Archive for ‘Office Supplies’ Category
Why the Humble Bankers Box is Still the MVP of Office Organization
My blog posts aren’t usually love letters to a company or product, but as the result of a few particular client sessions lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about Bankers Box. Back in August, 2010, I wrote a post called This Is Not Your Grandfather’s Bankers Box. Fifteen years on, let’s consider this post the cooler, smarter grandchild, the one who knows how live in the digital world, but appreciates the value of archiving some documents with more eco-friendly, aesthetically appealing, heavier-duty, multi-functional solutions.
But still, it all starts with the name: Bankers Box, no apostrophe. What does that name call to mind for you?
Bankers’ reputations have never been stellar. Think of Mr. Potter, George Bailey’s nemesis in It’s a Wonderful Life in the 1940s, or picture Edith Bunker walking into a “friendly” bank, circa fifty years ago:
Jump across the pond and back another 50 years, and you find Mr. George Banks, Mary Poppins‘ quintessentially stuffy banker, employed by the Fidelity Fiduciary Bank:
“A British bank is run with precision. A British home requires nothing less! Tradition, discipline and rules must be the tools! Without them: disorder… catastrophe! Anarchy! In short, you have a ghastly mess!”
Perhaps it’s these negative images of bankers that often left my clients dubious over the past 24 years when I’ve suggested that they might benefit from using Bankers Boxes. Some (younger) clients had never heard of them; others felt like they must have only been in use in large corporate storage rooms, or law office archives.
For those who know about them at all, it’s no surprise that a document storage solution originally designed — and named — for bankers, would have an equally stuffy, stodgy, conservative reputation. But they have a cool history and seemingly secure future.
THE HISTORY OF THE BANKERS BOX
The Bankers Box brand has a rich history. Let’s time travel backward 108 years to 1917.
Recent university graduate Walker Nickel got a job selling bank record file boxes, but nobody wanted to buy them because they were so badly designed! Unable to get his boss to consider making modifications, Nickel quit and struck out on his own, designing and manufacturing a file box out of a hardy new construction material — corrugated fibreboard — which better fit the standard-sized forms that banks were using. Cranky banker clients smiled!
Nickel worked out of an office building in the tailoring district of Chicago, where he met Harry Fellowes, a tailor in residence who was looking for new opportunities. The two men initially struck up an acquaintance in an elevator, and Fellowes came to learn more about Nickel’s business.
Jump ahead about half a year. In April 1918, Fellowes saw Nickel packing up his office; the latter man had just been called up to serve in World War I. The men struck a deal, and Fellowes bought Nickel’s company, primarily the inventory, for $121.40, mostly for inventory. This is an improbably small amount, only $2584.49 in today’s buying power, especially for what became a major office supply powerhouse.
The Bankers Box Company was eventually renamed Fellowes Brands in the 1980s to better reflect their expansion beyond filing supplies and into shredding (which is kind of the opposite of filing, right?), binding, laminating, air purifying, and ergonomic solutions. (Sadly, I could find no further information about Walter Nickel.)
Fellowes’ relatively small investment had great potential, as the 16th Amendment (allowing taxation of individuals and corporations) had just been ratified in 1913. People and businesses were going to have to start archiving and coming up with a lot more permanent document storage, as they’d have close to a century to wait before cloud storage would show up.
Even if you’ve never used one, you know the Bankers Box. Your mind’s eye probably painted a picture that looked much like this:
Boring? Maybe. Stuffy? Paper Doll won’t disagree. But you can’t deny the simple, practical benefits of the traditional Bankers Box Stor/File.
THE BENEFITS OF BANKERS BOXES
In a world where the first storage solution people consider tends to be a plastic, lidded tub, a Bankers Box may seem to be a strange choice for singing praises. Aren’t they old-fashioned? Aren’t they less sturdy? Aren’t they bad for the environment?
Well, yes (and not always, and surprisingly no). Bankers Boxes have some distinct advantages.
Bankers Boxes are tougher than they look.
Bankers Boxes are surprisingly sturdy, even for their lower-end, “basic duty” weight storage box.
At 10.5″ high x 12.5″ wide x 15″ deep, the Stor/File has a stacking weight of 450 pounds, suitable for “moderate” stacking or shelving. It’s made for letter and legal sized paper filing, pretty much any document you need to store or archive for long-term.
Bankers Boxes come flat-packed and are easy to assemble.
In fact, I sometimes think the illustrations for assembling a box are more complicated than the steps themselves.
(Unlike something you might get from IKEA, at least you don’t end up wishing you’d studied Swedish in school.)
Judging from recent client experience, it only takes about a minute to put one together. You start by opening everything up and separating the lid from the box at the perforations, and then separating two other connections. Fold the big bottom piece in, then fold in the exterior bottom (which is attached to the two interior side flaps, and flip everything over.
Wait, that’s probably confusing, too. How about a video?
Sadly, the video doesn’t show how to fold the lid into existence, but it’s as simple as folding at all of the scored lines and tucking everything in. If you can make hospital corners on your bed, the Bankers Box lid is just as simple.
Well, for most people.
I should note, right around the time I wrote The Great Mesozoic Law Office Purge of 2015: A Professional Organizer’s Family Tale, I was working in one room while Paper Mommy and our close friend Jennie were working in another. I’d assigned them what I thought was the relatively simple task of setting up some Bankers Boxes, only to later follow the sound of giggling to find that at 79- and 91-years-old, they might not best be left unsupervised for this kind of project. Picture Lucy and Ethel in the chocolate factory.
For people like Paper Mommy and Jennie, some of the Bankers Boxes are now manufactured with FastFold technology, and can be put together even more quickly with what might be considered a pop and lock approach. (No, not the hip-hop dance moves.)
Oh, and if or when you don’t need a particular Bankers Box anymore? You can just reverse the process and make it flat again! For example, let’s say you have a box of paperwork related to a project that didn’t go forward or stored catalogs that will never be needed again. You could just pile up the empty boxes until you fill them again, but the glorious thing is that you don’t have to!
Bankers Boxes are manufactured without glue and require no tape for assembly.
Creepy crawly creatures love nibbling at glue. I always advise clients that in general, cardboard is a bad choice for long-term storage, particularly of documents. A plastic/rubber/resin lidded tub is often the best choice, particularly if you are going to store things in an attic, garage, or basement, but even in office or closet storage, cardboard boxes manufactured with glue are a no-no, as that glue is a clarion all to tiny things with too many legs.
Additionally, most boxes require require packing tape to put them together, meaning you’ll have adhesive on the bottoms and sides of even an open box. However, by using a Bankers Box, put together solely by folding panels into place, you end up with a sturdy box, dependable and useful for long-term document storage, sans icky, gooey, bug-inviting adhesives.
Bankers Boxes are relatively inexpensive.
Bankers Box is a brand-named product, so it’s going to be somewhat pricier than generic or store-brand versions. Still, for example, a 12-pack of the basic, white Stor/File version is $38.98 at Amazon, or $3.25/box. Walmart has a 10-pack for $18.74, or $1.87/each. (Don’t ask me to explain pricing options. That’s a capitalism issue, not an organizing one.)
MYTHS AND SURPRISING TRUTHS ABOUT BANKERS BOXES
If you haven’t given a glance to a Bankers Box since you sneezed your way through the file room storage boxes at an internship sometime in the late 20th century, you may be surprised by how Bankers Boxes have changed and advanced.
Myth #1: You can’t use hanging folders with Bankers Boxes
Of course, what people mean when they say you can’t use hanging folders to organize files in a Bankers Box is that, unlike with typical plastic file crates, hanging-file desk-top boxes and plastic boxes designed for file storage, the original Bankers Box didn’t have file rails.
True enough. The traditional box merely folds into place leaving you with, well, a box — a big empty space into which you can throw papers, or hopefully, stand your files upright.
If you’re transferring a filing cabinet or desk drawer full of files all at once, the box will fill and the sheer volume of file folders, pressed against one another, keeps them from falling down.
Because the traditional boxes have nowhere to place the hooks for hanging folders, you generally have to remove your manila file folders from their hanging folder homes in the filing drawers to move them to the boxes. It may take quite a while and yield paper cuts. And what if you only have a handful of folders? Yeah, no, the Stor/File may not be your best bet.
But that doesn’t mean you’re out of organizing file luck.
Enter the Bankers Box Hang’N’Store™. The Hang’N’Stor is one level up from the basic-duty Stor/File; it’s considered medium-duty, with stacking strength up to 550 pounds.
It’s a time-saver, as you can quickly transfer folders (like client files, the past year’s invoices, etc.) from active storage in your filing cabinet to inactive/archive storage without having to remove your tabbed manila folders from the hanging folders!
The Hang’N’Stor is still packed flat for easy shipping and supply storage, and designed with Banker Boxes’ FastFold methodology for easy assembly.
The letter-sized (9.75″H x 12.25″W x 15″D) Hang’N’Store is built to allow hanging files to tightly hang over the box edges. Grab your active files (client files, prior years’ invoices, etc.) and move the whole organized system directly from active to archived storage without separating out individual files. A four-pack on Amazon runs $34.
The letter/legal sized Hangn’N’Store (10″H x 12″W x 15.5″D) has plastic interior channels that acted like file rails — just turn it 90° to accommodate letter vs. the legal documents.
Understandably, the file rails make these a little more expensive. Amazon carries a four-pack of the letter/legal version for $40, or $10/each, various office supply retailers.
Both styles are made of 60% recycled paper (post-consumer recycled content).
If your file drawers are overwhelmed by hanging files you must maintain for legal, financial or regulatory reasons, the Hang’N’Store offers a smooth transition.
Myth #2: Bankers Boxes can’t keep piles of papers or bound materials from falling over.
There will be times when you want to store your documents a few chunks at a time, perhaps quarterly. Other times, you want to store stacks of paper, directories, or other loose or bound material, but anything less than “full occupancy” in a traditional Bankers Box will make your documents flop over.
The Bankers Box R-KIVE Divider Box is tailor-made for this purpose. The Divider Box comes with three heavy-duty 5″ corrugated cardboard dividers designed to keep files upright, even without hanging folders, when the box is only partially full.
(Philosophical question: is your Bankers Box half-empty or half-full?)
The Divider Boxes are heavy-duty weight, with triple-end, double-side, double-bottom construction, and reinforced, tear-resistant handles for more comfortable carrying. In addition, there’s a locking lift-off lid for secure file storage.
The letter-sized (10″H x 12″W x 15″D) has a stacking weight of 850 pounds.
Myth #3: Bankers Boxes are ugly
Yes, some of the traditional boxes are un-pretty. Your grandparents’ (or even parents’) Bankers Box was either white with black, white with blue and black, or the oh-so-classy 1970’s Station Wagon “woodgrain” box with the flip-top lid, popular with attorneys and accountants (who, like bankers, are not exactly known for being the coolest cats on the playground).
Given this, I don’t blame you for being dubious that Bankers Boxes can add some style to your document storage. But the fellows at Fellowes aren’t quite as stodgy now that we’re a quarter of the way into the 21st century.
For example, the medium-duty Decorative Stor/File (10″H x 12″W x 15″ D) is a snazzy black-and white brocade-style version with a black lid that, if left in the corner of your office floor, won’t detract from your “up-and-comer” identity. There’s still space to label the contents of your box, but the box itself no longer shouts, “I’m Practical!” at the top of its corrugated lungs. A 10-pack will run you about $34 or $3.40/each at Amazon.
(There’s also a basic-duty weight version, with the same measurements, though it seems harder to purchase.)
For those who find the brocade squiggles not to their liking, there are two other decorative versions, a basic-duty weight decorative white/grey criss-crosses:
and a medium-duty weight version with pinstripes.
Aesthetics, function, and ease of use make for a not-so-stuffy delight!
Myth #4: Bankers Boxes aren’t so great for the environment
I’d call that an enviro-fib!
Bankers Boxes have a pretty good environmental record, especially compared to plastic storage resources. (Plastic is petroleum; petroleum is dead dinosaurs.)
Most of the Bankers Boxes in the basic-, medium- and heavy-duty file storage lines are made of at least 60% recycled product. However, the Bankers Box Recycled Stor/File line is made of 100% recycled materials.
For example, there’s the medium-duty Recycled Stor/File, measuring 10″H x 12″W x 15″D, and with a stacking strength of 550 pounds. There’s a longer one measuring 10″H X 12″W X 24″D.
More significantly, Fellowes/Bankers Box has an impressive Earth-friendly sustainability focus.
Myth #5: Re-stacking Bankers Boxes is a pain
The impressible stacking capacity of individual boxes, even those at basic-duty strength, still fail to solve the inevitable organizational problem: if you just pile your boxes, one on top of the other, the box you want is invariably going to be on the bottom of the stack!
I feel your aching back from here!
Certainly you can use a variety of ad hoc shelving solutions such as those designed for offices, warehouses, garages, or basements. However, there are shelving solutions designed specifically for Bankers Box-style document storage.
Fellowes’ own Stor/Drawer® Steel Plus™ line lets you remove the box lids for any of the Stor/File boxes and slide them right into stacking units, drawer-style. This set-up allows you to stack five boxes high with the assistances of a heavy wire frame that provides stability and strength for the corrugated cardboard drawers.
There are four-layer front and back panels, and removable rails for hanging files. The steel support frame for the entire unit reinforces heavy-duty the corrugated cardboard to increase durability, and the front plastic handles are reinforced for improved drawer access.
These come in letter (10.375″H X 12.5″W X 23.25″D) and legal (10.375″H x 15.5″W x 23.25″D) versions in the standard white, blue, and black, or the 100% recycled tan, green, and black, in recycled letter and recycled legal versions.
Of course, if you’re a multinational corporation and have even more archival files, Fellowes has a line of Staxonsteel® Steel Frame Heavy-Duty Storage Drawers.
You can stack ten boxes high, storing 80% more records in the same floor space, into a towering and scary, sci-fi file drawer unit.
The Staxonsteel framework interlocks both horizontally and vertically so worker bees can open the drawers to seek documents all day long. The steel stacker bars create a hardy framework that, per Fellowes, “won’t buckle, twist or bend and offer space-saving stackability with the accessibility of a filing cabinet.” The Staxonsteel drawers are designed to easily snap together with poly-lock technology.
If you’re a person, and not a ginormous conglomerate, this is overkill. So if you’re looking for something that’s somewhere between random shelves at Lowe’s and the big Fellowes shelving, consider (ProSlat) Bin Warehouse‘s box shelving. Although Bin Warehouse is better known for letting you to stack rubber/resin tubs without having to rearrange them to access something lower down, they also make ideal racks for storing boxes.
Bin Warehouse’s 8 filebox rack holds 400 pounds across two columns, eight boxes high. (Maximum box size: 12.5” wide x 10” high x 15” deep.) It’s designed to be installed right to the wall to ensure security and maximum stability. It’s available from ProSlat for $115.
An 18-box rack accommodates three columns of six boxes each, for a maximum of 1000 pounds. It’s $135 at Pro Slat or about $125 at Amazon.
BANKERS BOX ISN’T THE ONLY GAME IN TOWN, BUT…
Obviously, Bankers Box isn’t your only choice for foldable, non-glue, no-tape-needed document storage.
Almost every Big Box and online office supply store, like Staples, Office Depot, and Amazon has its own line. If you want a straightforward letter- or legal-sized box, I’m not going to tell you that an Amazon Basics box is going to leave you crying over poorly supported files. It’s not.
And cardboard certainly isn’t your only option. As we’ve covered in Paper Doll posts before, there’s a large variety of plastic, railed file boxes, and file crates to archive your documents.
Similarly, I’ve merely illustrated a fraction of what the modern Fellowes Bankers Boxes have to offer. For example, this post just looked at lift-off lid boxes, but there are myriad basic-, medium-, and heavy-duty corrugated Bankers Boxes (plus their line of plastic ones).
There are also their “String-and-Button” Bankers Boxes (which still, after all these years, have a decidedly Little House on the Prairie feel, as if velcro had never been invented) for seriously extensive and heavy-duty file archives where you don’t think you’ll ever need to tote them around for deep research.
There are flip-top boxes — if people say you’d forget your head if it weren’t attached, these Bankers Boxes with hinged, attached lids may be your style.
And this just covers Bankers Box products designed for document storage. If you’re moving house, or just storing stuffed animals until the next tiny human (or next generation) comes along, Bankers Box has basic, classic, and even tape-free Prime locking boxes. Or if you need specialty products for storing literature stacks or magazines and homework, there’s a solution for you.
Bankers Box isn’t the only game in town, but after 24 years of examining storage solutions, I say Fellowes are nice fellows, especially if you want to be planet-friendly.
DO YOU REALLY NEED TO KEEP ALL THAT PAPER?
Finally, before you seek to store oodles of paper, it’s important to stop and consider your options.
Ask yourself if you, your family, or your organization really need to save your papers. (One popular professional organizer maxim says 80% of papers stored are never retrieved or needed again.)
A good start for confidently making decisions about your paper is my classic ebook, Do I Have To Keep This Piece Of Paper? It walks you through the possibilities and questions you might have regarding the documents and fluttery pieces of paper that waft through your life.
Once you’re sure what you want to keep, consider whether you want to maintain paper records or digitize the documents. Weigh the safety and permanence of digitized documents in the cloud against the time, physical effort, and cloud storage costs to turn your paper into bits and bytes.
From there, think about the different types of paper storage, for action, reference, and archives, you hope to use. A good start is my 2024 series on paper filing and document retention.
- Paper Doll Shares 12 Kinds of Paper To Declutter Now
- Reference Files Master Class (Part 1) — The Essentials of Paper Filing
- Reference Files Master Class (Part 2) — Financial and Legal Papers
- Reference Files Master Class (Part 3) — Medical Papers
- Reference Files Master Class (Part 4) — Household and Personal Papers
Finally, be sure to label your document storage accurately and with useful details and dates to make retrieval and destruction procedures go more smoothly.
If you’ve got more file boxes than you can eyeball, consider creating a handwritten or (preferably) digital inventory. An Excel or Google Sheets spreadsheet will be easily searchable and update-able for your needs.
Nobody is ever going to product a reality show like Love Island focused on Bankers Boxes, but for a company that started with a chance meeting in an elevator in the tailoring district of Chicago 108 years ago, Bankers Box is still pretty nifty. Oh, and if you do want to read a love letter to Bankers Box, CJ Chilver’s The Wisdom of the Bankers Box is a charming one.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, and I may get a small remuneration (at no additional cost to you) if you make a purchase after clicking through to the resulting pages. The opinions, as always, are my own. (Seriously, who else would claim them?)
Paper Doll Plays Ice Cream Man: Cool Organizing and Productivity Treats for Hot Days
We’ve managed — perhaps with a few bumps and bruises to our productivity — to make it through one-half of the year.
Perhaps you’ve reached your goals or are on our way toward them. Maybe the temperatures and the general atmosphere in the world these days leaves you feeling indolent, and the last thing you want to think about today is striving toward yet another goal or completing another task.
I get it.
We all deserve a little fun. So today’s post is like a Popsicle on a sweltering day. There are no systems for you to implement, and no heavy-duty academic research to study. Instead, just think of today’s Paper Doll post as the ice cream truck driving through your neighborhood to make your week a little sweeter and your mood a little lighter with some surprising treats.
MOD PROTECT
Earlier this year, I wrote a five-part series on using timers to help yourself be more productive. In case you missed it, feel free to read the links below to get caught up.
- 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
- How to Use Timers for Improved Productivity — Part 5: Hybrid Timers and Bonus Material
But again, this is an ice cream truck; just take what you find yummy.
In part 3 of the series, when we discussed tangible timers, I shared my love of the Time Timer MOD and all of its gorgeous styles, including the Time Timer Mod Home Edition,
the MOD Home Metallic Edition,
and the various durations of the MOD Education Editions.
I handle my devices pretty gingerly and rarely worry about bonking them on the ground, but not everyone lives in an almost-entirely carpeted (hello, late 1970s construction!) apartment. Some folks have kids, or spouses or co-workers who behave like kids, or pets who tend to knock things on the floor.
Time Timer understands the frustration that comes with rough-and-tumble living. While there are already pretty protective covers in a variety of styles to cuddle the Time Timer MOD editions, they’ve now come out out with a new super-protective line: two different “fun and functional” Time Timer MOD+ Protective Cases.
Both versions partner a whimsical personality and hardy protection with (what I think is already) the niftiness of Time Timers.
Meet Bunny and Tread.
Time Timer MOD + Protect Case Bunny
Protect Case — Bunny is friendly and playful, and will appeal to little and big kids, alike. Whether you’re in kindergarten helping to develop little minds, working in various environments with with sensitive souls or neurodivergent brains, or just enjoy anything that adds something charming and fanciful to your workday and time management struggles, take a peek.
Why not serve up a fun-but-sturdy embrace for the visual time cues that keep kids and adults from staying time-blind?
Bunny is brightly colored, soft, and tailor-made for those who would prefer getting help transitioning between tasks, monitoring their own (or others’) screen time, or completing homework (or office work) from a sweet, gentle character rather than a garish, digital taskmaster.
Say hi to Bunny. (Hi, Bunny!)
Bunny measures 5.1″ high x 4.1″ wide by 2.4″ deep. The soft, removable case is made of light blue silicone, and, as you can see above, faintly bunny-shaped, creating a playful touch to surround the Time Timer MOD.
Time Timer has tested the Bunny Protect Case’s drop protection to 5 feet. So, whether you’re using it in an academic or play setting where tiny humans may drop or throw the Time Timer MOD, or you or your co-workers or family members take time-based stresses out on small, (mostly) inanimate objects, the Protect Case -— Bunny can handle it.
The Bunny’s soft silicone makes it easy for tiny hands to grip without slippage, so there’s no need to worry that your MOD investment will be lost in a smash-pow-kerplunk moment! Parents, teachers, therapists, colleagues, and tiny humans should all be delighted by the protective nature and cute appearance of the bunny.
On it’s own, the Protect Case — Bunny is $14.95 at the Time Timer website.
Additionally, you can purchase the Time Timer Rainbow Wheel MOD + Protect Case Bunny bundle for 39.95.
Time Timer notes the combined MOD and Bunny protective case bundle is:
- Focused on Time Awareness — As discussed at length in my blog post series on timers, an analog approach to time helps make time visible and “real” to children and others with a less-than-concrete feel for the flow of time. The Time Timer Rainbow Wheel MOD’s rainbow-colored disk assigns a color to each five-minute increment, adding a clear, colorful cue to help discern how much time remains. This has positive implications for helping achieve smooth transitions and emotional regulation.
- Especially supportive for neuro-diverse individuals — The product was created with children with ADHD, sensory sensitivities, and autism in mind, implementing a soothing, calming design.
- Sensory-friendly — As Time Timer notes, “with soft bunny ears and gentle colors make time less scary and more approachable for young learners.” The sensory-friendly materials can help children who self-sooth primarily through touch.
- Designed for the hard knocks of real life — As noted, when nestled inside the Bunny, the MOD Rainbow Wheel withstands tumbles, tosses, and falls up to 5 feet. (That’s almost an entire Paper Doll!)
The Time Timer Rainbow Wheel MOD + Protective Case — Bunny bundle includes One Year Premium Access to Time Timer® App.
Time Timer MOD + Protect — Tread
The Bunny is cute, but not everyone is seeking fluffy bunny mode.
Do you, your tiny humans, whimsical teens, or colleagues operate in a more rough-and-ready, active environment? If so, you or they may prefer something with a more hearty or rugged appearance.
Tread is a durable silicone case styled as a beefy tire, such as you’d see on an earth mover or big truck. It’s tailor-made for active households and busy classrooms, but is equally at home in therapy centers and workplaces where cute+tough is the right style choice. It measures 4.2″ wide by 4.2″ high by 2.4″ deep.
When I first saw the Time Timer MOD Protective Case — Tread, my immediate thought was that Workman MJ and his mom need this!
If you’re not on TikTok, you may not know Workman MJ, who first came to fame when his mom sought help convincing her toddler that workers take naps:
Over the course of just a few days, all sorts of workmen and women around the country came to her aid and filmed TikToks showing themselves taking naps after lunch — in their trucks and in various safe environments — illustrating to MJ (and all the other tiny workmen and workwomen) the importance of fueling and resting oneself and ones tools. And hey, that echoes Paper Doll‘s advice of about nap-taking, like in:
Take a Break — How Breaks Improve Health and Productivity
Take a Break for Productivity — The International Perspective
If you’re a TikTok aficionado, find your bliss watching Workman MJ and his Mom; their precious videos of MJ-narrated interactions with various workers while learning about their tools and skills are reminiscent of early Sesame Street and Mr. Rogers vignettes, and MJ’s mom (Jessica C. Lee) has even written a book, Workman MJ Takes a Nap, about their “it takes a village” nap experience.
But back to Tread.
The bumpy, black rubber tire treads add a grippiness that makes the MOD easy for small hands to grab without dropping and adds an extra layer of hearty durability to the Time Timer MOD. Use it at work impress your co-workers with a nod to your “tough approach” to problem solving, or take it to the gym so your Time Timer MOD is safe no matter how rambunctious your workout. Either way, it’s a great companion for workspaces, workouts, or on-the-go time management. (Yes, it’s primarily made for kids, but why let them have all the fun?)
The Tread case is made of soft-touch silicone (easily cleaned by wiping with a damp cloth), and has been drop-tested from a height of 5 feet.
On its own, Tread is $14.95 from Time Timer and you can pair it with any MOD already in rotation in your school, office, or home.
However, if you’re the kind who always orders a combo meal, get the Time Timer MOD + Protect Case – Tread together in a rugged bundle for $39.95. It includes the grey 60-minute MOD with a classic red disk timer and the Tread protective case.
As with the Bunny bundle, you a great, confidence-boosting visual timer that supports the executive function needs of children and adults with ADHD, sensory processing challenges, and autism, as well as all sorts of people who need time management support, plus a hearty case that protects the timer from boo-boos.
And let’s face it, that tire tread pattern offers a cool tactile experience for those needing a fidget toy to support ongoing focus and reduce anxiety. Like the Bunny bundle, the MOD + Tread bundle includes One Year Premium Access to Time Timer® App.
All Time Timer products include a One-Year 100% Satisfaction Guarantee.
ZIP NOTES & DISPENSERS
We all love sticky notes. Whether we use a tiny sticky note for a label, a standard one for a list or a reminder, or a heavy duty one for intense climate situations, it’s become essential to have a method that just sticks without need for paper clips or staples.
However, sticky notes aren’t perfect. We usually have to settle for one uniform size or purchase multiples different sizes.
But wouldn’t it be cool if we could have a sticky note of any length we desired, whenever we wanted?
Thanks to the Zip Notes Executive Sticky Note Dispenser and Holder, we can.
Zip Notes
Invented by Edison, New Jersey-based Victor Technology, these Zip Notes might initially be indistinguishable from Post-its® and their (often less-adhesive) knockoffs, but there are some significant differences:
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- Zip Notes come on a roll — Taking a cue from old-timey adding machine paper rolls or paper towels, Zip Notes come on an 150-inch roll of adhesive-backed paper.
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This format is cost-effective and reduces paper waste. One roll of Zip Notes is the equivalent of 600 regular 3″ x 3″ sticky notes!
As much as I love a good Post-it®, there are times when I don’t necessarily have the size I want. For example, on the side of my desk right now, I have a twelve-pack of the Post-it® mini (1 3/8″ x 1 7/8″) Greener Notes.
They’re perfect when I want to scribble one or two words on a sticky note and use it as a label for a pile of papers. Conversely, for most purposes, a standard 3″ x 3″ sticky note works fine, but when you have a lot to write, it’s always nice to have a 3″ x 5″ sticky note on hand, because it has ample room, and you can turn it vertically to create a list.
But what if, in the course of an afternoon, you have several short, medium, and long sticky notes to write? You could keep all different size sticky notes in your drawer, but with Zip Notes, you wouldn’t have to, and you’ll never waste paper with a “continued on next note” situation.
Just hold down the button until the sticky note paper unspools to the length you prefer and tear it off. Suddenly, you have a note with a customized length!
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- Zip Notes have an adhesive strip running down the center of the note — The unique design of the Zip Notes, with a central strip of adhesive, prevents the edges from curling and allows for flexibility with adherence wherever you need it: at work, at school, or at home. As with any good sticky note, the Zip Notes are re-positionable.
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Zip Notes come in three colors: pink, blue, and yellow, each for about $8.99/roll, either directly from the product page at Victor Technologies or from Amazon.
Zip Notes work in tandem with three types of dispensers.
Zip Notes Executive Dispenser
The navy blue battery-operated Zip Notes Executive Dispenser dispenses the exact length of note you need so you can customize the length of your notes. It’s available directly from the Victor Technology website for $24.99 or for 23.99 at Amazon, in case you want to take advantage of your Prime Shipping. (Note, the photo on Amazon appears to be grey, but it’s apparently just a poor photo; it’s only available in blue.)
The Executive Dispenser is a compact 5.0” wide x 4.5” deep x 5.5” high, and takes up barely more room on your desktop than a stack of sticky notes. It requires two AA batteries, which are included.
The Zip Notes Administrator Dispenser can rest on your desk or be mounted to a wall, and measures 4.1” wide x 3.6” deep x 6.5” high. Similar to the Executive version, it takes two AA batteries (included).
The Administrator Dispenser is $24.99 at Victor Technology and $23.95 at Amazon.
Zip Notes Manual Dispenser
In addition to the two battery-operated versions, there is a manual Zip Notes dispenser. Without the nifty “zhhhh” sound and the button to push, it’s not quite as cool as its battery-operated counterparts, but at $9.99 for the burgundy dispenser (measuring 3.5 deep x 3.8 wide x 4.5 high), it might be handy to keep in your mobile office kit. Just pull to the desired note length and rip.
The Zip Notes Executive Sticky Notes and Dispensers are a neato combination of a different type of sticky note and a different way of dispensing them. If you’re GenX, you may be thinking, “It’s two mints in one!
ANXIETY BOOKSHELF
It’s possible that only my professional organizer colleagues, Paper Mommy, and I will appreciate this product line, but Anxiety Bookshelf is a cute way to incorporate the soothing aspects of organization into your life without having to invest your heart and soul into downsizing or systematizing.
What Is the Anxiety Bookshelf?
The conceit of the Anxiety Bookshelf is that when you’re feeling overwhelmed, you can shake the miniature bookshelf (which is actually a latched, hinged, window unto a bookshelf-like shadow box) to free all of the miniature “books” from their safe perches and knock them to the “floor.”
Then open the hinged cover, take up the little books, and re-shelve them as you see fit. Why? To allow yourself to create a sense of order when things in your life are feeling disordered.
Arrange alphabetically by title or author, keep them in genres, or go rogue like the Home Edit crew and organize the books by color. (OK, please don’t do that. It gives me hives.)
Start by buying the actual Anxiety Bookshelf.
- The original Anxiety Bookshelf — the hand-painted bookshelf cases come in eight colors: brown (natural wood), white, pink, black, yellow, blue, green, and purple.
It measures 9.8″ wide x 7.8″ high by 2.7″ deep, and comes with 260 miniature books, from classics like George Orwell’s 1984 and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird to modern titles like John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus. While the majority of the books are novels, there are memoirs and non-fiction titles, too. (You can see the titles by scrolling down to the bottom of this page.)
The original Anxiety Bookshelf, with a full complement of miniature books, is $54.98.
- For the same $54.98 price, you can also purchase the DIY Anxiety Bookshelf, which comes with the bookshelf, white foam book block inserts, and sheets of 264 book cover stickers.
- Alternatively, you can buy an empty bookcase in two sizes:
- The full-size (empty) bookcase is $39.95.
- The small (empty) bookcase is $19.95
and then fill the shelves with whichever of the various Anxiety Bookshelf book collections you prefer, at various price points (or a set of random mini books in 60, 120, 180, or 260 book counts).
Obviously, I’d pick the Jane Austen collection to start, before branching out.
You can even customize the books you want and order from one to 10 different titles, starting at $5.90 for one-to-three titles, up to $18.90 for ten customized books. If you’re an author, you could even get your own mini books for your bookcase!
Depending on how much anxiety you’d like to soothe or how many miniatures you need in your life, there are discounts for multiple bookshelf purchases. Save $10 on a purchase of two; save $15 if you buy three; save $20 if you purchase 4 bookshelves so that you can pretend you are Belle in Beast’s library.
- There’s even a Pocket Anxiety Bookshelf for anyone who feels the urge to self-soothe by organizing tiny books on-the-go, like during breaks at school or work. It comes in six colors: (TARDIS) blue, black, green, white, pink, and brown, and has just three little shelves. It measures 2.8” wide x 3.7” high x 1.9” deep and comes with 60 books. The Pocket version is currently $29.95.
In addition, for those seeking some bookish solace, Anxiety Bookshelf has some adorable Room Box items with the same latch and glass front (for safe shaking), in case you want to re-arrange a cozier space, available with or without the miniature books.
Is This An Open-and-Shut (Book) Case?
For each of the bookcases, you can open the bookcase; there’s a latch on the side of the bookshelf for a secure closure before you shake the books off the shelf.
However, you can’t open the miniature books because (duh!) they aren’t actually printed texts. Rather, each “book” is a block .87″ high x .55″ wide x .12″-thick blank foam with a book cover sticker wrapped around it.
So, although you can’t open the books, you can customize the ones you want, as noted above, and arrange them in whatever way will soothe your frazzled nerves.
Isn’t This Just Clutter?
Maybe?
At first glance, this might just look yet another (cute) knick-knack destined to become clutter, and I definitely wouldn’t recommend this for everyone. However, the various iterations of the Anxiety Bookshelf may greatly appeal to certain subsets of the populace, including:
- people who like closed-end crafts, as opposed to projects that go on forever. Even with the DIY version, once you apply all the stickers to create the books and shelve the books, there’s no more “work” to do.
- those who are soothed by being able to control their environments on a small scale — because how often can you sort your junk drawer to calm yourself? (But hey, when you do, be sure to check out Is Your Junk Drawer a Drunk Drawer? 3 Steps to An Organized Junk Drawer for guidance.)
- those who are soothed by closed-ended organizing projects and just need a short-term meditative organization project
- folks who like to create customized displayable art that can also be played with rather than merely admired.
When I was little, Paper Mommy and I worked together (by which I mean that I read the instructions and she did the handiwork) to create adorable little “mouse house” shadowboxes with intricate detailing. I find the little bookshelves and miniature books similarly charming.
But I also appreciate a product made specifically for the purpose of soothing anxiety of dealing with disarray in one’s personal world and the world at large. As a Certified Professional Organizer® — in fact, I just recertified for the sixth time since 2007), having helped clients with organizing and productivity for the past 24 years, my work doesn’t just help my clients; it’s therapeutic for me, too.
When something is stressing me out in my own life, I’ve been known to dump out my purse or lingerie drawer, sometimes to downsize, but usually just to create a little order and maintain some control.
I admit, this reminds me of one of my favorite quotes, from novelist Lucinda Rosenfeld:
“We order our salad dressing on the side because we’re control freaks. We’d like to control you. Because we can’t, we control lettuce.”
Often, clients contact me because they’re anxious about organizing. But quite often, a focused approach to organizing, even (or especially) on a tiny scale, helps conquer anxiety and create just as much inner peace as meditation or a walk in nature. Sometimes, it helps just to be able to control something. Even lettuce. Even tiny books.
Although I never recommend purchasing a product, whether functional or aesthetic, unless you both need and want it, sometimes, it’s just nice to know what’s out there. You may not chase the ice cream truck down the street, but isn’t it nice to hear the music and know the truck waiting?
Finally, for Paper Mommy, from whom I learned my love for all things tiny, here’s Anxiety Bookshelf’s Mini Book Cart, available on its own, or with 60, 120, or 180 books.
I bet it could hold quiet a few miniature Popsicles, ice cream sandwiches, and Nutty Buddy ice cream cones.
Organize Your Desktop with Your Perfect Desk Pad: 2025 Update
This post originally appeared in November 2023 and has been updated for June 2025.
WHY USE A DESK PAD?
It’s funny how small, random things resonate with people. In early September, in Paper Doll Explores New & Nifty Office and School Supplies, I included a small section on how desk pads have come back into vogue, and shared some examples of brightly colored, inexpensive options. I’ve been surprised by how many people had follow-up questions about this rarely discussed office supply.
Desk pads are similar to but not quite the same as desk blotters, even though the two are often conflated. However, as we’re not writing with quills or fountain pens anymore, nobody is really blotting anything. Still desk pads have a variety of benefits for organizing your desk physically as well as psychologically.
Practical Reasons
Desk pads have a variety of purposes for keeping your workspace safe, organized, and comfortable. A desk pad will:
- Protect the desk from spilled beverages, sticky or crumbly foods, and scratches (either from your watch or jewelry, or from pens that dig into the desktop surface).
- Create a more comfortable workplace. This includes making the traditional writing surface smooth for when you’re actually using pen or pencil (like a caveman) or protecting your arms from the desktop’s surface. If your desk is metal or glass, the surface can be ice cold; an old wooden desk may feel scratchy or splintery. Desk pads vastly improves your comfort level because they’re generally made from softer or sleeker materials. This also provides a gentler surface to reduce friction against your wrists.
- Yield more slide-y space than a mousepad. Whether you’re using your desktop for working or gaming, a mousepad offers little space to slide your mouse around. A desk pad makes that smooth area much wider and eliminates your worry about making grander gestures.
- Reduce the sound and vibrations of a clickety mechanical keyboard.
- Designate zones for different tools. Some desk pads give you specific areas to help carve out the niche areas of purpose on your desk.
Personal Reasons
Beyond the practicalities, desk pads can create an ambiance that appeals to you on an emotional level.
- Aesthetics may help you feel more productive; at least, they put you in the right headspace to tackle spreadsheets or TPS reports.
- A desk pad makes a statement of style for the owner of the desk, to communicate personality with visitors and to delight you when you’re sitting at your workspace. Given that most of day’s post focuses on more mature styles of desk pads, in leather and and leather-like materials, I thought I’d share the kind of desk pad that the less grown-up version of me is often tempted to acquire. Because, as you may have wondered at some point, Surely Not Everyone Was Kung Fu Fighting (from Society Six).
- A desk pad makes a desk look “put together.” This is less about looking attractive vs. looking finished. Paper Mommy drummed it into me that when you want to make a good impression, you should always wear a jacket, blazer, or cardigan — something that pulls an outfit together and makes it look intentional. A desk pad does the same for your desk.
DESK PAD ATTRIBUTES TO CONSIDER
Most of the inquiries I received asked about what features they should consider in a desk pad. For those used to the traditional oversized calendar style of blotter, the number of modern desk pad possibilities come as a bit of an overwhelming surprise. Let’s look at several.
Size
One hesitates to say that “size matters,” but you need to consider a variety of size-related elements:
- How large is your work area? — If your desk is enormous and you’ve got an itty bitty desk pad not much bigger than a mousepad, the desk pad is going to be engulfed, both logicically and aesthetically. If it’s only the width of your keyboard, the friction of the edges against your arm may annoy you.
Conversely, if you’re working on a tiny desk, make sure your desk pad will actually fit. Read the actual measurements, but also keep your eyes out for keywords, like “extended,” that give you an idea of the size of a product. A standard goal is to pick a desk pad that covers 2/3 of the width of your desk, but your needs may vary, given other factors.
- How much of your stuff do you want on the desk pad? — Do you want the deskpad to cover just the area closest to you, or would you prefer your computer to sit atop it? If you want your desktop and keyboard located on top of your deskpad, you’ll need more space than if you just want to put it under your laptop (or just prefer it under the area where you rest your arms).
Some desk pads are designed to be large enough to have space for your phone, mouse (so a mousepad is unnecessary), office supplies, and any papers essential to your work.
- What kind of surface do you need for your work functionality? — If you’re using a mouse instead of a track pad and a desk pad in lieu of a mouse pad, the mouse needs to be able to move smoothly but not slip on too glossy a surface. The surface should also allow you an adequate, comfortable area upon which to rest your mousing wrist.
- Do you need a desk pad to accommodate a special purpose? — Gamers often use oversized (overly wide) desk pads; engineers and computer specialists may need specialized pads for work on computers or with tools.
- Do you need options? There are varieties of desk pads with different surfaces on each side (like for gaming vs. standard computing or intricate work vs. writing). If your work and play tasks vary widely, consider looking at dual-dided pads to make sure you’re comfortable. A distracted worker is an unproductive worker.
Think about width as well as depth of your desk (and desk pad) as you look at your purchase options.
Materials
The material from which your desk pad is constructed will impact how it looks, how long it will last, and how much it will cost. Common desk pad materials include:
- Leather looks sumptuous and sophisticated, is easy to keep clean, and tends to be durable over the long term. However, it is often one of the most expensive options.
Leatherology has a wide variety of classic and modern desk pad options, but they also have some spiffy extra-long desk pads and narrower “conference and laptop” pads. They’re all in gorgeous Italian leather and are (for real leather) fairly affordable, from $95 to $170. Even their colors sound luxurious, with Bordeaux (below), Oxblood, Mocha, and Dove mixing with Tan, Black, Midnight Blue.
Grovemade is a similarly delicious vendor of 3.5mm-thick premium leather desk pads with cork backing in six sizes: Small – 11” x 24.75”, Small Plus – 14″ x 31.5″, Medium – 11.5” x 38”, Medium Plus – 15.75″ x 38″, Large – 26” x 38.5”, and Extra Large – 26.5″ x 49″. Small, medium & medium plus provide room for an external keyboard and mouse, while Large is designed to work under the Grovemade Monitor Stand and Laptop Stand. Prices range from $110 to a whopping $400!
Of course, leather can get incredibly pricey. Smythson of Bond Street’s Large Desk Mat in Panama (available in Black or Sandstone) runs a hefty $1095!
- “Vegan” leather is what we used to call vinyl. It’s durable, though not so much as real leather, but it avoids the whole Bambi’s mother issue. You will sometimes see this described as “Eco” leather. If you’re not spending in the $100s, you’re almost assuredly not seeing a leather pad.
- Plastic or PVC vinyl is inexpensive, but may feel cold against your arms, can split or crack over time, and likely won’t last as long as some other varieties. That said, whether clear or opaque and colored, plastic surfaces are usually easier to clean and ideal for people who tend to stain their horizontal surfaces with coffee cup rings.
- Wool/Felt provides a cozy, hygge look, but can feel itchy or scratchy to your arms. (If you’re buying a wood desk pad as gift, make sure your recipient doesn’t have wool allergies.) Of course, a mouse will not slide on wool so you’ll still need a mouse pad, and you’re not really going to be able to handwrite on it unless you’ve got a notebook or want to fuss with cardboard backing while drafting your thank you notes.
If you’re up for spending $45-100 on cloth that you can’t even wear on date night, Graf Lantz has sophisticated Mosen Medium and Large Merino Wool Felt Desk Pad measuring 31” wide x 19 ½” high in multiple subdued colors.
- Microfiber or Polyester — These materials tend to be relatively thin, on to top of spongy backing, making it hard to write with pencil or ball point pens, and can be hard to keep clean over the long run. These range from lower-end options to more fancy-pants versions, like the Harber London Microfibre Minimalist Deskmat, available in three sizes, from about $60-$84, from the UK.
- Cork — For example, IKEA’S minimalist Susig, measuring 17 3/4″ by 25 1/2″ is made of cork, which repels dirt and water. It’s only $8.99. Bear in mind that cork can have a strong odor, as anyone who’s ever purchased a new bulletin board will know. Buyer beware.
- Linoleum is an atypical options, but Grovemade makes them from linseed oil, natural pine rosin, wood flour, and calcium carbonate, with a cork backing, in ten different colors. They resist fingerprints and are antistatic and durable.
- Aluminum or Copper desk pads provide anti-static attributes. These metals have conductive properties, and will protect your computers and electronic equipment from static electricity. If you work around equipment that’s sensitive to static, like in a computer lab or server room, this is something to consider.
- Marble, glass, acrylic — These atypical desk pads are going to be cold, heavy, and slippery, but easy to clean.
I’d recommend against these icy materials unless you are far more into aesthetics than computing, but the Pottery Barn White Marble Desk Blotter may put you in “fancy society matron” mode. It comes in 24″ wide by 18″ high for $79 or 36″ wide by 18″ high (pictured below) for $99 and can be personalized.
This stunning Abstract Stained Glass Desk Pad from Cozy Street Designs at Etsy might make you feel as though you are writing on behalf of royalty from the distant past to readers in the future. It comes in 7″ x 9″, 12″ x 18″, 12″ x 22″, and 15.5″ x 31″ (from $18.99 to $42.50).
As you examine your options, ask yourself, will this material deflect spills? Morning Starbucks? Afternoon Starbucks? Late night pizza grease?
Leather and “vegan” leather are sumptuous, but will they withstand ink stains and the pressure of a ball point pen?
Do you need gutters (indentations) for pens or cord organizers or side panels on the edges to give you a sense of boundaries (and let you tuck in note cards)?
Whatever material you choose will reflect your personal style. Select something that uplifts and inspires you (or at least doesn’t frustrate you) when you approach your desk.
That said, consider that how you organize your desk reflects on your office mates or your employers. There’s some wiggle room, but if your desk pad quote Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s Eat the Rich! but you work at a high-end accounting firm, you may encounter some conflict.
Grip/Traction
You know the trick about putting a wet paper towel under your cutting board to keep it sliding around, right? You need a solution that will approximate that for your desktop.
A super-slick desk surface such as one made of metal or glass will improve your mousing capabilities but may make it hard for you to keep things from rolling away. A good desk pad has backing that provides traction for keeping your keyboard from jiggling, your pens from rolling, and your podcast microphones from sliding away.
Think about how the backing material will affect the grippiness of the pad on the desk’s surface. Look for a desk pad with backing that’s sufficiently rubbery to keep the desk pad from sliding around, but not something so inexpensive that it will get sticky or goopy near a heater or in direct sunlight as the years go by.
You also want a smooth top surface for writing, but not so smooth that your keyboard will slide around.
Organization
Psychologically, a desk pad has a calming, centering effect, much like a tablecloth or table runner in a home, dissuading you from piling junk or excess materials in your space.
A desk pad also helps you create zones, both on the pad and around the perimeter. You might find yourself keeping resources on the back third of the desk, beyond the far edge of the depth of the pad, or papers to the left of the pad and your phone and gadgets to the right.
Let your desk pad support your organizational structure, and you might find that it supports your physical as well as cognitive sense of order.
Design Aesthetic
Design also has both a functional and psychological impact.
Functionally, the design and manufacture of your desk pad can affect your comfort while you work. Those with some extra padding may be more comfortable under your arms while you’re typing. Of course, you don’t want a pad so thick that it adds bulk or adversely impacts your ergonomics. And, as mentioned, size will matter if you’re trying to create a sleek, uniform look on your desk.
Aesthetically, the combination of materials, colors, and styles determine whether your desk pad looks:
- Professional — Let’s define this to mean anything from serene to stuffy, but generally appropriate for an attorney’s office or anywhere you’re expected to dress conservatively for work.
- Sleek, modern, minimalist — If the bulk of your workspace is glass, metal, or full of spare IKEA-styled wooden furniture, you’ll want a desk pad that sets a similar tone.
- Activist-oriented — Does everything in your office convey a written message? Is your tone political (in the wider use of the term)? You may want a bold look.
- Too Cool for School — If you’re working with younger people (by which I mean adults younger than you, as parents may bristle at middle school guidance counselors decorating with edgy messages), you may want a more youthful, expressive style to maintain integrity.
- Personal — Whether you want Barbie pink or a custom-designed desk pad from NovelKeys, in the end, you need to ask: does the desk pad fit your tastes? If not, you’ll never feel entirely at ease at your desk or in your workspace.
For example, this Muppet Science Chemistry Deskpad from Deep Space Designs at RedBubble measures 31.5″ x 15.7″. For less than $25, it makes a strong statement that the user cares about science — or at least Beaker.
In the end, however, it’s a desk pad, not a wedding dress. Pick a color, pattern, and material that reflects your style insofar as you’re allowed to express your true style at work.
And if you find the perfect desk pad but expect it will be received poorly at work, use it in your desk area at home — and start looking for a job that won’t stifle your soul.
Portability
If you set up a desk once and never remove anything, this won’t be a concern. However, if you hot-desk at your office, or if you’re a student who relocates to different work areas and likes your desk pad to come with you, portability may be an issue.
Some desk pads easily roll up like small yoga mats and you can keep them rolled with a rubber band or yoga mat band. Conversely, some fancy-pants desk pads, the kind made to emulate old-fashioned leather pads, are not only stiff and un-rollable, but are often weighted heavily on the left and right edges and not ideally portable.
Special Features
A desk pad is not always just a desk pad, especially in the 21st-century. Some, like the KeySmart Charging Taskpad have built-in charging capabilities. Measuring 35.43″ x 16.54″, in comes only in black. What it lacks in panache, in makes up for in features.
You can just set your phone, Airpods, or other doohickies on the mat and they’ll charge quickly, even when in their cases. It’s also water- and stain-resistant, and anti-scratch, with a no-slip-backing and PU Leather surface. There’s a “micro-textured mouse pad built in, with cushioning for wrists and forearms. It’s $120 from KeySmart and currently on sale at Amazon for $69.
Gaming keyboards are built with colorful, lighted margins to help set the ambiance. For example, see the Razer Goliathus Chroma line, which runs about $55 at Walmart and Amazon for the extended version. (You may want to turn down your volume if you’re over 30 years of age.)
And in one of the most unusual findings for this updated post, there’s The CozyDesk, a heated deskpad for those of you who grip your coffee cup for warmth, whether it’s deep in winter or your office A/C is just too brisk for your tastes.
At 31.5″ x 9.4″, the smooth leather CozyDesk has 50 different heat settings but a heat-resistant base. Your desktop and your accessories (like your mouse and keyboard) remain safe, while your fingers stay toasty warm. It has built-in safety features, including an auto-shutoff and a low-power consumption setting.
Whether you’re an office worker, student, gamer, someone suffering from poor circulation or Reynaud’s Syndrome, or just someone whose office space (or hands) are colder than you’d like, this CozyDesk promises customized warmth for your desktop workspace from 50° to a whopping 140° Fahrenheit (10°-60° Celsius).
Normally, the CozyDesk sells for $80 but is currently half off at $39 for a mid-year sale.
While there are a variety of similar heated desk pads listed on Amazon, ranging from $25 to $200, the lower-priced items are often marked as “frequently returned items.” Let the shivering buyer beware.
Price
Do you want to make a long-term commitment to one desk pad or “date” around with different options depending on your mood of the week? The more committed, the higher a price point you can embrace.
I’ve seen desk pads ranging from $10 to $200, so you should be able to augment your work space at a cost that works for you.
A FEW MORE DESK PAD EXAMPLES
Smead Desk Pads
Just as I was considering writing this blog post, I got an email from one of my favorite companies to recommend about the brand new Smead Desk Pads. The waterproof surface, described as being crafted from “premium vegan leather,” has a sturdy design to protect against keyboard scratches, water marks, and spills.
Smead notes that the faux-suede, non-slip backing will ensure stability, so it won’t wiggle while you work or write. They stated that it comes rolled for easy shipping but will lay flat without curling once it’s on your desk.
The Smead Desk Pads come in three sizes:
- Small (23.6″ x 13.7″) for $10.49
- Medium (31.5″ x 15.7″) for $12.99
- Large (36″ x 17″) for $14.99
and five colors: Blue, Dusty Rose, Saddle, Sandstone, and Charcoal.
If you’re seeking a serene, serious, vibe, like for the office of a therapist or ADHD coach, this might be ideal.
OrbitKey Desk Mat
The OrbitKey Desk Mat comes in Black or Stone, in two sizes: Medium (27.01″ wide x 14.69″ high) and Large (35.28″ wide x 16.65″ high). It’s made of premium vegan leather and 100% recycled PET felt and comes with a two-year warranty.
The OrbitKey Desk Mat has some intriguing features, including:
- a quick-access indented toolbar across the top
- a magnetic cable organizer
- a document hideaway feature, suitable for keeping your cheat sheet formulas and codes, or sensitive papers you need at your fingertips
It’s also somewhat pricey (at just under $80 for Medium or $100 for Large) from OrbitKey and Amazon.
Adir Professional Reversible Self-Healing Cutting Mat
Adir’s dual-sided green and black desk pad is made of “self-healing” vinyl and comes in four sizes: 12′ x 18″ ($15), 18″ x 24″ ($25), 18″ x36″ ($45), and 36″ x 48″ ( $76) from Amazon. If you’ve got someone on your shopping list whose desk is equal parts computer desk and work bench, this option will “self-heal” if an art or mat knife or rotary cutter slices through it, keeping the surface smooth. It’s marked with 0.5 inch, as well as measurements in centimeters and millimeters, 45- and 60-degree angle guides, and diagonal cutting lines.
Excel Tips Deskpad (and Morning Brew)
This is actually two recommendations in one. Do you subscribe to the Morning Brew newsletter? It’s a stellar daily newsletter for catching up on all the (mostly non-stressful) national, international, business, and entertainment news delivered in a delightfully Dad-joke tone to make starting your day easier.
If you spend too much time on Microsoft Excel, you might want to look at the Morning Brew Excel Tips desk pad. It measures 27.20″x11.75″ and provides more than 60 Excel functions, 100+ Excel shortcuts, and top dialog box definitions, all for $35.
Paper Doll HQ hasn’t had the opportunity to use or rank every desk pad, so you may wish to peruse recent coverage of the best of desk pads.
The 7 Best Desk Mats, Tested By Our Editors (The Spruce)
8 Best Desk Mat Options For 2025 (Rosstopia)
9 Best Desk Mats of 2024 for a More Organized Workspace (Good Housekeeping)
The 10 Best Desk Pads to Elevate Your Workspace (The Robb Report)
The 13 Best Desk Pads to Make You More Productive and Organized at Work (Esquire)
The 15 Best Desk Pads & Mats for Your Office (Werd)
The 17 Best Desk Pads For Your Home Office (GearMoose)
21 Stylish Deskpads and Blotters for Writers (Accessory to Success)
Do you use a desk mat? What are the most important features for you to work comfortably? Do you care more about looks or texture? Do your tastes run toward luxe or funky?
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.
How to Use Timers for Improved Productivity and Focus — Part 3: Tangible Timers
So far in this series on using timers, we’ve focused on the “thinky” aspects.
- In How to Use Timers for Improved Productivity and Focus — Part 1, we looked at the the why of using timers and all of the situations in which they can boost productivity.
- Then, in How to Use Timers for Improved Productivity and Focus — Part 2: Picking a Good Timer we identified the general characteristics of a good timer and the specific, customizable aspects supporting individuals in their unique tasks and projects.
That was wordy stuff. Today, we get to start looking at the actual timers that can work their magic in helping you maintain focus, remember to take breaks, and avoid hyper-focusing. Today’s post is what I consider a “feast your eyes” post; read it in its entirety or just scroll through until you see a timer that appeals, and then explore all the salient details.
As we discussed previously, the timers you select should feel like they’re on your team, not like they’re monitoring you for a productivity parole board. They need to support all your functional, as well as aesthetic and emotional, needs. You don’t want — at least under most circumstances — to feel like you accidentally launched a countdown to self-destruction instead of a 25-minute Pomodoro focus session. Embrace a platform that works for you.
A timer should support your functional, as well as your aesthetic and emotional, needs. You don't want to feel like you accidentally launched a countdown to self-destruction instead of a 25-minute Pomodoro focus session. Embrace what… Share on XToday, we’ll focus on physical (primarily analog) timers; next week, we’ll examine digital and hybrid timers. But to begin, we’ll delve into the product line that has done the most to improve the understanding of the passage of time in schools, within the ADHD community, and among anyone seeking productivity support.
DISK-Y BEHAVIOR: TIME TIMER, THE BIG KAHUNA OF PRODUCTIVITY TIMERS
If you read Paper Doll or any productivity or organizing blogs, you probably already know quite a bit about Time Timer. The basics of this beloved product invented by Jan Rogers in 1994 are told in this video.
The key is that Time Timer was the first solution to the problem of time blindness, an undeveloped sense of the passage of time. As explained in ADHD Minds Are Trapped in Now (& Other Time Management Truths) in ADDitude Magazine, those experiencing time blindness are so ensconced in the present moment, in the “now” of things, that recall of the past and anticipation (and planning for) the future are difficult. Understandably, time blindness creates trouble in estimating how long a task will take.
My professional organizing business started in 2002, when Time Timer was still getting to be well known, so I feel as though we’ve “grown up” together. While almost every professional organizer has familiarity with Time Timer, I knew they’d made the “Big Time” when I walked into a Diabetes Sisters support group meeting. The moderator was almost giddy as she showed off the “cool timer” for making sure we’d hit all the planned activities on time.
Seeing Time
Over the years, I’ve been impressed with how this simple innovation has helped children and adults “see” the passage of time in ways they’d never been able to before.
In part, it’s because younger millennials and Gen Z have experienced digital clocks almost entirely to the exclusion of analog clocks. It’s no wonder that young people don’t know what “half past” or “a quarter ’til” mean!
Digital clocks are on their devices and computers, in their classrooms, and on electronic signs as they drive down the street. If you blink, you miss the minutes changing on a digital clock, and there’s no second hand “sweeping away” the seconds, as my kindergarten teacher explained it.
For many others, whether because of ADHD, executive function disorders, or just the complexities of living in the 21st century, they’ve never quite gotten the hang of how time “feels,” so they underestimate or overestimate how long a minute (or twenty) might take. If you don’t know how long a minute is, how can you envision how many you need for any given task?
The basic element of all of the physical Time Timers is two-fold:
- they display time in an analog manner
- a colored disk is set to the starting point of the timed period, and the visible area of the colored disk disappears (behind the face of the timer — it’s mechanical, not actually magic!) as time is “used up.”
It seems almost too simple, but users soon see that making time visible in this way calms the nerves and soothes the senses. Whether you’re doing a timed practice test or trying to finish a presentation for your client, you need only flick your eyes to the Time Timer to know how much time you have left.
There’s no need to calculate the math in your head as with a digital clock, and even from a distance (and even if you’re extremely nearsighted!), the flash of color slowly moving in a clockwise pattern is enough to signal if you have a lot or a little time left.
In this way, Time Timer delivers on its mission: it “fosters focus and provides clarity to individuals who struggle with visualizing time.”
Original Time Timers
The Original 8″ and Original 12″ versions with the crisp white background, black type, and red disk are for purists (and anyone who wants a variation on the old joke, “What’s black and white and re(a)d all over?”).
Both sizes are 60-minute timers, good for keeping a typical work or community meeting running without unraveling. Its operations are silent; with no ticking, the Originals are ideal for classrooms, open-plan offices, and for sound-sensitive users or spaces. The alert ding at the end of the set time is optional.
The no-nonsense style makes it appropriate for classrooms or office work, and it has both a magnetic backing and foldable feet, so you can choose the optimum display style for your needs. You’ll need two AA batteries to keep your Original Time Timers in lock-step with you, but it comes with a dry erase activity card to keep you on-task.
Teachers and homeschooling parents may want to opt for the Time Timer® Original 8” Learning Center Classroom Sets, with sets of three Original 8″ timers in either primary or secondary colors.
With all the same features as the other Originals, they add a pop of color, so if the minimalistic look and magnetic backing or table-top options appeal to you for your workplace, but you need to make your stylistic mark, this might be a good alternative.
The colored Learning Center versions also prevent you from feeling like you’ve fallen into a creepy, crooked-clock episode of Severance.
You can also amplify the Original 8″ with a Time Timer® Original 8” Visual Scheduler. Encircling the timer is a dry-erase board where you can add calendar/daypart information or time progress details.
Actual minutes are hidden. In addition to the drawn-on markings you can add, there are clips that mark where you have reached in the time allotted.
In the reverse portion, there are pockets for holding the clips, dry erase markers and other timer accessories.
The Original Time Timers include access to the Time Timer apps, which we’ll review next time.
Time Timer Plus
In 2013, the line expanded to include Time Timer Plus, all of which stand upon their own and have handles to make them portable — as more than one client’s child has noticed, somewhat like a purse, or as my GenX clients have said, like a little boombox.
There are two versions of the 7.09″ x 1.7″ x 5.51″ Time Timer Plus 60-minute timers, with relatively serious faces (white backing/black type/red disk) like the Originals; the bodies come in either white or charcoal.
As with the originals, there’s no distracting ticking to interfere with focus, and there’s volume control for the alert, to assure that those who hyper-focus aren’t jarred into anxiety.
These were the first Time Timers I ever owned and used with clients. In addition to the features of the Original version, the timers in the Plus line are the only analog visual timer with a pause button (in the upper right).
The official rules of the Pomodoro Technique say that if your 25-minute Pomodoro is interrupted, you have to start counting from the beginning, but you’re a grownup and can make rules for yourself! If the interruption is worthy — your boss has a question, the school has a fire drill, etc. — hit that pause button, but do get back to what you were doing when you are able.
Over time, the company realized that different users might need different iterations. An hour is fairly long; five or ten minutes barely makes a dent. Thus, the colored part of the disk measuring just a handful of minutes would be hard to discern, especially for children or even someone learning to appreciate smaller increments of time, like while meditating or holding yoga positions. For them, 5-minute and 20-minute versions were created.
Conversely, sometimes an hour isn’t enough; if you’re taking timed practice tests or holding a multi-hour group workshop, a longer visual display of time is needed, so the Plus line added a 120-minute timer. All three additions to the Time Timer Plus family have more colorful disks.
Time Timer Mod
The Original and Plus editions always served their purposes, but (especially early on) had a decidedly academic/industrial look about them. Some people felt that it gave off either a juvenile or sterile vibe; some of my adult clients said they feared it branded them as someone who needed help with time. (But c’mon, we all need help with time.)
As I noted last week, aesthetics can matter, and while most people wouldn’t consider timers as bearing a stigma, both the Original and the Plus line are rather “in your face” about their purpose. The Time Timer Mod line was the perfect response.
These 3.47″ square timers are just two inches deep, so you can use them anywhere: at home, in an office, working from a coffee house or library, even at the beach. They are small enough to throw into a backpack or purse, and to the uninitiated, they just look like little clocks. And a Time Timer Mod only requires one AA battery.
The standard Time Timer Mod – Home Edition Timers can measure up to 60 minutes and come in six designer colors accent colors coordinating with the timer disks: Lakeday Blue, Fern Green, Dreamsicle Orange, Pale Shale Gray, Peony Pink, and Cottonball White (with a burgundy disk). (Value packs of coordinating silicone “skins” are optional.)
As some people (teenagers? college dudes? macho men in the workplace?) may want or need a timer with a harder-edged aesthetic to stay committed, Time Timer has a new Mod Home Metallic Edition in four different colors/styles that remind me of the eye shadow palettes popular in the 1980s:
- Metallic Midnight (midnight blue timer with gold disks)
- Metallic Indigo (dark purple-blue timer with a light purple disk)
- Metallic Forest (dark green timer with a metallic brown disk)
- Metallic Storm (dark blue timer with a pink frosted disk, the color of an eye shadow I suspect I currently own!)
(These are more sparkly in person than they appear on screen.)
And for parents of kids needing something a little more generous with time measurement, the cheery Time Timer® MOD Home Edition Rainbow Wheel colorfully communicates time segmentation to children in five minute increments.
While the Home Editions are equally useful at home or work, the 60-minute Time Timer Mod Education Editions has more specific uses. They come in charcoal with the classic, highly visible red disks and optional silicone skins. However, when Time Timer spoke with educators and therapists, they learned of needs for shorter-duration and longer-timed options, so they created 10-minute (white with a yellow disk), 30-minute (white with an orange disk), and 120-minute (white with a purple disk) versions.
Time Timer RETRO Eco Edition
For those seeking a combination of productivity and sustainability, Timer Timer developed the RETRO Eco Edition. These 7.5″ square timers are smaller than the Original line and come in two styles, Green Land and Blue Water. They take one AA battery, like the MOD line, and come only in 60-minute versions. Their key appeal is how they are manufactured.
By combining a rice husk byproduct with their plastic, they’ve eliminated any unnecessary plastic pieces, reducing the overall plastic usage these timers by nearly half compared to similar timers. Additionally, 1% of the Time Timer RETRO Eco Edition sales go to their Time Timer® Making Time for Trees Initiative, a program committed to planting more trees and offsetting Time Timer’s carbon footprint. This version also eliminates the plastic lens, making it easier to repair a disk and yield a longer product life cycle.
Time Timer BRAILLE 8”
Closing out the physical Time Timers is the newest and most intriguing, the Time Timer Braille 8″, the first tactile, high-contrast, visual timer!
This innovative, empowering design allows both users with vision impairment and fully sighted users to use the same device simultaneously to monitor time use, stay productive, and support focus without hyper-focus. It’s suitable for classroom use, students taking tests or working on their own or in groups, and adult work or household projects. Like the MOD and RETRO lines, this 8-inch square timer takes one AA battery.
This timer combines their traditional disappearing disk with a tactile-set bar and Braille writing, so that vision-impaired users can set and track time themselves, by touch. The audible alert is optional.
While this is not the only Braille timer I’ve seen, Time Timer’s version offers the advantage of the high-contrast color differences (of the disk against the white background) for low-vision and fully-sighted users with Braille for vision-impaired users, something I’ve not found in other options.
[For current prices of Time Timer, please see the individual product pages linked.]
Time Timer has other products, ones which I would identify as hybrid, offering both an analog and digital approach to timers, and we’ll examine them in the next post.
Again, Time Timer is not the only timer manufacturere, but their wide variety of options make them the first line of productivity support for children and adults, at home, work, and play.
If, based on what I explained in the first two parts of this series, you to believe that you, your child, or someone with whom you work might benefit from a timer that unites the features of a tangible, visual, and analog timer with an optional, gentle (but non-customizable) alert, Time Timer should be your first stop.
OTHER PHYSICAL TIMERS
Lest this post feel like a commercial for Time Timer, there are a variety of other tangible timers worth considering, especially for those individuals most needing both:
- a timer with aesthetic appeal
- a physical timer, something that approximates a fidget toy
but not necessarily one with a visual approach to the passage of time.
Focus Timer® Visual Timer
You may recall that last week, I noted a primary problem with using an hourglass timer: it requires the user to “gauge what those collective grains of sand mean.” With a real hourglass, you must judge the ratio of sand above to what already passed down. A modernized version eliminates that problem.
The Focus Timer® Visual Timer has an adjustable hourglass design allowing you to set customized time measurements from one to 100 minutes.
Made of what the manufacturers call a “magic touch material,” this 3.75″ x 2″ timer has some appealing features:
- a “soothing” chime alert with three volume settings and a mute option (I put “soothing” in quotation marks because, as the video below shows, it’s a little high-pitched for my timer tastes.)
- ability to recharge via an included USB-C charging cable
- 10 hours of use before requiring charging
- 100 days of standby time
- a visual display such that horizontal blue rings are one minute each and yellow rings are 10 minutes each
It works by turning and “twisting” your fingers along the surface, much as you can operate your phone with drags, drops, taps, and pinches. Watch this video to appreciate how it works:
For the right user, this might be ideal for timing quiet reading and working stints, meditating, exercising, or other “gentle” activities, but not for large group meetings.
The Focus Timer® Visual Timer comes recommended by Gretchen Rubin, Cal Newport, Dan Ariely, and others in the productivity realm. It provides a beautiful visual display, making it (fairly) easy to judge the passage of time before the alert.
Note, compared to other timers, it’s a hefty $99 at Amazon or $89 at Focus Timer.
Moaas Timers
I’ve explored a number timers, and for those who don’t need a visual display of time passing but love that tactile, fidgety goodness of a timer they can hold and manipulate, Moaas has a variety of options.
The most basic are the Moaas Cube Timers, requiring two AA batteries. For about $15 at Amazon, these 2.6″ cubes come in violet, coral, mint green, white, and yellow.
Facets of the violet, white, and yellow cubes can be set for 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes; the mint green version may be set for 1, 3, 5, and 10 minutes, while the coral’s settings are for 10, 30, 50, and 60 minutes.
To operate, just turn the timer so that the side with the number faces up and the timer starts counting immediately.
A red light blinks while the timer is in use, which can either be comforting or annoying, depending on how blinking lights impact your focus. Adjust the alarm volume between low and high with a switch; another flicked switch turns off the timer completely.
These very basic timers will suffice for timing exercising, studying, cooking or taking a nap, but I suspect they may be a little “low-rent.” While I don’t have a Mooas cube timer, I do own a fairly ancient, battery-operated, 2.25″ Datexx Time Cube that appears to be much the same. The interior weight that identifies which timer specification has been turned upright (and similar to what Mooas uses) rattles and the whole mechanism lacks the “fun” I expected from a fiddly version.
That said, Mooas has a variety of timer upgrades that may appeal to those who want a timer that looks cute and is fun to handle. The Multi-Cube Timer Clock combines a digital clock readout with pre-set timed facets on the cube. These 2.56″ square cubes come in two versions:
- 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes in white for $18.90 at Amazon
- 1, 3, 5, and 10 minutes in mint green for about $17 at Amazon
While the Mooas shows them as also coming in yellow, coral, and grey, those do not seem to be sold currently.
Mooas’ Multi-Hexagon Clock Timers are cool to look at and offer similar fidget-worthy features in a hexagonal style, but Amazon has marked as a “frequently returned item,” which is somewhat concerning. As always, function should be a higher priority than aesthetics, even when aesthetic appeal is needed to encourage commitment to timer use.
Happily, there’s no such warning on the 2.24″D x 1.84″W x 2.24″H Mooas Dodecagon Time Ball Rechargeable Mini Timers, which come with eleven different pre-sets: 1, 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 45, 60, and 90-minute timers and three colors: sand peach, blue, and white. Charge the timers with an included USB-C charger.
There are three alarm modes: sound, vibration, and silent, and it sells for about $25 on Amazon.
I suspect that this small, fiddly timer may appeal best to teenagers and gamers.
Similarly styled cube, hexagonal, and multi-sided timers can be found all over Amazon and in Big Box stores and dollar stores. This $38 TickTime Pomorodo Cube, which is not a cube at all but a hexagon, comes in blue, black, or white; has pause and resume modes, and the adjustable sound can be silenced or replaced with only vibration.
Mechanical Timers
Finally, remember that the simpler your physical timer is — if it requires no fiddling, no batteries, and no instruction manuals — the more likely you will be to use it.
If you don’t struggle with time blindness and don’t need to see the passage of time, and if you can accept (and won’t be startled by) a ding, a mechanical timer may be your best, first, and least expensive option.
If that’s a traditional pomodoro tomato timer, so be it.
As always, the best solution for any productivity strategy is the one you’ll actually use.
Until then, do you have a tangible timer you love? Did one in this post tickle your fancy? Please let me know in the comments.
Affiliate Disclosure: Some of the links above are affiliate links, and I may get a small remuneration (at no additional cost to you) if you make a purchase after clicking through to the resulting pages. The opinions, as always, are my own. (Seriously, who else would claim them?)
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