Timers for productivity

There are many methods for increasing productivity, but using timers or keeping a close eye on the time seems to be part of every effective workflow.

A “classic” method is Pomodoro: work for 25 minutes, rest for 5 minutes, and repeat until something like a meal break or the end of the work day.

A similar but more flexible method is Third Time:

  • Work for as long or as short as you like, until you want or need to break; then
  • Break for up to one-third of the time you’ve just worked.

— Third Time: a better way to work — LessWrong

The linked page explains the benefits of this system, and more detailed steps:

  1. Note the time, or start a stopwatch
  2. Work until you want or need to break
  3. Divide how long you’ve just worked by 3 (or use your chosen fraction), and add any minutes left over from previous breaks
  4. Set an alarm for that long
  5. Break until the alarm goes off, or you decide to resume work
  6. If you resume early, note how much time was left, to add to your next break
  7. Go back to step 1.

Additional rules:

  • If you have to stop work for a non-work-related interruption, start a break immediately.
  • You can (optionally) take a big break for lunch and/or dinner, lasting as long as you like. Set an alarm at the start for when you’ll resume work. A big break uses up any saved break minutes, so you can’t carry them over to the afternoon/evening.
  • Avoid taking other unearned breaks if possible — so try to do personal tasks during normal or big breaks, or before/after your work day.

— Third Time: a better way to work — LessWrong

I’ve also heard of workflows where you have a timer running 24/7, and starting a timer automatically stops the current one. Time tracking software like Toggl or Clockify helps to categorize the entries and see reports on progress. This workflow might be a bit extreme for most people, but it’s easy to start doing something without a timer/alarm for when to stop when one would be helpful.

The most ideal system is probably to have a consistent daily schedule for everything, where all of your needs are met but you also get a lot of work done without the added complexity of the methods above. I believe everyone should strive for this, but it is usually unrealistic for most of life’s tasks.