A timer or clock can help students that lose track of time to pace their work and to take breaks at reasonable intervals. Some students will work for 10 minutes and lose track of time thinking they have worked much longer, and expect a break. Also some students will plan on a short break and lose track of time. A 5-minute break becomes a 30-minute break! This is the same psychology used by casinos to get people to gamble. Casinos hope the gamblers will lose track of time by not having any clocks on the walls. Use the timer to plan out how long they should work before taking a break, how long their break will be, and how long until the next break. Keep this process going until all homework is completed.
