I struggle with focus and procrastination. I am interested in a lot of things so it’s easy for me to get derailed and I have low level anxiety so my brain is always going “oh no, you need to do this other thing, RIGHT NOW” and before I know it I have 16 windows open, 4 partial emails, 6 read but not responded to messages (in Slack, WhatsApp, Messenger, text…), a sink full of partially washed dishes, a load of mildewing laundry waiting to be hung and nothing taken out for dinner…not to mention 4 in flight work projects and notes scribbles from 6 meetings …at which point I’m overwhelmed and go see what you’re all doing on Facebook or wherever.
I don’t think I’m alone in this which is why I’m writing this post – I might have a tool that can help! This isn’t new, I had a friend tell me about a similar technique she used but I’d never tried it before.
Pick a thing you want to get done, right now mine is this post. Turn off all your distractions (phone in airplane mode, door closed, etc…). Set your timer for 50 minutes, put your head down and “go” for the duration of your timer. It works! My friend years ago used a kitchen timer (I still remember, its was a rooster LOL) but she only set it for 15 minutes; it takes me 15 min to get into my groove!
I’m taking a career development class right now. It was affordable enough I could justify it and expensive enough that I don’t want to cut corners. Our coach sets up 2, 2 hour co-working sessions, Monday and Wednesday. He spends 3-5 min going around the “room” and asking what each of us is targeting for the next 50 minutes, tells us all to go on DND and sets the timer…
I’ve had 2 weeks of this now (4 sessions) and WOW! gotten way more done than previously. I’m also doing a better job of setting a realistic target.
I believe this is working for me because it’s long enough I can get really absorbed which is necessary for me to be productive, it takes about 10-15 min for my inner voice to subside, and not so long that I fall down a rabbit hole and get NOTHING else done.
Another reason I’m finding this beneficial is it’s causing me to have to pick a couple of things to focus on for the day; not 700. So some things naturally fall away because they’re not important enough to justify giving that precious time block to and others get completed because they’re getting real focus. I fully recognize there are a MILLION (probably the actual number) of tools, tips, experts on productivity. This one I’m sharing because it’s truly working for me and it’s solving some of my prior challenges with the standard recommendations of “prioritize, schedule time, do”.
To recap – here’s what’s working for me:
- Initially to build discipline, I’ve paid for it 🙂 To me it’s like paying a trainer to get me kick started on a prepping for a marathon, or a physical therapist to teach me how to build the right muscles to fix my knees. If you’re someone who doesn’t need to buy discipline – awesome! If you do need a coach,trainer, “boss” feel free to message me, I have all sorts of folks I can recommend.
- Block the time on your calendar. Last week I only did the 2 pre-scheduled blocks my coach had sent, the rest of my calendar was a jumble. This week I actually planned what I wanted to do for each 50 min block and a few other blocks. If I can achieve 4-6 hours of work productivity every day I’m in GREAT shape.
- I’m planning the week loosely, then each day setting specific targets for my blocks.
- Stick to the no distractions, trust the timer.
- Put your head down…GO!!
I’ve gotten several big items done this way, and I have one big item in progress that I’m making myself work on in chunks, then take breaks. I’m staying more focused and producing better quality work.
Give it a try, it won’t cost you anything (unless you hire discipline 🙂 ) and it might help you get stuff done and feel a sense of accomplishment! 🌻 🌈
Wisdom of Friends 