Do less, achieve more
The third part of my Get Focused series
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Morning, colleague!
Welcome to part three of my Get Focused series. (Missed the first parts? Nail time management here, and discover your secret motivation here.)
One of the hardest parts about being self-employed can be knowing when to take a break. I’ve certainly dealt with work-related emails in the evenings, or worked over weekends on articles that I just have to finish. In theory all of this would be fine if I ever compensated with time off during the traditional 9-5, but I often feel too guilty.
I’m my own worst enemy.
Studies have shown that our natural alertness patterns mean we’re actually rubbish at concentrating for more than 90 minutes without a 15 minute break (which certainly explains my lack of tolerance for two-hour films. IF YOU CAN’T SAY IT IN 90 MINUTES, IS IT WORTH SAYING?)
Breaks are essential to quality work – not to mention protecting your mental health – and they can be flexible too. It’s not necessarily about booking a week off (although, oh god, yes please), but squeezing in a proper lunch break or what I like to call a 10 minute ‘dicking about’ slot, can help.
Here are a couple of ways to carve out a little down time – whether it’s four minutes or a full day. Kitkats all round.
‘But I have NO time’
Studying for my exams – back when Donald Trump was just some guy who sponsored wrestling matches and Covid-19 was a glint in a bat’s eye – my mum impressed upon me the importance of regular breaks.
She was right (she usually is) and I am 99% certain I took in more information as a result of regularly stopping to feed my Tamagotchi [insert your own 90’s cliché here]. It makes sense the same would apply now, which is why I’m a big advocate of the Pomodoro technique.
For the uninitiated, it has little to do with tomatoes and everything to do with breaking your work time down into manageable chunks (a bit like a pasta sauce… oh.)
There are different ways of doing it, but the basic method is deciding on a specific task, then setting a timer for 25 mins of solid, distraction-free work, and then taking a short break (around 5 mins).
Use that time to chat to someone, watch some TikToks if you’re younger than me and that sounds appealing, make a cup of tea…whatever – but you have to properly stop work. Repeat four times, then take a decent break of 15-30 minutes to reset. It doesn’t sound like much, but honestly try it.
In need of company for your Pomodoro sesh? Ask another self-employed friend to join you (IRL or virtually), shout out on the OOO Facebook page to find a like-minded colleague, or try this video from GibiASMR (my guilty pleasure - no judgement, please) and ‘join’ in with hers. I’ve actually used the latter a bunch of times, and it’s surprising how much more I got done. Something about the zen look on her elderly chihuahua’s face.
‘I have a bit of time, I guess…’
Even when I was in full-time employment, I rarely managed to take my full lunch break. Now that I work for myself, I tend to eat at least two meals a day at my desk. Not ideal – for my health or the state of my keyboard. And I know I’m not alone, with a recent survey reporting that between 66% and 82% of workers don’t take their lunch breaks regularly.
But it’s something I’m resolving to change – and you should too. Lunch breaks have been proven to lower stress levels, increase productivity in the afternoons, and generally make people feel better about the work that they’re doing. They can also be a great time to create routine healthy habits such as exercise or meditation (I know, I know, but it’s just a suggestion - take up knife juggling, by all means).
Research has found that people are more likely to take breaks when their colleagues do, so if you work alone, why not fix a lunch date (IRL, over the phone or video chat) with a fellow self-employed friend. (Make new self-employed friends…yeah you guessed it, over here)
‘Fine, you caught me, I have plenty of time to spare’
Instead of doing a full day of half-arsed work, why not aim for a half day’s whole arse! If you’re a carrot-over-stick type there’s sometimes nothing better than the promise of an afternoon spent in the bath eating a Magnum to help create a razor-sharp focus for morning work. Alternatively, plan for one hard day’s graft for a full day off.
I think as self-employed workers we often forget that we no longer have to stick to office hours, or sometimes feel guilty for ‘slacking off’. But there’s no one paying you for your dead hours of scrolling through Facebook, so if that’s what you’re doing – stop. Take or schedule a proper break if you can, and come back refreshed.
Three immediate actions to increase focus…
…depending on how much time you have
1 MINUTE: Change the temperature. Research from the USA found people are most productive in temperatures between 20 and 25 Celsius. Adjust thermostat/ turn on fan accordingly.
1 HOUR: Write a specific list of what you want to achieve in the next hour. You won’t have a chance to procrastinate with such a short deadline. Works particularly well as a boost at the end of the day.
LONGER: Hide your phone (or put it on ‘airplane mode’ - side note, anyone else get irritated by it not being ‘aeroplane mode’?) until you’ve completed your task. I promise, nothing bad will happen.
Don’t miss next week’s Out Of Office, when I’ll be examining how to outsource the jobs you hate - even if you don’t think you can afford it.
I would love to know your break-taking tips - let me know on the Facebook page, comment below, or hit reply (I always write back because I’m nice like that).