Boost Your Productivity With Time Pockets
I always recommend that everyone familiarize themselves with and start using timeboxing and time blocking —techniques that require you to plan your entire day in advance, minute by minute, filling every available space on your calendar with clear tasks. I’m enthusiastic about these methods, but even with such time-boxing , you’ll notice that a few random chunks of time remain in your schedule. If you don’t have a plan for what to do with them, they’ll become unproductive, so start thinking about how you can maximize your productivity through these “time pockets.”
What are time pockets?
Time pockets are small blocks of time during your typical day that are unoccupied but can give you a significant advantage when tackling large projects. They’re typically unreliable and don’t occur at the same time every day, if at all. Let’s say you set aside the first 45 minutes of each workday to check your incoming email. If you finish work in 30 minutes on a given day, you’ll have 15 bonus minutes. That’s a time pocket.
Since breaks and downtime are essential for maintaining productivity , you might think this is a great time to relax, scroll through social media, or otherwise do nothing, but I’m not a big proponent of using downtime for relaxation. First, in the example above, the downtime occurs just 30 minutes into the workday. You probably don’t need to take a break at that point. Second, you really should plan your downtime. You should know when it’s coming in advance, because it’s also an important part of being productive and maintaining it. Leaving it to the whims of unpredictable downtime is a bad idea.
Two best ways to use your free time
The first way to use small free minutes to get things done is to follow the two-minute rule . This works well when you don’t expect free minutes, as in the example above, where you finish another task before the allotted time is up. Make a list of simple tasks you could reasonably complete in two minutes, regardless of their importance, such as collecting dishes at your workstation or filling out a form. Whenever you have unexpected free time, immediately refer to your list, select the first item, and complete it. Whenever another simple two-minute task arises throughout the day, add it to the list so you always have a reserve of small items for unplanned downtime.
Another way to utilize time pockets is to mark short breaks in your schedule and use them. Sometimes you’ll have 15-20 minutes between meetings or tasks. Instead of looking for something to do right now, it’s better to tackle a smaller portion of a large project. The best way to do this is to create a Kanban board or something similar, breaking down large tasks into smaller, more manageable ones. Slotting smaller tasks from larger projects into these clear time pockets in your schedule will help you stay more productive and focused throughout the day, and will also reduce the feeling of being overwhelmed when working on long-term tasks. Instead of trying to do everything at once, break the work down into chunks, completing it in those pockets when you have nothing else to do. In these cases, you should still rely on timeboxing for clear tracking and planning, clearly marking on your calendar that you’ll work on a small task during those 15-20 minutes.