Productivity Tips #2: Ten Minutes on…

This is the second in a series of productivity tips which are a mixture of ideas that I have developed over time because they work for me when I am stuck, or procrastinating. In some cases they are techniques that I have adapted or borrowed from others. 

This second tip is a useful approach to unlocking a task that is not getting done. Those tasks that just don’t move forward, that appear every day in your list and you avoid them because you have a block about how to get started. 

Ten Minutes on…

This is a really simple technique. Use a timer. It can be the timer in your phone, a manual timer from the kitchen or an app. The main point here is that the time is ticking and you have to write. I use a silent timer with the time remaining clearly visible. For some people an actual ticking clock may be helpful. I would find that too distracting. 

Set the timer to 10 minutes and start writing or typing. With the topic or issue as the title, you just write whatever thoughts you have about the issue. Don’t stop until the 10 minutes is up. When the 10 minutes is over, take a break. Then decide whether to return to the issue or leave it for another day. The key thing is that you have actually made a start on the issue. The freeze has been unfrozen! 

It’s just an easy way to trick yourself into getting started. If I am not getting straight back to the writing, I set myself a reminder in the future to come back to this and do another stint on it. That keeps the task unfrozen. 

This technique can also be used for problem solving. You could see it as an opportunity to pursue inner dialogue, get thinking about the problem, and set out your thoughts on paper, but not for sharing. When I use the technique for problem solving I usually make sure that I take the last couple of minutes to draw together a summary of actions that I have decided to take as a result of the thinking that I have done on the topic.