Posts tagged Productivity

Here is a little life hack you might find useful. I call it the self-check timer.

Often times I get sucked into meaningless non-productive tasks. It’s usually when I have a difficult task that I don’t want to start, or a task that is longer or more tedious than expected. Granted, we all need a break now and again. No problem. When the break turns into 90 minutes of web surfing, however, that is a problem.

Here’s one way to stay on track: Ditch your fancy Rolex for a digital watch with a programmable timer. I happen to like my Timex Ironman. Whatever watch you choose, it should have a simple count-down and repeat capability. Set the timer to go off every 27 minutes. Okay, the exact time is not important, but pick something that will not hit on the half hour or hour. It should be fairly random and asynchronous with respect to your calendar. Whenever the timer goes off, stop and assess what you are doing. Does your current activity support one of the day’s most critical tasks? Be honest. If it does not, get back on track.

That’s it. It seems like a very simple thing, and it is. You’d be amazed at how many times you catch yourself being unproductive during a single day. Try it. You’ll also find that while you are able to take short breaks, you won’t get completely lost.

One caveat: Don’t do this every day. If you do this too often, your conscience will learn to tune out the beeping and it will lose its effect. You will also start to annoy your co-workers when they catch on. I only do this a few times per month. I may pick a day that is more heavily loaded with critical tasks and has less room for slacking.

Another side benefit… You’ll find that it is a handy excuse to escape those never-ending conversations with the office gossip. You don’t want to seem rude by glancing at your watch, but it’s a completely natural thing to do when your watch starts beeping. Also, observe the behavior of people around you when your watch goes off. Everyone will likely look at their own watches as you look at yours. The net effect is that you just increased the productivity of everyone around you while creating the perfect moment to gracefully exit the conversation and move on to something productive. Nice work : )