No matter your work style, we can all benefit from breaking our tasks into chunks of time to boost productivity. One recent study showed that top performing employees work for 52 minutes, followed by a 17-minute break, but even 5 minutes of rest helps increase your productivity. In addition to rest periods, dividing up different types of tasks can also increase your efficiency. So grab a timer, and set it for these everyday tasks:
1. Set a Timer For Your Meetings
You know the ribbon that says “I survived a meeting that should have been an email?” Every office has that person who loves meetings, even when they aren’t necessary. Do you work in a growing company where meetings in conference rooms are stacked back to back? Timers are a great way to keep meetings on track. The Time Timer® PLUS’s large size, when placed on a conference room table or at the front of the room by the whiteboard or screen, can be a subtle way to remind everyone when a meeting should be wrapping up.
2. Set a Timer for Checking Email
Whether or not you like email, it’s a necessary tool in just about any job. Set a timer and see how many emails you can get through in, say, 15 minutes, then get back to whatever it was you were doing. If you know you only have to spend 15 minutes, you don’t have to dread it.
3. Take an Email Break
Then again, other people love to be on email, and they will use it as a way to distract them from all of their other work. If you are one of those people, close out of Outlook or Gmail completely. Set a timer. Tell yourself you are going to work without interruption for at least 30 minutes. It’s amazing what you can accomplish without the distractions of meeting requests, store promotions and everything else that crowds your inbox.
4. Wrap Up in 30 Minutes
No one likes to come to their desk in the morning, especially Monday morning, and find it in a disarray from the day, or week, before. At the end of each day, or at least on Friday, set a timer for 15 or 30 minutes and wrap up you work, to ease the transition back to work the next morning.
5. Set a Timer for Brainstorming
The folks at Google Ventures tackle big problems and test new ideas in just five days, as outlined in their new book, Sprint, by Jake Knapp. One of their secrets? Using the Time Timer for brainstorming meetings, which adds a subtle visual cue, not a harsh deadline, for wrapping up an ideation session. Check out the Time Timer MOD - Sprint Edition, which includes a Quick Start Guide to setting up your own Sprint!
6. Take a Break, Period.
Sometimes you just need a brain break at work. If your job involves a lot of creativity, or focused attention of any kind, it can feel nice to check out for a few minutes. Set a timer and give yourself a true break--check your fantasy football scores, or Who Wore It Best. Find the cheap weekend airfares. Take a walk around the mezzanine. Grab a cup of coffee. Check out for a few minutes, and then check back in, feeling ready to tackle more work more quickly.
Ready to start using a timer to boost productivity? The Time Timer has what you need, in all sizes and colors.