Morning Routine Timer

A 45-minute school morning routine chart

An example for leaving at 8:10 with the default plan. The 30-minute plan runs 5, 12, 2, 3, 5 and 3 minutes; the 60-minute plan runs 10, 20, 2, 5, 10 and 5, then 8 minutes of free time. Adjust the start to your own leaving time.

How to use it

1. Take the time you have to leave and subtract the plan length. To leave at 8:10 with the 45-minute plan, press Start at 7:25.
2. Stand a tablet or phone in the kitchen where everyone can see it, and press the full-screen button.
3. Let the screen name the step. At the three beeps and the tone, the next step begins whether or not the last one is finished, so finish it quickly and catch up.
4. If a step is done early, press Skip and the next one starts. The minutes you save become slack before the door, and on the 60-minute plan the free time comes sooner.

Why school mornings run late

The tasks are not the problem. Getting dressed takes a child five minutes and brushing teeth takes two. Mornings fail in the gaps between tasks: the wander from the bedroom to the table, the sock that turns into a puppet, the ten minutes nobody can account for. In most homes one adult fills those gaps by calling out the time, more loudly as the clock runs down.

A get ready for school timer takes that job over. The screen says what should be happening now, and the beeps mark each change, so the parent stops being the clock and can pour the cereal. Children also see the cost of dawdling directly. Breakfast still ends when the timer says it does, and the next step has already begun.

Setting up a morning that fits the plan

Do what you can the night before. Clothes laid out, the bag packed and by the door, lunch made and in the fridge: each one takes a decision out of the morning, and decisions are where time goes. The pack-your-bag step then becomes a check, not a search for a missing shoe.

Some families dress before breakfast so nobody sits down in pajamas; others dress after, to keep toothpaste and milk off school clothes. This timer puts dressing first. Whichever you choose, keep it the same every day. The free-time step in the 60-minute plan is a reward for being ahead: finish the steps and those minutes belong to the child. Teenagers can start the timer themselves from their own phone.

Common mistakes

• Starting the timer late and hoping to make it up. Count back from the leaving time and start on the minute.
• Choosing the 30-minute plan for a child who eats slowly. Twelve minutes for breakfast is tight; the 45-minute plan allows eighteen.
• Leaving the bag, the forms and the gym clothes for the morning. Pack the night before and use the bag step to check.
• Narrating over the timer. If you are still calling out every step, the screen is not where they can see it.
• Allowing TV or a tablet before the steps are done. Screens are what the free time at the end is for.

Related timers

Plain timers of the same length