Since I started as an organizer over two years ago I have worked with many individuals who have Attention Deficit Disorder. For each of them I recommend the use of a timer. But every time, without fail, the suggestion goes in one ear and out the other. In all the time I have been in business, only one of my clients agreed to use a timer and he loves it. And not only does he love it, his coworkers love it too. It keeps him on task and it helps everyone else around him help him to stay on task.

I recently had another client ask me about getting a timer. I was so excited she asked me without me mentioning it. I asked her what prompted her to ask. She said it all became clear when she was cooking a pie. She set her timer to go off when the pie was done. She went upstairs to tidy up while the pie was baking. When the timer went off, she realized it had been 40 minutes. She never would have realized that without the help of the timer.

For those of you out there who think a timer is a waste of time, I assure you, it isn’t. Especially if you have Attention Deficit Disorder. The timer does not need to be set every-time you start a task or end a task. In fact it is somewhat the opposite. Instead, set the timer for a set period of time. I recommend 15 minutes. Let the timer run until 15 minutes is up. Then ask yourself, “Am I doing what I am supposed to be doing?” If so, great, keep working. If not, get back to the task you should be doing. Hit the button on your timer again and let it run again for 15 minutes. Do this all day, or just at work. Whenever you need it.

This method does a few things. It keeps you from being distracted for too long. Which tends to happen when you have Attention Deficit Disorder or have a difficult time focusing. It also teaches you to gauge your time better. You’ll learn that certain tasks may take a lot longer than you thought. Or they may take a lot less time than you thought. The timer also becomes a tool for interrupting others. Sometimes you may be stuck talking to someone who chats a lot and feel guilty interrupting them. The timer does it for you. The conversation is interrupted giving you a chance for a clean getaway.

I recommend a certain timer for this purpose. You can find it at SurLaTable on their website http://www.surlatable.com/product/cdn+digital+timer+on+a+rope.do?search=basic&keyword=timers&sortby=shortdesc&asc=true&page=1. I recommend this particular timer for a few reasons. The first is it has a lock on it so you will never lose your time if you bump it while wearing it. It also has a great long string so you can wear it around your neck, or it has a clip so you can clip it to your pants or shirt. Or it has a magnet so you can stick it to any magnetic surface. This can be very useful depending on where you use it. However, I always recommend wearing it so you never forget to use it. Also, the clip is nice so you can wear it without anyone seeing it. It also has an easy big round button to reset it. So when the timer goes off, you hit the reset button twice and your back in action.