Sometimes, I really don’t want to do something I need to do, especially when I’ve got a lot of things to do, and I wonder how I’m supposed to ever get all the things done. So, it’s sometimes tempting to curl up with a good book, or a good movie, or an entire season of a favorite show, or do anything besides what I need to do. Even empty the dishwasher or clean. That’s how badly I don’t want do to what I need to do sometimes. This sometimes happens even if it’s something that I’m passionate about, which is kind of a contradiction in and of itself. But it happens.
Often, I think this happens because I feel overwhelmed, or I don’t know quite how the thing is going to go, or it’s a new thing, or I don’t know where to start or what the next step might be, or maybe I’m feeling a bit burned out and tired. For whatever reason, it’s hard to get going on that thing.
Thankfully, I’ve found a hack that is really working for me when there’s something I need to do but don’t really want to do.
I set a countdown timer for 60 minutes.
And then I do the thing for 60 minutes. With no distractions. No social media, no internet surfing (unless I’m doing research, but I still need to be careful to not go down any time-sucking and procrastination-causing rabbit holes), no reading texts, no looking at emails, no nothing.
When the timer goes off (“Piano Riff” is my favorite timer notification), I’m done. D.O.N.E. Done.
And that’s all for that day for that thing. I can check that thing off my to-do list and move on, knowing I’ve made progress and kept my promise to myself to work on that thing that day. It really is an amazing feeling!
I like to stay ahead of project due dates because you just never know when a last minute project will pop up, or a life-related thing will pop up, or any urgent thing that needs to be done RIGHT NOW. And it really just feels great to be ahead of things instead of feeling like I’m trying to keep my head above water with all the things.
And you know what? Those 60-minute blocks, day after day, actually get the thing done, usually earlier than the deadline! Which is also an amazing feeling, BTW. And sometimes, when I’m really in the “zone,” I’ll even spend longer than 60 minutes on that thing after taking a break for a few minutes before continuing on. Small breaks to break up those time blocks are essential to staying focused and making the most of the time I’m spending on something.
There’s actually been some research about how long you can focus on a task at one time and be the most productive, and while I like 60 minutes because it’s easy to time block, 52 minutes has been shown to be optimal in some studies.
It doesn’t always have to be 60 minutes either. On some super crazy days, I’ve set the timer for only 30 minutes, or even just 15 minutes, which is totally fine. I’m still making progress on that thing.
With my new full-time solopreneur adventure into the freelance writing, ghostwriting, and editing world, I have a pretty good idea of how long projects will take, so knowing a project will take 3 hours, for example, which is only 3, one-hour time blocks, really makes things not feel so overwhelming and way more doable. It allows me to block out the needed 60-minute time blocks in my calendar, and it also allows me to take on more projects without the fear of getting overscheduled and eventually feeling overstressed and burned out.
This 60-minute productivity hack has really been very freeing. And quite motivating. And it helps me to feel accomplished in this sometimes crazy, busy world. Crossing those 60-minute time blocks off my to-do list day by day, which keeps me ahead of the work game, gives me time at the end of the day to do those things I’d really like to do…like read a good book, watch a movie, catch up on a favorite show, play games with John, take a walk, work on a hobby, or whatever else I want to do without the stress of having something that I know I should be working on weighing me down.
Those 60-minute blocks of time during the day will go by anyway, so why not make the most of each one?! And I can do anything for an hour, right? It’s totally doable!
How could you use these 60-minute time blocks to help you get things done? Leave a comment below!
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