25 minutes with 5 minute breaks.
Combination Timers and Task Apps
There’s a proliferation of apps that combine a task function with timers to encourage focus, including:
- Blitzit (iOS, Android ) — There’s a free browser-based Pomodoro timer where you can customize the audio and ambiance, but the full app combines task lists and timers to help you track your focus through your pre-planned work schedule.
- FocusList (iPhone, AppleWatch, Mac) — This app combines a daily planner & Pomodoro focus timer app.
- Podor (Android) — This task app includes a timer, but is also designed to help you organize tasks with tags, access detailed statistical reports of your time use, and customize your experience to fit how you work.
- Pomotodo (iOS, Android, Mac, Windows, Chrome extension) — Designed as a time management app for creatives types, combining tasks and timers and making it easy to generate time sheets for billing after the work is completed.
Whew!
FOCUS TIMER® MINI REVIEW
You may recall that I wrote about the hourglass-shaped Focus Timer® in the third week of this series. Soon after I published, I heard from Dave Zuverink, the creator of the Focus Timer® (and before that, the creator of the SlimFold Wallet).
I’m always happy to hear from anyone mentioned in Paper Doll posts, but I was delighted when Dave asked if I would like to try the Focus Timer® in person and chat with him about it. I would, I did, and we did!
For details about the Focus Timer®, it’s worth going back to that prior post, but I wanted to tell you about my experience and what I learned from Dave.
First, it’s weird to say, but the Focus Timer®’s feels as soft and smooth as a chubby baby’s arm.
Second, it makes no rattling noises, unlike most tangible timers. Dave detailed the various iterations of this super-smooth hourglass timer. It turns out that it’s got a microchip inside; it’s like a little computer processor, always identifying in what direction you turn the timer.
I’d commented to Dave about the chime sound being so satisfying, and it turns out that’s because there’s an actual speaker/amplifier thingie inside, playing a recording of a real chime! (I nodded along as he explained how other timers — and devices like smoke detectors — have a “fisio” that makes a mechanical sound, which is certainly less calming at the end of a Pomodoro!)
Third, between using the Focus Timer® and talking to Dave, I realized that what I’d originally considered somewhat of a drawback was advantageous. It’s tangible, it’s visual, but it’s not analog. There’s no clock face, and there are no numbers. I’d seen that as missing something, but Dave noted that it was intentional so as not to take the user out of focus and to instead shut down the analytical part of the brain — in other words, enjoy the color rings and trust the eventual notification to do their thing.
Dave and I talked about his professional background in interaction design and the psychology of product design, and I shared my perspective as a professional organizer and productivity specialist. Now that I understand how much technology goes into the Focus Timer® and have used it several times (and can’t stop fiddling with it because it feels so nice), I see even better how this novel product brings something new and different to the time management realm.
In the original post, I shared the video for the recent launch of the Focus Timer® V2, but it’s worth watching the original Kickstarter video.
I’m still experimenting with the Focus Timer®, but have already fallen a little in love. It took me a little while (with the well-written and well-drawn directions) but now I can easily rotate the timer (as if it’s doing a fashion show): each turn yield a new time ring. I finally got a feel for how the individual rings (blue for minutes, yellow for ten minutes) work, so the timer counts up by 5 after 20 minutes and up by 10 after 60 minutes. Neato.
Over the past weeks, I’ve read comments and had conversations with readers who have a favorite timer and those who never use them, some who hyper-focus and others who are still seeking to overcome time blindness to focus.
Only you can know whether you need a visual timer or one that merely alerts you to end of a work session; only you can decide whether you need “feel” time by manipulating something tangible or whether a simple (or customized) browser or app timer is right for your needs.
Context matters. My iPhone suffices when I’m cooking, but I want a tangible timer when working with clients, particularly if “seeing” time is difficult for them. When I’m doing deep work, I want a visual timer, but my stress level determines how much I want to bother customizing an app or browser solution.
What doesn’t change is that no matter how precise our internal clock may (or may not) be, there are times when we want to outsource that ticking so that we can focus.
Paper Doll Post:
So many timers! Who knew? I set timers on my phone each morning for every set in stone appointment or task. This is just part of my morning routine.
But on days when I am mostly working in my office, I also like to set a Mindfulness app. This randomly sets off a Mindfulness Bell randomly about once an hour for 7 times during the day. This soothing bell just reminds me to stop, breathe, and take stock of what is happening.
Mindfulness bells are so soothing. I used to use the Insight Timer app (which, funnily enough, I didn’t think to include in any of these posts because I thought of it more for wellness than productiviy) and can appreciate how just having it randomly chime/gong during the day can keep you from getting sucked into the minutiae of the working day.
And yes, across the latter three posts in the series, there were a LOT of timers, but it’s amazing how there’s a pot for every lid. Each person seems to their own preference for timers for different areas of their lives.
Thank you for reading and sharing how you use your timers, and good for you for finding timers that work so well for you.
Okay, had no idea that Time Timer had a watch. I love that this can be discreet, because I get that people don’t necessarily love the idea of advertising their need for visual accountability. I can even seen the benefits for someone like me, working with clients. I can set the timer for the duration of my work session, and easily glance down to see how much time we have left!
I don’t really see myself using the four-timer version, but maybe during Thanksgiving. I have no idea how people keep track of anything in commercial kitchens. The Bear kitchen makes my head spin!!
The dot is kind of sexy. I see it in a nice office. Of course, you’d actually have to be going into the office to make that work LOL! Somehow the home offices I am in are not as focused on “view” and “glam” as their professional counterparts. Aside from the carefully crafted Zoom backdrop, the room is often crowded with household and other stuff.
All of the digital timers are interesting to me, and good, because so much work is done on the screen these days. It makes sense to integrate.
My biggest issue with timers overall is they struggle to account for interruptions. I have a client who definitely needs to focus, and one of these timers would really help. However, in spite of our many efforts, he is constantly interrupted by calls, texts, and people. I need a timer that establishes a force-field that keeps all distractions outside until the timer ends! Have you found one of those? I’m interested!
The Time Timer watch is cool, particularly for kids with ADHD. Because it doesn’t use the internet and isn’t “smart,” teachers don’t have a negative reaction to it, and it doesn’t have any distracting features (the way Apple Watch and even Fitbit do, with picking up notifications and call info). And yes, it’s discreet, so nobody has to know if someone is seeking a little “show me the passage of time” support.
LOL, no, I couldn’t see using the 4-channel timer, but I have a friend who used to own a bakery, and between her assistant and herself in that busy kitchen with so many things being prepared at once, I can imagine how much easier that timer might have made things.
To my mind, both the dot and Dave’s Focus Timer have interesting “out of our time” aspects. The dot feels like it’s been important from Asia from hundreds of years ago (the digital programming part notwithstanding) and Focus Timer feels like it has traveled from the future.
You make a good point about interruptions, but a) many of the timers I covered have pause buttons, including a manual button on the Time Timer Plus and clickable ones on various digital timers.
Thank you for reading and sharing your thoughts; you always make such good points!
Wow! All this choice is a little overwhelming. I use my phone as a timer in the kitchen when I need to pay attention to cakes or cookies. Most of the time, I rely on the clock (analog) on my office wall.
I tested the Time Timer watch with a couple of clients and found it to be a little cumbersome. I like the idea though of the Time Timer that can attach to a backpack or tote bag.
I think I’m going to stick with my phone and the basic Time Timer that I use for presentations!
Thank you for all this information.
I think for you — probably most of us in most situations — a simple phone timer is enough. I use Time Timer with clients, particularly when we’re trying to do body doubling on tasks they find intellectually wearying, like drafting reports or writing correspondence. Without the timer, they overthink and feel they’re giving too much (or not enough) time and attention, and being able to visualize the passage of time works well for them. I alternate between the Original and the MOD with most of them.
You’re right that there are a lot of options, but that’s often the point. When people reject an entire category because they think they only have the few options with which they’re familiar, giving them a bounty can sometimes reverse that. It’s all about the right fit for the right person for the right task. (And for me, that means not having a high-pitched alert. Eek!)
Thanks for reading!
Interesting post! Who knew there were so many different timers…..
I love the pomodoro timer method and I actually bought one at a kitchen store. The damn thing never worked! So, I use my phone.
I also use the timer on my stove all the time when I am cooking and sometimes the microwave timer if I am cooking a few things.
You purchased one of the original metal tomato-shaped timers? I guess it’s true that nothings made the way it was in the olden days. I have an analog kitchen timer; every time we have to change to/from Daylight Saving Time, changing the time makes the buzzer buzz and I hate it. Perhaps I’d feel differently if I had a digital timer in the kitchen, one made since the late 1970s! 😉
I have to admit, I’m always afraid I’ll make the microwave blow up if I use the timer without anything inside of it, fearful that I’ve made it cook instead of just time.
After five posts, I’d have to agree; I might never have started the series if I’d have known how many types of timers there were!
Thanks for reading!
While I have my favorite and most used timers (basic Time Timer, iPhone timers, and kitchen stove timer), I’m now thinking about two more you shared.
While I don’t need it, that Dot Wooden Timer cube is intriguing. It looks beautiful, and I can imagine its pleasing sound when it dings. It is quite pricey, though.
The Singles Timer is another lovely-looking one, and I love that subtle lavender color. I’m going to check out the Zone Denmark website, too. It’s new to me, and with a quick glance, it looks fabulous.
Lastly, I remember your prior review of the Focus Timer. How fun that you spoke with the creator! With your expanded review and details, that’s another one of interest. As mentioned, I don’t need more timers, but it’s great to know about various digital, analog, and beautifully designed options.
You have to know, Linda, that I shared the video just for you. As soon as I saw a purple version, I had to embed that video for you to see it. And Zone Denmark was an absolute find for me; it’s smaller than IKEA, but there are some fascinating items on the site.
I’ll have to Zoom with you sometime to show off the Focus Timer. I definitely didn’t appreciate how different and compelling it was until I had it in hand, and now I find it hard to put down! 😉
Thanks for reading, and let me know if you get that Singles Timer. I feel like it was made for you!