Saturday, September 14, 2013

The Power of 30 Minutes


Productivity Hack


Setting a timer for 30 minutes has become one of my super-secret strengths. Sounds simple enough, but it's changed my work day from a reactionary snarl of endless to-do's into a series of powerful and focused chunks of time with a purpose. A start and stop. A way to measure success or failure. Interested?


Here's the scoop:

Determine what task you hope to accomplish - type a sale's email, finish a recipe, research a vacation home, whatever - this can be something you've been avoiding or just something that required intent attention that you simply haven't been able to wrap up. Sit yourself down and start your timer. You now cannot go anywhere or do anything other than your task at hand until that timer rings.

This is what I found once I started my timer:

- This works as insurance that no rabbit trail I accidentally embark on, will take over my entire day because my alarm reminds me what I'm supposed to be doing.

- It also tricks my mind into not getting overwhelmed with an entire day of activities because I "only have to focus for another 30min." Keeps things potent, focused, and powerful.

- This keeps me fresher for longer by reminding me to stretch, get water, give my eyes a break, etc...since I have a tendency to run myself into the dirt when working on a project.

- This rewards me with a feeling of accomplishment and pride when I'm able to totally get "in the zone" and I forget that I even set and alarm until it goes off.

- This forces me to think in chunks of time and attempt to break projects into bytes that require progress and decision immediately.

Originally, I was persuaded to try this 30min timer system after listening to an audio recording by Eugene Schwartz - old school, badass copywriter who deserves a blog dedicated solely to his life and techniques.

Comment below and I will send you the file if you want to learn more! Your next 30min could create something AMAZING!!!! Don't underestimate the power of your timer.


1 comment:

  1. Great Idea, I'm going to try this out!
    http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12020205

    ReplyDelete