Time Bites

Like most people, I hate projects that I just know are going to take me forever before I even start them.  They make my brain hurt every time I see them on my list.  If ever there were tasks that I was likely to procrastinate, these are the ones.  People are always telling me, "You eat an elephant one bite at a time."  It's a nice metaphor.  We usually take this analogy to mean that big projects can be broken down into smaller tasks.  But what if the smaller tasks are still too big?  How do you break tasks down even further?


Time Bites

One strategy that you can try is time bites.  The idea is to work for a while and then take a scheduled break.  Can you work when your only goal is to make progress?  Even when we manage to get started on a dreaded project, it's easy to try to "stay on task" to the point that nothing is getting done and we're miserable.  You can't stare at the computer screen forever...or at least you shouldn't.  Take on a project by agreeing to spend some time on it and then leave it while you do something else.

How Big a Bite?

I've seen some suggest as little as 15 minutes and I wouldn't recommend more than an hour.  I really believe it depends on the person and the project.  When I get in a groove and I have a thought I need to get out, stopping can be a horrible strategy.  Or if it took me a long time to get going, I'd be stopping before I get started.  On the other hand, if I'm doing a lot of reading and researching, it's not a bad suggestion to take a break before my eyes glaze over.  Make a test of the concept to figure out how long you should work between breaks.  I also believe that the time should be a general guideline and not a strict rule.  If your timer goes off, you have the right to take a break, but you're also allowed to postpone until you hit a stopping point or stop making progress.

How Big a Break?

This strategy can be used to finish one big task or the whole list for the day.  In either case, the general guideline is about 10 minutes for your breaks.  If you take too long and lose focus, it will take longer to get back to work.  You should probably take longer breaks for meals, even if it means losing productivity.  I've personally never been successful at continuing this strategy all day if I didn't take an extra long break at meals.  I need to be able to get completely away from my work and not inhale my food.

What Can I Do During Breaks?

For starters: get out of your seat, stretch, go to the restroom, drink water, grab a small snack.  Whatever you want to do during this time is an option.  The whole idea is to get away from what you've been focusing on.  Just a short break will be refreshing and allow you to go back to work with a new perspective.  Don't use your breaks to try to get as much other work done as possible.  If you find yourself running around in a hurry to accomplish a list before you have to get back to work, you probably missed the point and need to slow down.  Your breaks are not supposed to add to your stress.

Th strategy of time bites is easily adaptable to different personalities and work styles.  If you work best on a rigid schedule, go ahead and set a timer and live by it.  If you work best with general guidelines, remember to take the occasional break and remember to go back to work after a reasonable amount of time.  Either way is fine as long as you understand that alternating times of work and refreshing allows for greater productivity overall.