20 Minutes at a Time

We all struggle with productivity issues from time to time. Sometimes when there is the least pressure, it is the hardest to get anything done. I remember when Forrest and I owned a restaurant, we got our worst reviews when we were slow. It used to happen all the time, we would get a couple who would come in mid afternoon after our normal lunch hour and before dinner. From the customers perspective there would be no one in the place, and a lot of people working, but the service would be incredibly slow. 

The thing that most people don't understand if they haven't worked in food service is that when it is busy there is a flow to a restaurant. Everyone knows their task and they are in their zone so to speak. After a lunch rush, the staff would be stocking for dinner, cleaning up dishes, putting plates and silverware away, and of course some would be on their phones doing nothing. So when someone shows up at an odd time, people have to stop doing their side jobs and adjust back to doing production. This is where miscommunication can easily occur and the flow can be lost. In the customers mind, they just can't understand how the service can be so slow with so many people there to serve them. 

I run into something similar quite often in my business. When I am full in on a project working toward meeting a deadline where that is all I am focused on, I can be extremely productive. The problem occurs when I have a bunch of smaller tasks that I need to get done, but none of them are higher priority and the deadlines are really far off. In these cases I can suffer from decisions paralyzation, and I don't get any of the tasks done. The problem always ends up where I spend more time thinking about what to do than actually doing something. 

A little while ago I read about an author who said he starts everyday by writing 200 crappy words. I wish I could remember who the writer was, but the point was that writing was his job, and he couldn't just wait around for inspiration. Making the decision to start writing was what it took to get the job down. After 200 words he would be in the mode to write, and he would be productive.  

I thought about that and tried to think of a parallel for my work and personal objectives. I am not someone who watches much TV, but every now and then I feel like just vegging out and watching something. I end up scrolling through the on demand options, and often times I don't end up watching anything because I don't want to waste and hour or two in front of the TV. I will watch shows that are around 20 minutes long like the Daily Show or Big Bang Theory. I figure I can always afford 20 minutes. 

Another issue I have is trying to maintain my weight. I have a really slow metabolism, so for me to lose weight, I have to maintain a diet of less that 1800 calories a day, and have a couple of hours of intensive workouts. I have a Peloton bike at home, and I used to try to get at least three 45 minute classes in a week. The problem is that more often than not I would get busy doing something after work and next thing I knew it was after 9 pm, and I didn't want to spend an hour doing a ride right before bed. Next thing I know, my three days per week would turn into three days per month, and I would gain weight, and my energy levels would go down which made it even harder to get on the bike. This would become a downward spiral which would also mess with my head and bring my mood down as well. 

The solution I have come up with is the 20 Minutes at a time. If I can make 20 minutes to watch TV, I can make 20 minutes to do a workout on my bike. When I have a list of tasks to do, I just pick the first one, and say I am going to work on it for 20 minutes. If I have a training video I need to watch, I just plan on watching for 20 minutes, and it gets me started. The same thing with apps that I am writing for myself. I plan on working on them for 20 minutes, and I get started. 

The secret here is not that I do things in 20 minute chunks, it's that I start doing things. Often times I will Start to do a spin class for 20 minutes, and when I start warming up decide to do a 30 minute or 45 minute class. Then there are times I just do the 20 minute HIIT class. Other times I start going through my list of small to-do's and after 20 minutes I only have 5 minutes worth of stuff to finish, and I have the momentum to keep going and knock out all my tasks. For the tutorials and apps, very rarely do I work on them for only 20 minutes, but planning 20 minutes gives me the motivation and permission to get started. 

My goal is to get out of the decision paralyzation and get things done. When I spend too much time thinking that I don't have time to do something, I am wasting the time I do have. In my mind, I can always come up with 20 minutes. So that is how have been getting started on tasks. Of course that all changes when I have a large project with an aggressive deadline. Then everything falls by the wayside. That's when I have a weeks worth of dished piled in the sink, and baskets of clothes that need to be washed. I haven't found a solution for that yet. I guess I should spend 20 minutes looking for a housekeeper.