The Only Productivity Hack You’ll Need
I start using a technique that propelled my daily productivity without putting in extra hours. It helped me work smarter, carefully select high priorities from low impact tasks, and finish my to-do lists faster.
With my continuous progress, my stress levels have plummeted. I also had more free time to spend on hobbies or with my loved ones.
The technique I’m referring to is known as Time Chunking.
Let me show you how I did it.
How Time Chunking Works in General
You split your workday into chunks (or time cycles).
Each chunk is made of 30 minutes usually. During one chunk, you work non-stop for 25 minutes, then you take a short break for 5 minutes.
You repeat for as many times throughout your day as you’re comfortable.
The short breaks make sure you don’t burn your daily energy too quickly. They give your brain the time to recoup and get ready for another high focused work segment.
Take a Long Break Between The Morning and Afternoon Periods
After working for several chunks in the morning, you can take an extended break before engaging in the afternoon hours.
Use the long break to have lunch or attend to personal duties.
Here’s how a time-chunked workday might look.
--- The Morning Session ---Work for 25 minutes
Take a 5-minute breakWork for 25 minutes
Take a 5-minute breakWork for 25 minutes
Take a 5-minute breakWork for 25 minutes
Take a 60-minute break (for lunch and personal duties)--- The Afternoon Session ---Work for 25 minutes
Take a 5-minute breakWork for 25 minutes
Take a 5-minute breakWork for 25 minutes
Take a 15-minute break (coffee break)Work for 25 minutes
Take a 5-minute break--- End of Work Day ---
Customise the Duration of the Chunks to Suit Your Personal Use
I discovered two primary problems with the 30 minutes version of the time-chunking technique.
- Working for 25 minutes was too short for my liking. I felt as if the timer always interrupted my focus.
- I tend to focus longer and better in the morning while I’m less energetic in the afternoon.
To fix these problems, I started increasing the lengths of my work segments and short breaks.
After experimenting for a couple of days, I found that the best configuration for my personal use looked like this.
--- The Morning Session ---I work for 50 minutes
I take a 10-minute breakI work for 50 minutes
I take a 10-minute breakI work for 50 minutes
I take a 60-minute break (lunch and administrative duties)--- The Afternoon Session ---I work for 25 minutes
I take a 5-minute breakI work for 25 minutes
I take a 5-minute breakI work for 25 minutes
I take a 15-minute break (coffee break)I work for 25 minutes
I take a 5-minute break--- End of Work Day ---
As you can see, my morning sessions have longer work segments (50 minutes) and longer short breaks (10 minutes) while my afternoon sessions are shorter.
By customising the duration of my work segments and breaks, my focus and flow states increased dramatically.
You can follow a similar strategy. Play with the lengths of your work segments and breaks until you find an optimal configuration that maximises your productivity.
Everyone is unique. You might be a morning person like me, or perhaps you prefer to work with intensity in the afternoon.
Make sure to find a configuration that best suits your personal use.
The 4 Golden Rules I Followed While Time Chunking
To make the most out of this technique, I added the following golden rules.
Rule 1 — I start with high priority and high impact work.
Since my focus is at its peak in the morning, I used this period of the day to work on my most important and challenging tasks.
I save the afternoon period for less demanding work.
Always prioritise tasks that have the highest impact on your day, career, and life. Leave the less important tasks for later.
Rule 2 — I focus on a single task during each chunk.
I use each time chunk to work on a single activity. There is no multitasking.
For instance, if I had three tasks: work on my business plan, write a blog post, read an important book, then I’ll block a full 50 minutes chuck for each one of them.
I won’t be mixing drafting a business plan with writing a blog post in the same chunk.
I highly suggest you do the same.
During each chunk, focus on performing a single task and ignore everything. Don’t use one chunk for several tasks at once.
Rule 3 — I batch minor daily tasks in a single chunk.
One exception to the previous rule is when I do have many easy-to-do tasks.
Sometimes I have tasks that don’t require a full 50-minute work segment to complete “update my todo list, read a few emails, clean my desktop, etc.”
In this case, I batch all my easy-to-do tasks into a single work segment. Since they are low impact work, and under Rule #1, I work on them during the afternoon session.
Rule 4 — I plan the things to do during my short breaks.
This one sounds a bit strange, but trust me, it’s useful.
The important fact I discovered is that “short breaks must stay short”.
Without prior planning, I used to pick random activities for my breaks.
Most of the activities I did during my breaks were not helping my brain recoup for the next chunk. Worse, they tend to drag longer than 10 minutes.
Here are a few examples of such activities:
- Browse social media and the news.
- Check emails and get drowned in complex threads.
- Read fiction and get lost in characters and plots.
- Answer phone calls and get stuck in an hour-long conversation.
I discarded these activities and started using the short breaks for a well-defined list of things.
Here are examples of activities on my short-breaks list.
- Brew a cup of coffee or tea.
- Do planks and stretch the body.
- Tend to fast and straightforward house chores.
- Perform mindful breathing exercises and short mediation.
Final Thoughts
A personalised time-chunking routine can do marvels to your productivity.
Once you find the work segments that best suit your inclinations, the power of this routine will show on your daily output.
Moreover, if you add the following four crucial rules, you’ll supercharge this technique to have a smarter work routine.
- Start on your high impact tasks,
- Don’t multitask within single chunks,
- Batch minor tasks into a single chunk.
- Carefully plan what to do in your short breaks.
