Dean Michael Berris

So this past week I've been trying to improve my workflow as I prepare to limit the amount of time I spend working or being in "work mode". One of the reasons I am trying to do this is to that I can make time for my family that is about to be one member larger pretty soon. The prospect of not having time for my family is not a good prospect for me so I tried out some simple rules I impose on myself when I'm at work. This is a high level summary of the techniques I use that you might find useful too.

In essence it all boils down to work management -- not really time management because we all know there's only a finite amount of time in a day, so there's really no point in managing something that is already fixed. What you can do though is manage what you do in the time that you do have. What follows are the few guidelines and techniques I apply to manage the work I do and the way I work..

Allocate a Time Box

There's Parkinson's law which states:

Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.

And boy was Cyril Parkinson right. You ever wonder why something you think will be worth 1 week will seem to take at least 1 week to complete? Because psychologically I think we're programmed to maximize the available time we have -- and naturally we will take our time especially when it's available. To combat this, you can put a quota in finite amounts that you will stick to.

One way to combat this is to create a "time box" which is a mental limit on the amount of time you spend doing a task. This trains your brain to focus on what you need to accomplish within a certain period of time. Instead of your brain wandering around thinking about other things, when you have a mental boundary that's ticking in your head you would tend to focus more on the task at hand.

Practically what I personally do is before I start on something -- any task -- I will set a timer to go off in 45 minutes. This gives me ample time to do as much as I can within a reasonable amount of time. A task that takes 45 minutes of complete focus would typically be a pretty considerable task. I make sure that tasks that would normally take longer would be in these 45 minute increments -- so initially if I think I'll spend 4 hours programming, I'll break the 4 hours up into 45-minute chunks.

I use my iPod Touch (I call her Pinky, because she used to have a pink cover) to set a timer alarm for 45 minutes. I then track the time using Freshbooks and assign it to the project I'm working on. Even though I don't really "bill" my current client by the hour, it is a good practice I believe to track the time you spend working even just so that you know at the end of the week or month what really you were doing in that period.

When the timer goes off, even if I'm in the middle of something, I stop what I'm doing. I then pause my time tracker for the task I am working. Then what I do is I set another timer for 15 minutes, which I spend reading email, reading news, taking a break, or anything else that is not related to work. This 15 minutes gives my brain a chance to take a break and clear the runway and ramp up for the next 45 minute period.

Step Away From The Computer

Not only will you need to do some exercise at some point in your life (and I know I need exercise) but physically being away from the computer allows me to stop thinking about work somehow. Even though I can start thinking about some other interesting things while I'm in front of the computer, it's different when you work all day on a computer and spend your rest and relaxation time in front of one. There is typically a 10 minute context switching penalty for me when I work and play on the computer versus a smaller two minute context switch period when I'm taking my break away from the computer.

Another thing that stepping away from the computer allows me to do is connect with other people in the workplace, at home, or wherever I am. Although IM works for latent conversations, an active conversation with someone face to face has great value for building and strengthening relationships as well as just connecting with other people. Just being among other people in a non-work setting allows the brain and the body to relax at least in my case. Stepping outside and being alone might be a good option for people who are constantly in contact with people.

Breaks are important and if you spend them wisely your productivity (when you observe it) will dramatically increase if you take them seriously.

Focus is a Skill -- Develop It

Just like any other skill, focus requires practice. If you do enough of it you should be able to do it more effectively over time. I found that especially since I've started putting mental time boxes I'm able to stick with the one thing I'm doing at the moment, and my mind doesn't wander as often as it normally would if I didn't put a limit on the amount of time I allot for performing a specific activity.

Just time tracking will not help you actively focus on what you need to be doing at the moment. The mental time box coupled with a physical external alarm would allow you to focus deeply while you work without having to worry about whether you're spending too much time on a task or not. Being able to just focus for a fixed amount of time like 45 minutes (and maybe less if you're not used to doing something 45 minutes straight) will be a good thing in the long run not only in your career but in life in general (I think).

If you think 45 minutes is too long for you, start with a lower time box like 20 or 30 minutes. Initially you might find them too long but when you get to the point (like I did) where you would find the alarm interrupted you too often in the middle of something, it's probably time to adjust that timer to a higher period. Maybe I'll do a lot more in 1 hour, but I want to be more comfortable with 45 minutes first before I push myself to focus on something for a whole hour.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat

Instead of stopping there I personally try and identify more productivity and workflow enhancing tricks and techniques to allow me to be more effective with spending my time and working. Maybe in the next blog post I'll write about how I minimize distractions when I'm working on the stuff that I need to get done.

If you have other tips, please leave them in the comments -- I would love to know what others do to improve their productivity.