This Productivity Hack Really Works

October 25, 2016

Let me ask you a question: do you have any idea how much you can accomplish when you’re in a time crunch?

Yeah, that was silly; I know you do.

After all, think how quickly you used to crank out those papers the night before they were due. Or, how quickly you’re able to get out of bed when you realize you overslept and only have a millisecond to get yourself ready and out the door.

Compare, for a moment, the identical scenario which is your morning or nighttime routine on say, your average Tuesday, versus your morning or night routine when you have the day off or on a weekend. I bet you do mostly the same things. I bet, in varying order, you brush your teeth, you wash your face, you take off clothes and put on clothes. And I’ll bet, too, that on, say, your average Tuesday, when you’re expected at work, you accomplish that routine at a rate that’s at least two times faster than on a weekend.

The pressure of time is effective, which is why I’m now going to remind you of a commonly prescribed method for increasing productivity: use a timer.

 

After learning how many people swear by this productivity trick, I am totally giving it a try!

Image credit: 2 Straws for Live Simply

 

 

Rather than getting lost in the sea of a long to-do list and a handful of hours–a combination that almost always results in devoting most of the time to an activity that was never intended to compose your day, use the tool of time segments to create structured units of work.

It doesn’t matter what it is you have to attend to, if you’re hyper-aware of the passing of time while you’re doing it, you’re more likely to stay focused and remain productive.

And, when you’re giving yourself an allotted amount of time to complete a task or a set of tasks, you’re inadvertently forced to decide what it is you’re going to be working on.

You’d be amazed at how great a difference this makes. Knowing exactly what it is you need to do is the difference between a. doing those things, and b. being brainwashed by the internet for two and a half hours, after which you emerge as if from out of a stupor, with no idea how much time has passed or how you’ve spent that time.

 

After learning how many people swear by this productivity trick, I am totally giving it a try!

 

If you have a lot of work to do and a lot of time to work on it, give yourself a cycle of time on and time off. Set your timer for 40-60 minutes of focused work time, followed by 10-20 minutes of break time. Experiment with the minute ranges to find what feels best to you.

This cycle can be especially helpful for people who work from home, and often find their whole day taken up with chores like doing laundry, cleaning the house, etc.

If you just have individualized tasks to get done here and there, set one timer and challenge yourself to crank the task out before time has run out.

The irony is that sometimes the greatest hurdle is getting yourself to actually sit down and start working. And once you’ve done that, you can continue until your stomach starts to really growl. Even if your timer helps you accomplish just that, and then renders itself unnecessary when it sounds because you’re already in a rhythm, it will be worth it.

 

Okay, anyone up for taking the timer challenge??

2 Comments

  1. Sarah on October 28, 2016 at 8:34 am

    I do this with my kids all the time its really effective and gives me a minute to breathe!

  2. Erin on October 28, 2016 at 11:59 am

    I agree- you decide to give your brain a break to check ‘one thing’ and down the rabbit hole! I’ve recently started using a stopwatch app so I can stay committed to the task at hand. Writing out my to-do list the day before is also helping.

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2 Comments

  1. Sarah on October 28, 2016 at 8:34 am

    I do this with my kids all the time its really effective and gives me a minute to breathe!

  2. Erin on October 28, 2016 at 11:59 am

    I agree- you decide to give your brain a break to check ‘one thing’ and down the rabbit hole! I’ve recently started using a stopwatch app so I can stay committed to the task at hand. Writing out my to-do list the day before is also helping.

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