I found myself with another short article-writing project on Wednesday, due on Friday. I am getting used to these quick-turnaround pieces, and rather enjoy them. Though the pay is not large, they are good practice for my “journalistic” style and for working with an editor.
It reminded me of a strategy I used to use when I used to procrastinate on a project, and I think I learned it from Martha Beck back in the day when I was in grad school. It involves taking a huge project and breaking it into short chunks of only 15-30 minutes at a time, especially if we are avoiding just getting started. Often, just starting and gaining momentum is the hardest part.
Nowadays, I can usually set a timer for 60-90 minutes of uninterrupted work at a time because I have worked up to that. The idea is that you set everything else aside and just focus on that one thing. It is harder to do that in an era when we often feel tied to our inboxes and phones.
But really: email is not urgent. If someone cannot wait a day or two for a response, they should call you on the phone. We need to de-condition people to getting automatic responses from email, social media and all the other distractions.
After my 60-90 minute sprint, I typically take a break of 20-30 minutes. Research shows that few humans can focus behind 90 minutes anyway, due to our ultradian cycles. These are basic rest-activity cycles discovered in the 1950’s. When we respect these rhythms of focus and rest, we can better manage the ebbs and flows of our energy and be much more productive.
I think that is one problem with corporate work environments. Typically they are built around an 8+ hour workday, and are not sensitive to human rhythms or people’s individual chronotypes, which also influence their productivity. When I complete 3 of these focused 60-90 segments in a day I typically get a mountain of work produced, more than I ever did in a corporate day that was highly interrupted. I am so very grateful for being able to manage that and design these “work sprints” for myself.
What is your cycle for accomplishing your best work? How can you plan to incorporate that cycle into more of your days?
cristy@meximinnesotana.com
mexi minnesotana 
I think that I’ve been trying (without really realizing it) to work with the ultradian cycle. However, my “rest” breaks from work probably aren’t “restful” enough and usually include a household duty, checking email, personal care, etc. I even eat my snacks while working at the computer. My cycle certainly deserves some attention moving into the new year!
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Becky, I definitely understand. Sometimes my breaks aren’t as restful either or they involve folding laundry or doing some other errand. That’s not always a bad thing and it does allow our brain to shift gears into a more restful state in a way. But I definitely like to get away from my desk and change gears at least a couple of times. If feels like when I don’t do this, my brain “spins” a lot more, and not in a helpful way. Thanks for your comment!
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I’ll work 45 min and then I rest…at least when I’m alone. I prefer to work when I’m alone in the house (or at least in the room) :))
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I really like being alone when I work as well. Other people interrupt my “chi”! Thanks for your comment!
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💙💙
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