Ding! Playing with Timers
Thursday, October 22, 2009 at 6:19PM Deadlines-- love them or hate them, our lives are full of them. Sometimes, they feel like a weight hanging over us. Sometimes, they feel like the finish line to shoot for. Sometimes we carefully prepare for them and finish early, sometimes we squeeze in at the last moment, sometimes (most of us) mess up once in a while and miss one, then must deal with the consequences.
Those are externally-imposed deadlines, but it can be quite different (and productivity-enhancing) to make deadlines for yourself and choose to take them very seriously for fun.
My favorite way of using this technique is to combat writer's block. I will set up a timer for myself and set it for 15-60 minutes. In that time, I must race the clock to produce a complete first draft of whatever I'm doing. It can be an awful or ridiculous first draft, but it must be stand-alone and complete. As I write my first draft of this post, I have imposed a deadline that the draft version will be done before the oven timer goes off, indicating that my chicken pot pie might be done. (I am not actually stuck on this post, but it seemed fitting given my topic.)
Sometimes, rather than a completeness goal, I'll set a quantity goal and use it for any project I'm feeling stuck on: how many words can I write, how clean can I get this room, how much of this filing can I catch up on, how many ideas (good, bad or indifferent) can I brainstorm for this project. Set a challenge, set the timer and go! Depending on the type of work, often I'll have to go through and check for accuracy later or otherwise take a slower, more thoughtful pass at the project, but the spate of rapid-fire activity while waiting for the timer to go "ding' can really get the blood up and a smile on my face. Mental obstacles can just melt away.
What I get out of setting short, intense deadlines for myself is a sense of playful urgency. The sense of urgency combined with letting go of the need to be perfect can be really freeing. This technique is great for getting you unstuck if you feel like you can't get started or don't know what to do next.
Do you ever set deadlines for fun to help you get things done or manage your time more effectively? Share in the comments.
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Reader Comments (3)
Oh, I absolutely do! Playing with timers is one of my methods of staying on-task.
You obviously understand the habits of creative-minded folks! Great definition: "sense of playful urgency" ... As well as the notion of play being incorporated in ways for creatives to track time and focus on productivity.
What an interesting way to avoid writers block! This timer technique seems like it could be very effective, I can't wait to try it. I agree that setting self-imposed deadlines for yourself, in this and other ways, is an important part of time-management. Visit the Day-Timer Blog at www.daytimer.wordpress.com for the latest news in time-management, personal productivity, and more.
We user timers for meetings following the lead of the guys at 37signals. We set it to 30 mins and when it goes off, that's it! Meeting over. It really forces us to be vigilant about how we spend our time in meetings to accomplish everything we need to in the short period of time.
Its something I recommend every office at least try out.
Great post! Keep them coming!
Cheers
Jesse