You’ve probably read all the common tips on how to be more productive. From starting your day with a workout or a green smoothie, to taking a long walk at lunch to clear your mind.
And all those tips do help to energize you, refresh your mind, and get a little bit of oxygen flowing.
But the one thing that has helped me be ultra-productive is working in pulses. See, most of us have no desire to be locked in a box for 4 hours straight banging away at the keyboard. I have done it before when it needed to be done, but it is not the way to live every day.
So I started to try out an idea of “burst working”. A highly-focused hour of work at a rapid pace then a small break (for me, usually more coffee!). This allowed me to get an insane amount of work done with great focus, but also allowed me to get up and walk around the office to check in with people. After some coffee and small talk, I went back to do another pulse.
Try doing 4 work pulses a day, utilizing the rest of the day to take care of all the other things you need to do but that don’t require highly focused moments.
You can do pulses for everyday life as well! Need to spread that mulch outside? Go on a blitz then relax. Need to take care of bills? Do a pulse and knock it out!
Everyone’s pulse environments are different. I prefer no distractions from people. I want my door closed and my music loud. Some will go sit at a communal table and block everyone out. The key here is to find the environment that makes you feel great, because when you feel that way you’re going to be far more productive. Trying to do a pulse in a poor environment isn’t going to lead to ultra-productivity no matter how hard you try.
When you work in burst, and focus on doing those pulses daily, you will find you have more time during the day to do other things. A common bad work habit is to spread the same amount of work evenly over an 8-hour day. You could have a chance at knocking out 8 hours of work in 4 or 5 pulses and have more free time.
Never did a pulse before? Try it tomorrow!