2. This sound familiar ?
Start doing an assignment and lose focus in the first
few minutes
Your mind starts wandering, you lose interest
Take a break, when you get back, can’t really focus
So you take another break
3. Here’s what’s going on
Lack of clear tasks to work on at any given moment
Time starts to bleed, tasks take longer than they
should
Focusing for too long, kills productivity
A vicious procrastination cycle starts
4. How to break the cycle
Make the task you’re working on very clear
Keep the task timed and super short (2-3 min)
Try and beat the time
Have fixed, small, time goals for planning and
reflecting between tasks and creating your next task
5. Why does this work ?
Causes you to focus effort fully in short bursts
Makes it interesting - trying to beat the clock
Increase efficiency - move on to the next task
Get it down on paper instead of in your head
6. Getting Started
Grab a countdown timer
A blank paged notebook (any notebook will do)
A pen
A few behavior anchors (headphones, pencil to chew
on, gum, water to sip, reading glasses etc.)
7. Step 1
Set the timer for 3 min
Use the 3 min to break up your work in basic tasks
Keep an eye on the clock and beat the time
Stop when the time is up!
Example:
Project: Making these
slides
Basic tasks
Pick Topic
Brainstorm
Make Slides
8. Step 2
Set the timer for 3 min again
Use the 3 min to fill in subtasks for each task
Be extremely specific, each sub task should require 3
min of work - if needed, apply this step to the subtasks
Example:
Pick Topic Make Slides
- Brainstorm topics - Mindmap slide topics
- Shortlist topics - Order slide topics
- Pick one - Make a list of slides
- Make slide 1
Brainstorm …..
- Mindmap around topic
- List top ideas
- Pick one idea
9. Step 3
Set the timer for 2 min to plan out the first subtask
In the 2 min scribble down what you need to do for
the subtask and what outcome you want by the end
Keep the outcome concrete and it should be
manageable with 3 min of work – make it really
small
Example:
Brainstorm Topics
- want 3 topic ideas
- in the area of procrastination
- with a focus on time management
10. Step 4
Set timer for 3 min
Do the subtask you planned out
Try and get to the key deliverable – it doesn’t have to
be perfect!
Keep an eye on the clock – try and beat the time
Example:
Topics:
- timer system
- take breaks every 5 min
- work for long chunks of time
11. Step 5
Set the timer for 1 min
Reflect on the task you just did
Do you need another 3 min? or is it good enough
Scribble down anything you learnt from the task and
thoughts on the next task
Example:
Reflection:
- The idea about a timing system
seems promising
13. Points to remember
Be consistent! Time planning, doing and reflecting
Take a 3 min break after doing 3 subtasks
If you feel like a subtask didn’t get done, and if you
really need another 3 min. do it!
Always keep an eye on the clock, the clock is king!
Always listen to the same type of music and chew
the same gum/pencil when using the timing system
14. Hang in there
The timing system may feel weird at first
But it will quickly feel natural and your efficiency
will skyrocket!