Ever feel like the Little Engine That Could when moving towards your goals?
Chugging along, while doing your best to hold on to the dream. Feeling like you're never, ever, ever going to get there.
The top of that mountain just looks so huge sometimes, doesn't it?
What if you could be the Shanghai Transrapid (the fastest train on the planet) instead of the Little Engine That Could? Moving towards your dreams like the Shanghai Transrapid is easy if you have the right strategy.
The 90-15-15 productivity strategy is one of my favorites.
It's simple. Easy. And powerful.
And it's based on the Pomodoro technique. But with a few upgrades to make it extra powerful.
For instance, with the original Pomodoro technique, you work for 25 minutes and take a break for 5. Francesco Cirillo originally developed it to help people stop procrastinating.
But here’s the problem...
The original Pomodoro isn’t effective if you’re not having trouble with procrastination. The 25 minute work time isn’t long enough to do what’s needed in one sitting and a 5-minute break doesn’t cut it either. What can you really get done in 5 minutes besides a decent neck stretch?
So... I made both the work and break times longer to fit how I like to work.
And then I added a twist.
Every two hours it looks like this…
90 MINUTES
FOCUSED WORK
15 MINUTES
CHECK EMAIL
15 MINUTES
TAKE A BREAK
90 Minutes of Deep Work
During the 90 minutes, I do my best to turn off any distractions. I make it a game to see how much work I can get done in those 90 minutes.
15 Minutes of Checking Messages
Next, I check email, Slack, and social media for 15 minutes -- making sure to work on the highest priority messages first. You'd be surprised how many messages you can read and respond to when the clock is ticking. This allows me to get back to people every two hours which is pretty responsive in most cases. I leave the non-urgent messages for my admin time (after lunch and right before I end for the day).
15 Minute Break
Finally, for the break, I step away from my desk and do something physically active for 15 minutes. This can be…
Which one I choose for any given break depends on what I'm in the mood for (and how messy my place is).
Thus, if you think about it, by the end of the day...
- I've gotten a ton of work done,
- have a clean home,
- exercised and stretched,
- and partied it up.
Not bad for 8 hours.
Try it for yourself. The idea is to maximize your productive mental time to get stuff done...
While also giving your mind a rest and your body some movement.
Productivity never felt so good.
With love & joy,
P.S. Want to watch the video instead? Click the button below...
P.S. Know another coach who could benefit from the 90-15-15 productivity strategy? Go ahead and share it with them here...
