Chris Brogan is a genius. I mean it. This man always seems to have something compelling to say about the web, about communities, or about people in general. Today’s post is no different and though a lot of his recent ones have opened my eyes and hit home, this one is something I need to start doing more of right away.
Chris talked about budgeting your time and putting your hours into small blocks. What is 10-20-5-20-5? From the pages of Chrisbrogan.com:
Simply, it’s an hour broken into minutes. 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 5, 20, 5. Get it? But what I propose is this: chunking my time into small boxes like that will give me a better handle on work that needs doing. I propose that with all people who have a somewhat flexible, results-driven schedule, this might help you achieve goals, especially should you be a little bit of a procrastinator.
* 10 Minutes:Email and Calls- The first 10 minutes of the hour are set aside to reply to email and return phone calls. If you stretch this a little, you might also use the time to surf your RSS feeds.
* 20 Minutes: Project Work- Each 20 minute slot is dedicated to whatever it is you’re working on for your projects. Are you building a new database? Are you writing a book? Are you preparing tomatoes for a late spring planting? Work your most important work in this 20 minute slot.
* 5 Minutes: Get Up- This can be a bathroom break, a snack break, or just a walk around the building. The main purpose of this 5 minutes is to break the cycle, to shake your head free of your thoughts, and to keep your body moving and vibrant throughout your day, thus giving you energy to complete a longer day’s tasks.
* 20 Minutes: Project Work- This is the same as the other 20. But look! I’ve just built 40! minutes of productivity into each hour, and yet, it’ll feel nice and chunky, so you can multitask. Oh, good point: try hard to stay on a single task for each 20 minute block.
* 5 Minutes: Get Up- This is another 5 minute break. These are important. Don’t skip them. Keep your eyes happy by walking away from the monitor. Keep your hands happy by leaving the keyboard behind. Refresh your thought process by pausing to reflect while getting a handful of blueberries and a few almonds for a snack.
* Repeat!- Repeat. For as many hours as you have available in a day, make this the process. If you have meetings or other appointments, hack that block of time to manage what you can, but wherever you have a full hour of work, use the time budget.
This is awesome. Something that you just don’t think about doing but he makes good points on why to break them up like this. I’m going to tweak this just a bit but start it right away. Thanks Chris.
Photo courtesy of FramesMedia
Technorati Tags: chrisbrogan, budget, time
As with all things I talk about, I’m a big fan of YMMV solutions. Hack all you want. We’ll make more.
Glad to see you, superdad.
Thanks man you’re awesome.
Dude I totally agree. Chris is an amazing individual and I am awed by his presence. Linking to your site as I think it’s cool and can totally appreciate the time crunch you have. I got 2 boys of my own and I’ll tell ya, I have never ever been in bed by 9 but they kill ya. Either that or I would have to admit I am gettin old!