diff --git a/src/utils/timing.py b/src/utils/timing.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..3c6bcf9
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/utils/timing.py
@@ -0,0 +1,24 @@
+"""
+Timing and timestamp utilities for RealTimeNodes.
+"""
+
+import time
+
+class TimestampProvider:
+    """
+    Provides real-time, monotonic timestamps in milliseconds.
+
+    This ensures timestamps are always increasing while staying aligned with real elapsed time.
+    Useful for any process that requires monotonically increasing time values.
+    """
+    def __init__(self):
+        self._start_time = time.time()
+        self._last_timestamp = 0
+
+    def next(self) -> int:
+        """Get the next timestamp in milliseconds, guaranteed to be greater than the previous one."""
+        now = int((time.time() - self._start_time) * 1000)
+        if now <= self._last_timestamp:
+            now = self._last_timestamp + 1
+        self._last_timestamp = now
+        return now 
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