Time Yourself For Better Productivity

I don’t know about you but I HATE sitting at my desk.  Hate it.  My butt goes numb just thinking about it.

And what I find happens when I sit at my desk is I tend to let my mind wander.  It’s really hard for me to stay focused.  I start surfing the net.  Looking for sports.  You name it.  It’s hard to stay focused.

So I implemented the “timer trick” and it has made all the difference in my productivity and my focus.

A while ago I decided I was going to solve my focus problem.  I knew that I could zone in on something for short bursts of time.  Especially if I had a deadline so I decided to apply a little trick I knew from training athletes.  And that was timing.

That’s “timing” as in, putting a timer on it.

I went down to our local kitchen boutique and bought myself a Salter brand kitchen timer.  It’s got a nice little clip on the back and I have it clipped to a file folder holder on my desk.  I set it to fifty-two minutes. (Why fifty-two?  Well…I have no clue as to why.  Don’t get stuck in the details.)  I pick a task, set the timer, and go.  Head down.  Grindstone.  Sprint to the finish type stuff for fifty-two minutes.  It’s awesome.  When I implemented this I learned two things:

One:  I learned that I got waaay more done on a topic than ever before because I was cramming.  Just like studying for a test in high school.  I know I’ve got to get it done so I just do it.  I also get a chance to see how many of these fifty-two minute sessions I can cram in in a day.  If I’m good I can get five in.  Only five?  Yes.  Only five.  With two kids, working at home, and a couple of businesses I get distracted in between session so five has been the max.

Two:  I learned how long it actually takes me to do things.  I see so many people who have no clue how long something takes to do.  I do it to.  You dread that project coming up and you think it’s going to take you forever.  Problem is, you don’t get started on the task because you think it’s going to take forever.  Now that I time myself in these chunks I notice that some things I give fifty-two minutes to take much less time to accomplish.  It’s especially true for little things.  I can cram a ton into fifty-two minutes now that I have a timer on them.  It’s awesome when you set out to do a task and it’s done a lot sooner than you thought it would be.  Simple.

What Do I Do After Fifty-Two Minutes?

I get up and I workout for fifteen minutes.

Workout?  Huh?  Yup.  The bottom floor of my house is my office and my gym.  I get up out of my chair.  Stretch my legs and get to working out.  I can usually cram in four exercises in a hard session and then I get a drink and go right back to my desk where I set the timer again for, you guessed it, fifty-two minutes.  It’s quite the system.

By getting in a mini-workout every hour I get the blood going and I actually get more work in than if I tried to work out for an hour and a half.  I waste less time and am more productive during the time that I work.  It’s a great little system.

So head out to the kitchen store and pick yourself up a little timer.  I recommend you get one that doesn’t tick.  Mine’s digital and only beeps at the end.  Ticking would be a little stressful I think.  No need for that.

If you work in an office it’s a great little deterent for others to stop bothering you.  Once they are up to speed on what it is you are doing they will learn not to bother you while the timer is going.  And then when it goes off they won’t be able to find you because you’re off making the most of your fifteen minute break!  It’s a cool system.  Give it a try.

Jonathan Edwards is an Olympic athlete and the Chief Visionary Officer of www.TheBusinessCalledYou.com. He helps solo-preneurs, coaches, trainers and other skilled service professionals build their businesses so that they can break out of the dollars for hours trap and live the lives that they’ve imagined. You can go to his website and receive a FREE audio CD titled “How I Turned My Passion Into Profits and Escaped The Dollars For Hours Trap and How You Can Too!” He lives in Calgary, Alberta Canada with his wife Michelle where they also own www.CushyLife.com the number one luxury bedding and drapery company in North America.

Tags: Time Management