Let's steer into a little bit of a different direction this month and talk about focus and productivity to get stuff done.
The majority of my coaching is spiritual disciplines, emotional, healing, etc. but there are times when someone may have a goal that they want to attain and help in how to do so. Sometimes, they have the action steps planned out but when they go to actually DO the work, they feel all over the map or they do not feel as productive as they could have been.
I want to share a few helpful tips with you and two ways to tackle projects and tasks - whether at home or at work. Skip around and pull what can be helpful for you:
The Pomodoro Technique
25 minutes focused work / 5 minute breaks
I first learned this from one of my favorite planners. I use this both at work and at home and find it helpful for specific tasks. Think emails, correspondence, scheduling, bills, cleaning spaces, social media posting, organization.
This is the idea that you FOCUS and work on a task for 25 minutes. It is important to go into this block of time choosing what you are going to focus on. Then when that 25 minutes is up, take a 5 minute break.
When you head into a break, change your position. So if you are sitting at a desk, stand up and walk around. If you are moving around, take a moment to sit down. Go outside, take a drink of water, say "hello" to a staff member. If you are working on a computer, break without a screen in front of you.
This can be repeated for 4 cycles. Then after, the breaks can be extended.
52-17 Rule
52 minutes focused work / 17 minute break.
There are projects that truly require unbroken TIME. Think deep work, creative work, studying. I use this when I am designing something, or involved in written work. The science behind this rule is pretty cool.
How many times have you been involved in a project and then you look at the clock and it's 4 hours later? You feel sluggish, you're hitting a wall, and you've somehow followed a link to a recipe or a TikTok someone just sent you.
This is about working smarter with less distractions. Science shows that if you train your brain and take 52 minutes of focused work, with the reward of 17 minutes, more productive/effective work is the result. When you wrap up one cycle, start another.
Story time: one day I was working on a graphic and I was seriouslllyyyy stumped. I was in one project, then hopped into creating this design. It was a struggle, I made like, three different versions that I hated 🤣. Well, I broke focus when I was called into the office to pray with someone. What happened? I moved my body, I removed myself from my current space, I interacted with people, did something different, and laughed. Then when I went back to that same design. I made a few tweaks and in less than 10 minutes and said - YES, finally, this looks better. See, a small break- more productive.
ADDITIONAL PRODUCTIVITY TIPS
When you set a timer, try for it not to be on your phone. I set a timer on my computer (where I usually am working) or "Hey Google... " I find that I can be immediately drawn to a notification or that dumb little red notification button. So I bypass that all by this one switch.
Utilize different spaces (if you can). I was and can sometimes still be the one who ALWAYS EATS WHILE WORKING. If you really can, keep your work time, work time, and break for lunch. I wouldn't eat without Matt usually (haha) and my friend Christina makes sure that I get social interaction. Because my default nature is to work hours through everything (so I really mean what I say about these techniques! haha) If you can keep your work space for your work space, and your dining space for your dining space, heck - your sleep to your bedroom- this is extremely helpful for productive work.
Taking time to plan out your week. This helps to:
prioritize important projects
specify tasks
pin what is urgent and what is not
schedule appropriate times for meetings, etc.
Taking time to do this is a game changer in my opinion. There are people who loveeee lists. Which can be beneficial but take that list and gauge how long those
tasks take, this will help you to flesh out your schedule.
++ Keep an eye on how long certain tasks take, so next week, when you have to
tackle that same task again, the time is actually accurate and not a guess.
Eat the frog or eat the fly. I talked about this a little in a previous post on productivity.
Eat the frog=do the most daunting project/task first.
Eat the fly=get the little projects/tasks out of the way to get to the bigger ones.
Which way makes you feel more accomplished? Because it can be different for
everyone. I notice depending on a few factors, I can switch between the two. BUT if you see that you are putting something off for weeks- you need to bite the bullet.
It's time to eat the frog...
These are just a few ways to maximize your focused time and help you become more organized as you prepare to accomplish your goals.
Hope this helps!
