If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed, or subscribe by e-mail. Don't forget to leave a comment or send an e-mail from the about page. Thanks for visiting!
While taking breaks sounds like a great idea in theory, the first question that comes up is how to take your rest without getting too rested and losing your momentum, thus negating the effect and perhaps wasting time as well.
What’s worked well for me, is to work in burst mode. The basic idea is that after breaking up whatever it is I’m working on into manageable chunks, I will work at one in a frenzied burst of activity, bringing everything to bear on it, until it is complete. Once that’s done, I take a break to gather my strength for the next burst. There are various ways to do this, and many of them are excellent. I have been using the Instant Boss off-and-on for a while. The default timing of 10 minutes of activity followed by two minutes off is very good for wading through paperwork, or other such tasks. However, I have found that it’s not as good (for me) for writing. It interrupts the flow too much.
One thing that I have found useful when working in burst mode is to monitor myself as I go through the cycles of burst activity and rest. I know when to resume because I set a “go” limit of how rested I feel. This goes back to the “70% rule”, where you act as soon as you are 70% ready or more. If you can learn to monitor yourself, and know your limits and capabilities, you can judge just how hard you can go and how much rest you need to get the job done most efficiently.
Conversely, if you can figure a way to take real joy in what you are doing, you can wind up playing a game where you need to make sure you actually do take your break(s). Then you find you are just itching to hit the “go” mark to get back to it. That’s a fun experience, and very effective if you can arrange it.
Do you have any techniques or methods for working through large tasks or projects without depleting yourself? Please share them in the comments!
If you would like to read more about how to get it done without drudgery, please subscribe to the RSS feed
