Ericsson discovered that uninterrupted practice in intervals of 90 minutes or less, with breaks in between sessions, worked best for maximizing productivity. Anders Ericsson and his colleagues studied "elite performers," folks who excelled in their field, whether they were musicians, athletes, or chess players. Use this easy and mobile-friendly calculator to convert a decimal number of minutes into hours, minutes, and seconds. In response to this information, and in an effort to better understand productivity, Florida State University Professor K. To maximize productivity, work in 90-minute intervals About a decade after we learned about this natural sleep cycle, researchers began to realize that we follow a similar pattern in our waking lives as well. (If you have a sleep tracker, likely as a feature of an activity band, you might have noticed this yourself.) We move from light sleep, to deep sleep (and restorative REM state) in roughly 90-minute waves. We've known for more than 50 years that we sleep in 90-minute cycles. The basic-rest-activity-cycle (BRAC) impacts our waking and sleeping lives So, while it might seem like there isn't enough time to take a break, it's actually one of the keys to getting a lot done. According to a piece in The New York Times, "strategic renewal," which includes everything from daytime naps or workouts to longer and more frequent vacations, has been shown to increase productivity in the long run. But, taking time to relax could actually save you time in the long run. Our days are packed, so trying to find a chance to slow down a little feels almost impossible. Sometimes it seems like rushing around from place to place, or from one task to the next, is the only option we have for getting everything done. It often indicates a user profile.īy working in 90-minute intervals (or less) you could maximize your productivity. You are not playing for perfection here you are playing for greater productivity and the chance to do meaningful, purposeful work, work that makes a difference.Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders. Do what you need to do, and then get back to your most important project, task, or outcome as soon as possible. Blocking time to do what is most important ensures that it gets done.īut what if your plan is derailed by the likely reality that you are interrupted by something that is both urgent and important? Don’t worry about it. Either bang away on your most important project, or having finished the first and second most important tasks, move onto number three. This is true, even if you spend the hour between 9:30 AM and 10:30 AM glued to your email inbox.ĭrop the last 90-minute block somewhere in your afternoon. If you block 10:30 AM to noon, you can take a break to reenergize and refuel, knowing that if your work day ended now, you will have done more than most of the people you know, and a good portion of your peers. Putting the second block late morning doubles up the odds that you generate important outcomes by focusing on the most important task or outcome, or having done that, the second most important. Not as productive as you might have been, but doing what is most important first to completion protects you from a day where you are busy but nothing gets accomplished. If you block the first 90 minutes of your day, the time between 8:00 AM and 9:30 AM to complete the most important task you need to complete, at the end of that task, no matter what else happens, you will have been productive. It’s a tiny bit more than half of your day that you are controlling, and it is time you are protecting from distractions, the unimportant, small work that does nothing to move you closer to your goals. If you work an 8 hour day, that leaves you 3.5 hours to be reactive or responsive. Those three 90-minute blocks total just 4.5 hours out of the entire 24 hours that make up your day. If you schedule three 90-minute blocks of time a day for your most important work, you will find that you get more important work done, that the work is a higher quality, and you complete your tasks and projects faster than you would have otherwise. It means you have a plan, and you work that plan as best you can. Blocking time doesn’t mean that you have to schedule your entire day, leaving no room for pop up meetings, people who need your help, or work that shows up and needs your attention. If you don’t block time on your calendar for what is most important, without meaning to, you will find yourself in reactive mode, and small things will crowd out your big goals.
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