Working for 20 minutes may seem like nothing. After all, you can spend 20 minutes on social media without even noticing! But did you know that working for just 20 minutes at a time can change your life?

Here’s how.

You Will Get More Done

When you break your work into more manageable blocks of time, like 20-minute increments, it helps your brain to focus better naturally. This means that instead of your mind wandering to some daydream that isn’t related to your task, you’ll be able to focus on getting things done. When you spend less time daydreaming, you get more done because you waste less time on your wandering mind.

Your Brain Will Feel Less Tired

When you attempt to work on a task nonstop for an extended period, you put extra strain on your brain. When your brain feels strain, this can result in you feeling tired or easily frustrated by tasks. While working in short bursts of just 20 minutes, you give your brain ample time to rest, therefore leaving you feeling less tired. When you feel less tired, you will feel better overall and probably have a better disposition.

You Will Procrastinate Less

Do you struggle with procrastination? That will go away once you start working in 20-minute bursts. Procrastination is often the result of feeling overwhelmed by a task or feeling like you need to find a large block of time to complete a specific task. When you approach a task realizing that you only need to work on it for 20 minutes, this will make it less daunting because you really can do just about anything for 20 minutes!

Not only that, but when you break down a task to fit into 20-minute increments, you can squeeze one of these increments in at almost any point in your life. Only have 20 minutes before you need to leave for a business dinner? Sounds like a great time to work on your project.

The point is, when you decide that you will only work on projects for 20 minutes at a time, this can truly change your life. The short burst work method will help you get more done, feel more mentally relaxed, and procrastinate less. So if you want a better life, it’s time to throw away traditional work methods and resolve to work just 20 minutes at a time.

Do you have that one friend who always seems to accomplish the most difficult projects with ease? Do you wonder how they do it? It is because they are productive!

Below are three secrets that can help you become as productive as even your most accomplished friends.

1. Take Breaks

It may not seem like taking breaks would help you be more productive, but it does! Your brain works most effectively when it has time to release stress and be creative. You can do this by taking frequent breaks from your work. Aim for at least once per hour, but even more is fine.

During your break, you should leave the work completely to take a bathroom, snack, or even physical activity break! Play around with how many breaks your brain needs, then stick to that routine as closely as possible.

2. Work In Bursts

Besides just taking frequent breaks, you should set a timer for all of your work sessions. You should set this timer for a short burst, like 20 or 25 minutes. The specific time isn’t that important. Finding the length of work session that works best for you will take some experimenting. Breaking the work into small pieces helps to improve your motivation and make the task feel easier to conquer. You’ll also work more diligently with the threat of a timer.

Knowing you will be working in short bursts can also help tackle procrastination issues because knowing that you only have to work for 20 minutes keeps your mind in a much more positive place!

3. Minimize Distractions

Working in short bursts can help easily distracted people to stay focused. It also helps if you minimize the distractions in your work area. Turn off notifications for your email, and resolve to check them at a certain time. Leave TVs, phones, and other personal electronic devices out of the work area. Don’t eat while working.

Use your breaks for this instead (you’ll enjoy your food more anyways!).

It also helps to have a dedicated workspace so when you go there, your mind knows it’s time to work!

It may seem very difficult to be productive at certain points in your life, but if you take frequent breaks, work in short bursts, and minimize distractions, you’ll find that increased productivity finds you naturally. Soon you too will be that friend who is always completing tasks while everyone wo

If you’ve been scouring the internet for a more efficient way to work, you may have heard of something known as the Pomodoro technique. This technique is one of the most popular productivity hacks ever.  Have you ever wondered exactly what it is or where it originated?

Wonder no more!

What Is The Pomodoro Technique?

The Pomodoro technique is a productivity hack that harnessed the power of a simple kitchen timer. The basic idea is that you use a kitchen timer (this method is named for a tomato-shaped timer) and set it for 25 minutes. This is the length of time you focus on whatever task you are trying to accomplish. When the timer goes off, you stop working and take a break for 5 minutes.

When the break is over, you restart the timer and begin working again. After four repetitions (or Pomodoros as they are known), you take a longer break of 15 to 30 minutes. You keep repeating this cycle until you are finished.

Where Did This Technique Come From?

This technique was created by University student Francesco Cirillo, who was looking for a more effective way to study. He had found that he was constantly negotiating with himself to study for ten more minutes at a time. “If I can study for ten more minutes, then I will take a break”.

Eventually, he noticed this “bargaining” was quite effective. He got a kitchen timer and started to time his study sessions, eventually falling on 25 minutes as his preferred session length.

You Don’t Have To Use The Pomodoro Technique To Work In Short Bursts

Maybe you like the idea of the times being clearly laid out for you as they are with the Pomodoro Technique, or maybe you find 25 minutes too long or short for your work sessions.

Either way, it’s important to know that you don’t have to use the Pomodoro technique if you want to work in short bursts. You can choose the length of your work sessions, as well as the length of break that accompanies these. This is the beauty of the short burst work method; it can be tailored to fit your individual needs!

Whether you decide to use the Pomodoro technique or design your own timing method – you will most certainly reap the benefits. So grab that timer and tackle your next project by working in short bursts!

Everyone has that one coworker who seems to be taking a break every few minutes. Although it may get on your nerves, your coworker may be on to something. As strange as it sounds, taking breaks can actually help you be more productive.

Taking A Break Every Hour Refreshes the Brain

In one study performed by Science Daily, researchers discovered that the brain needs a mental break from work at least once an hour to operate at its top productivity levels.

When you work on a project for a long period, your brain eventually feels numb towards the task, leading it to think that it is no longer important. This quirk causes your mind to wander and your productivity to lower. You can combat this brain numbness by taking a break at least every hour. This method means your brain will constantly be re-prioritizing the task.

Breaks Keep You Creative

You probably aren’t surprised to find out that breaks keep you creative. And this makes sense because when you are hyper-focused on a task, it can be difficult to let your mind wander and let the creative side take over.

This tunnel vision can cause you to run into problems you may not be able to conquer. Taking regular breaks and letting your creative side roam for a few minutes can help you develop creative solutions to troubling problems. These creative solutions can boost your overall productivity.

Looking Forward To Breaks Keeps You Motivated

When you think of an eight-hour workday, how does it make you feel? Probably a bit tired and worn out, and you haven’t even started yet! When you know that you will have regular breaks, this can be the push you need to stay positive. When you feel positive about your work, you will be more productive than when you feel negative and discouraged. Chances are, the quality of your work will also be higher when you are in a positive mood as well!

Although it may seem like taking frequent breaks would damage your productivity, they are actually quite effective in boosting it. Regular and effective breaks help keep your mind fresh and creative while also giving you a nice boost of motivation. These benefits all work together to increase your output, making you more productive when taking breaks than if you worked without them!

Do you often get distracted by the smallest thing? Then it’s time for you to start working in short bursts instead of conquering a project all in one go. The short burst work method is a huge benefit to those of us who are easily distracted.

It’s Easier To Resist Distractions For Short Periods

When trying to resist distractions, it gets increasingly more difficult the longer that time progresses. So when you set yourself a low bar, such as only resisting a distraction for 10-20 minutes, you won’t feel the pressure from the distraction as strongly as you would trying to resist it for a longer period.

Think of it this way, when your phone lights up with a text, which one sounds easier, waiting 10 minutes to answer it, or waiting three hours to reply? Sitting and wondering what that call was about will be much easier for ten minutes.

Breaks Help You Focus

When you are the type of person, who is easily distracted, it may seem weird to suggest taking more breaks. But studies have shown that brains need frequent breaks to maintain creativity and keep the mind focused!

With the short burst method of working, you will be taking a break every 20 or so minutes for a few minutes at a time. This break will help clear your mind of distractions and address something that may pull your mind away from your work. Then when the break is up, you’ll be able to go back to your task with a renewed sense of focus.

You Can Use Your Breaks To Move

People who are often distracted usually report that they feel better when they are more active. With the short burst method of working, you have time to get up and move your body frequently during your project. This method helps you to be able to sit still more effectively and keep the brain on task even when distractions present themselves.

Learning to resist the temptation of frequent distractions can be difficult. But with the short burst work method, you will find that it will keep you on task even if you are easily distracted. The short burst work method makes it much easier to resist annoying distractions and helps you keep your focus. It also increases your focus and allowing you time to get up and move as you work.

When you have a massive or pressing deadline looming at work, it can be tempting to pull an all-nighter to get some work done. The problem is, this method isn’t guaranteed to help you finish the project any faster or more productively. Sometimes, working too long can negatively impact your productivity.

Working Too Long Tires Your Brain

Working too long harms your productivity because your brain begins to get fatigued when you work for long periods without a break. When your brain is tired, the work it produces is often of lower quality. You will likely begin to work slower and make mistakes that you don’t catch or notice. Not only that, it is especially bad if you are skipping sleep to work. When your mind and body are both exhausted, you won’t be able to turn out quality work at all, and you’ll probably feel horrible when you try.

Distractions Become More Tempting

When you don’t allow yourself time to address distractions, they will only become more tempting as time passes. They will continue to take your mind away from the task at hand until you allow yourself time for them. For example, if you are working on a project and you are hungry, stop and take a break to have a snack. Suppose you don’t allow yourself a few minutes to address this distraction. In that case, your productivity will only continue to decrease until you do because you will only be able to think about how hungry you are rather than focusing on the project.

Trying To Focus Too Long Actually Damages Productivity

According to Psych Central, scientists have found that productivity is damaged by working too long without breaks. Besides the fact that your brain grows more tired and distracted as you work, you will also produce less valuable work the longer you work without a break. Several factors contribute to this, including how quickly someone can move and think decreases once they work past a certain length of time. Lower quality of work means lower productivity.

Overall, while it can be tempting to believe that you will get more done if you work more hours, this isn’t always the case. The human brain needs breaks to rest and address distractions to keep it productive. Therefore you should avoid working for long periods and instead work for shorter, more productive blocks of time.

Sometimes, when you are working so hard to finish a project, you feel bad that you are taking too many breaks. You shouldn’t feel bad about this, though, because taking breaks is an important part of completing a task. It might sound counterintuitive, but this is true for several reasons.

Breaks Increase Performance

Surprisingly, the more breaks you take, the better your performance at work will be. It is extremely difficult to work quickly and effectively when your brain is feeling tired or otherwise distracted. Of course, this doesn’t mean that you can take a break every minute of every day, but most experts recommend taking at least one break for every hour of work you complete.

Taking A Break Relieves Stress

Having you ever worked while under stress? If you have, you know how difficult it can be to focus when your mind is stressed about something. When you take breaks from your work, this can help your mind release stress, even if your current work doesn’t cause the stress. When you are stressing about the project you are working on, taking a relaxing break is especially important because it can be difficult to solve problems you encounter while you are stressed. Once you take a break and come back to the project less stressed, you may find that you’ve found a solution to the problem without even thinking that hard about it.

Breaks Encourage Creativity

No matter what job you have, it’s likely that it includes creativity in some aspect or another. When you are actively working on a certain aspect of an assignment, it leaves little room for your creative mind to develop new ideas. But when you take a break, talk to coworkers or have a snack, your creative juices will start flowing again. Just like less stress will help you develop a solution to a problem, so will creativity. This truth means that you’ll be much more productive and well equipped to complete your project when you go back to work after a break.

Overall, taking breaks is important in just about every aspect of your life. This is true because breaks help increase your performance, relieve mental stress, and encourage your creativity. Therefore, you should take frequent breaks as you work. Next time you face a particularly difficult challenge, don’t sit and stare at it, but try taking a much-needed break instead!

If you have ever struggled with focus, maybe a friend has mentioned that you should try working in short-bursts instead of conquering your work all at once. Even if you think this idea is strange, it isn’t necessarily a bad suggestion. There are three major benefits to working in short bursts.

1. You Will Be Less Tempted By Distractions

In a society where you are expected to have your cell phone on you every minute of every day, it can be difficult to resist picking it up when the screen lights up. And once you pick it up, you usually aren’t on it for just one second. When you work in short bursts, it helps you be less tempted by distractions. When you know that you can check on the distraction in a few minutes, you lose the urgency to check it out right away.

2. You Can Plan Your Work More Effectively

When you work in short bursts, you can plan what you intend to do with each of your 15- or 20-minute bursts. Planning these short bursts makes it easier to decide what to do because you can only fit so much work into one burst. It focuses you on focusing on the essentials. It also helps because planning a 20-minute work session seems less serious than planning a whole day, so you won’t feel stressed deciding what to spend your time working on during each short burst.

3. You’ll Be More Focused, And Your Mind Will Be Clear

Some research shows that the human mind can only focus at its maximum for about 20 minutes at a time. This fact means that you are fighting your mind when you attempt to focus for longer periods. When you take frequent breaks from your work, like those outlined in the short burst work method, your mind will get the rest it needs between tasks. Thus, every time you start a new burst of activity, you will be starting with a fresh mind that can stay focused for the entire task!

No matter how you look at it, working in short bursts is truly the way to go. It will help you be less distracted, more organized, more focused as you work, and you won’t be as tired. So next time someone suggests the short burst method, listen to that friend and consider applying this technique to your next project!

Have you ever heard someone talking about the rule of 52 and 17? If you have, you probably heard about it in your workplace. This is because the rule of 52 and 17 is a short burst work method proven valuable in numerous settings to increase worker productivity.

How Does The Rule of 52 and 17 Work?

The rule of 52 and 17 is a variation to the Pomodoro technique. It’s similar in that you work for a specified amount of time before taking a break for a certain number of minutes. The only real difference is the length of your work sessions and breaks. With the 52/17 method, you work for 52 minutes before taking a 17-minute break. Like the Pomodoro method, the regular breaks increase your productivity by giving your brain the rest it needs between bursts of work.

Why Would You Use It?

If you are already using a short burst work method, 52 minutes of working may seem like a long time without a break. And it is. The problem is that many work tasks take longer than the Pomodoro Method’s 25-minute blocks. Also, a timer going off every 25 minutes might break you out of any flow state you have been able to achieve. On top of that, a longer 17-minute break allows you to disengage from your work more effectively. It is enough time to grab a quick bite to refuel your energy or even take a brisk walk to get your creative juices flowing again.

Does It Work?

Absolutely! The rule of 52 and 17 has been proven widely effective in several workplaces all over the world! The creators of the 52/17 method based it on their employee-tracking software that thousands of companies worldwide have used. Their data showed that employees who took regular, effective breaks were more productive than working for multiple hours with only a lunch break. The employees tend to work with more dedication during the 52-minute work stretch because they know the 17-minute break is coming.

In conclusion, the rule of 52 and 17 is another short burst work method employed in the workplace to increase productivity. This rule can work best in spaces where the Pomodoro technique is too short, and times of focus beyond 25 minutes are required. No matter what you want to accomplish, the rule of 52 and 17 can be applied in your life to increase productivity while giving the brain the rest it needs.

As you search for ways to become more productive in your daily life, you may have come across a specific short burst work method known as the Pomodoro technique. This technique is really where the idea of short burst productivity was born. Maybe you have even tried it, and it worked so well that you wondered how. Well, there are a couple of good reasons the Pomodoro Technique works so effectively.

It Reduces Procrastination

The number one reason that the Pomodoro Technique can keep people productive so effectively is that it helps to reduce procrastination. People often procrastinate because a project seems huge or they can’t seem to find the perfect time to start such a project. You can address both of these excuses when you use the Pomodoro Technique. This method breaks down the project into manageable chunks. This encourages you to start because 25 minutes is much less daunting than trying to find a time to finish an entire project.

It Gives Your Brain Breaks

Although you may feel like you can focus for more than 25 minutes, several studies have shown that might not be the case. Most people experience the best levels of focus when for around 20 minutes before needing to give their brain a break. The Pomodoro Technique embraces this, giving your brain the proper time it needs to refresh as you proceed with completing your task. This method keeps your mind refreshed and focused as you go through your workday.

Your Perspective Will Stay Fresh

The Pomodoro Technique is especially effective when it comes to large projects. When you work on something for an extended period, you can often start to have tunnel vision on certain aspects of the project. This tunnel vision can accidentally ignore other aspects that may be important to the project’s success. You can alleviate tunnel vision when you work in a short burst work method because the breaks help you start each work session with renewed focus. This method not only keeps you creative but will constantly give you a fresh perspective of your project.

Overall, the Pomodoro Technique works so well because it helps to lower your procrastination while still giving your brain the rest and fresh perspective that it needs to be successful. So next time you find yourself with a massive project looming over your head, give the Pomodoro Technique a chance to work wonders in your life.