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My (Current) Timeboxing Tools: Hardware Timers

So, with all this talk of timeboxing lately, I’ve conveniently left out the details of what tools I (currently) use to actually implement it all. There’s a good reason for that: shorter articles are like shorter work periods; they’re more likely to actually happen. Long articles are a burden to you and me — you have to wade through all this text; I have to edit it to make sure it’s coherent. With shorter posts, I get to be both to-the-point and disjointed, like a Michael Bay movie or something.

…Like you needed to know all that…

Anyway, so, yeah, timeboxing. Well, fundamentally, timeboxing uses just one type of tool: a (countdown) timer with some form of alarm/notification function. There are two basic types of timers:

hardware – actual physical timers, and
software — timer applications that run on a more general purpose computing device like a PC or an iPad.

I use hardware timers almost exclusively because, well, because we all know that software can be full of it sometimes. Like, YouTube is great, but IMHO, it still lags behind satellite TV in some crucial ways. The great thing about software is that it can and does improve, but those improvements often take time.

We can’t sit around waiting for our Palm Pilots and laptops and iPads to boot, so we grab pen and paper. Similarly, all the clicking and mouse-moving involved in using a software timer can get very old very fast, especially if you’re doing “microtimeboxing” with 60~90 second blocks (see dual timeboxing, decremental timeboxing for details). So, for now, hardware is the way to go. Besides, not all my timeboxing is done in computer-friendly environments…

Since I live in Japan, I got all my timeboxing devices (isn’t that a sexiest way of saying “egg timer” you’ve ever heard?) here. However, statistics show that a slight majority of the readers of this blog live in the US, so, YTMV — your timer may vary .

With that rather unnecessary introduction out of the way, let’s just talk about hardware timers today and leave the software for another post.

Make/Model/Version	Pros	Cons	Comments
DRETEC T-186	Silent mode (time-up notification provided by flashing light) Short (1-second) alarm mode Long (15-second) alarm-mode Big, easy-to-push start/stop button Display designed specifically for easy viewing on a desktop	Crappy, low-quality construction — every time I touch this thing, it makes creaking noises and I feel like I’m going to break it. Hard to set longer times — no shortcut buttons like the T-135	Despite the crappy quality, the pros outweigh the cons. It’s a great for studying and other desktop activities. When doing dual timeboxing, I use this as the small timer and the T-135 as the big timer. The massive start-stop button is very satisfying to push. You get a great feeling of…I dunno…something. Accomplishment? “Yeah, motherlover! PUSH!”… A good buy overall, despite the flaws. The silent/flashing mode makes this great for places like libraries and cafes.
DRETEC T-135	Solid construction Very easy to set, with buttons allowing you to go up in 10-second 1-minute and 10-minute increments, respectively Easy to see Easy to hear, makes a nice big sound Great size Has a nice big, strong magnet on the back, so it can sit on, say, the fridge Gives a warning beep at T minus 10 minutes and T minus 5 minutes	Not very portable, i.e. it could never be carried around like a stopwatch. Beeps with each button push (and there’s no way to disable this function) Gives a warning beep at T minus 10 minutes and T minus 5 minutes…which, again, can’t be disabled. The T minus 5 minutes warning can be quite distracting sometimes. No warning beep at T minus 2 minutes…I’m just saying.	I have 3 of these in my little Japanese abode. ’Nuff said. The unit’s a really nice size, about the size of a stopwatch. Unfortunately, since it is essentially a kitchen timer designed to be stuck on flat surfaces like refrigerator doors, you can’t really carry it around like a stopwatch. But then…that’s sort of like complaining that your screwdriver makes a bad fork…
DRETEC T-180	Waterproof	Too many buttons, all of equal size Buttons are unresponsive and hard to push Sound is barely audible (and it’s supposed to be “the loud model”). Friggin’ sound doesn’t even match a T-135′s lowest setting.	Good from far, far from good. Seems like a good idea on paper, but sucks in the flesh. Strongly disrecommended.
SEIKO TIMEKEEPER VIB SSBJ023	Nice model number Vibrate mode, for when you need to timebox quietly, or your environment is too loud for an alarm Highly portable Stopwatch functionality Incredibly easy to set using the preset times on the dial. Great for interval training in sports and stuff. Maybe you want to make sure you spend a certain amount of time each day outside.	On the pricey side for a timer.	Dials rule. More things should have dials on them. iPod taught us that. The all-black SSBJ01, the little sister model to this one, looks nicer and costs less, but (AFAIK) doesn’t have the vibe feature. I use this in shops a lot because I actually used to get lost in a “selection trance”/”decision loops” ["maybe I should get this one...oh wait, but this one's cheaper...but I like this other one more...maybe I should check the other store first...oh wow, they have these around corner; I wonder what else I've missed!"], trying to make perfect decisions. By timeboxing my shopping, I can get in, stay in long enough to have fun but not so long as to be wasting life, get out, and get on with life. The silent/vibrating mode makes this great for places like libraries and cafes.

That concludes today’s hardware discussion. Tune in some other time for information on software timers. Oh yeah, if you have any hardware/software timer reviews or recommendations of your own, feel free to post or link to them right here in the comments section.

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