As a marketer, working from home during this quarantine or in general has always been a struggle for me. A struggle to the point where I would rather commute to the office and work there. The endless amount of distractions take away from my performance. During this quarantine, I’ve been struggling to stay on task at times. I recently discovered a new technique designed around working in sprints of 90 minutes which has benefitted me tremendously.
How Do I Get Distracted?
I’ve always been a disciplined person. I know when it’s time to “bite down on your mouthpiece” and to get work done. That tends to be my paradigm of how to get things done but I can’t help just getting distracted at times.
Anytime I am working on a project, the number one source of distraction for me is Slack. I can’t stand Slack. Right when I getting into the mode of peak performance, I get a message from a coworker that throws me off my rhythm.
Being a marketer, I have to focus on all aspects of the business including social media presence which proves to be a distraction as well. I go and check the company’s social media profiles which forces me to visit my news feed and go down a wormhole of distraction. The worst part is that my self-explanation being that I have to go on social media because “it is a part of my job”.
What is a Focus Sprint?
I first discovered the concept of focus sprints by watching this video below. This man is a start professional working in Los Angeles that brings us along on his typical workday. In this video, he mentions Focus Sprints at around the 5:24 mark.
Focus Sprints is exactly what it sounds like. Sprints of focus. You limit all distractions like your phone, social media, email, and distraction websites for a period of time so you fully concentrate on the project you are trying to complete.
How Does Focus Sprints Work For Me?
By not paying attention to my distractions, I can obviously get the work I need to get done, completed. I turn off most of my notifications. The notifications that I do receive, I wait to address them after my 90 minute period of focused work is completed.
The timer is a huge motivational factor for me as well. Being an athlete for much of my life, I always had a scoreboard with time counting down to pace me to achieve my goal. That should’ve transitioned with me to my professional life.
It is impossible to focus for 8 hours a day for every day of the week. You are just asking yourself to get burned out. Actually, the average workday productivity time for an American is a little under 3 hours.
The 90 minute focus period is the perfect way to break up your day because realistically on your most productive days, you can only complete at most 3 sprints. In the back of your mind, you know you have 3 sprints in you. As you finish the sprint, you also know you are a sprint closer to the end of your day.
Give Focus Sprints A Try
If you looking for a way to increase your productivity during this pandemic, I recommend that you give this a try. Let me know if this works for you.
Are you looking to find a way to stay in shape at home? I got you covered!
