While I was on my Stumbling spree, which you will read about in the next couple of days, I discovered a post made almost two years ago by productivity guru Mark Forster. The article was entitled My Favorite Time Management Tool. Mark’s favorite time management tool is a timer.
Mark says:
This sort of structure works best when the timings are exact. Imagine you are back in school. When the bell goes, you all pile out into the playground. The last thing the teacher wants is you hanging around in the classroom during a break. But as soon as the bell goes again, you all troop back in for the next lesson.
It’s brilliantly simple, really. I’ve been reading a lot lately about “time chunking” and “mono-tasking” and all these other great ways to keep focus. When I first started proofreading and transcribing professionally, several months ago, I started using a timer. I started using the timer for billing purposes and I actually thought it would hamper my productivity. Sort of like when someone tells you to be funny - “Go!” - and you draw a complete blank. But I quickly found the exact opposite was true and started using it for non-billable tasks as well. For example, if I time my breaks I find them more refreshing and I don’t feel guilty because I know I haven’t wasted much time.
The best effect using a timer has had for me was helping to remove my bad procrastination habit. I found that by setting a time limit on how long I had to work on something there wasn’t any task that seemed that bad. Anything is bearable for fifteen minutes, right? Well, maybe not anything, but anything I have to do work-wise is. Instead of waiting until the very last minute and then hating every second of the three hours I spend finishing a task, I now work in short bursts throughout several days and have it done before the deadline even. This has the nice residual effect of making a similar task seem less daunting when I’m faced with it because I don’t have terrible memories of the last time.
The hardest part about this practice for me - still - is stopping immediately when the timer goes off. For this to have the full positive effect, that timer should rule your actions. When it rings, you stop. When you press “go” you are focused on whatever task you have appointed. Nothing else. I have the focus part down, but sometimes if I’m in the middle of something I just can’t stop immediately. I’m trying to be better about it, but it’s a struggle when I’m afraid I’ll lose my creative train of thought.
I have found two tools (free!) that help a lot with this time management practice. The first is a super simple to do list tool called Now Do This. YOu don’t have to register and there are no bells and whistles. You simply edit the list and each item pops up. When you finish it you click “Done” and you are given the next item on your list. I was surprised to find that I got a true feeling of accomplishment from planning and executing a short list of tasks.
The second tool is the ANT 4 Pizza Timer. Its name tells the whole story of the reason for its conception. The idea is you might get caught up with something and forget you put your pizza in the oven. So you set the timer on your PC so you remember to take it out. Again, simple but brilliant. It is a simple count-down timer and nothing more. There are built-in intervals, but you can customize to your heart’s content and it’s still all free.
As I have done more research into productivity, I have found that a lot of the tools designed to make you more productive just take up valuable time. There are some things I use faithfully - like my to-do lists - and some things I just can’t seem to make habits (weekly status report). However, the one practice that I started before any of the others - just using a simple timer and to-do list - has stuck. Despite how strange it seems, even to me, I find that I am much more productive with the timer on.
Do you have any special tools or methods you use to be more productive? Are you a procrastinator or do you jump in and just get it done? Share!
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