"How come I've been here for 2 hours and haven't made any progress?"
In the past I've wasted too much time working on any given task.
Parkinson's law states work expands to fill the time available for its completion.
Without a definite deadline, what could take 30 mins to complete takes 2 hours instead.
Then a few years ago, I started to timebox ⏳ every single task.
And my productivity has increased significantly since then.
E.g. If I want to complete a task in 45 mins, I'd set a countdown of 45 mins and start the timer.
Timebox is even more helpful when there are a lot of distractions — e.g. when you're trying to do work on social media.
If you're not careful, you'll end up saying, "how come I've been here for 2 hours already and haven't made any progress?"
Do you timebox your task?
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“how come I've been here for 2 hours already and haven't made any progress?"
Yep! I know that feeling.
Organizing my days by theme, time blocking every day (5-hour workday), and setting AND holding to a schedule changed everything for me.
I rarely find myself aimlessly jumping between tasks. Work actually gets completed and pushed. I can actually feel and prove progress is being made. And I have WAY more free time than I thought possible.
Good to hear it's working for you. Timeboxing is key!