If you're looking to boost your productivity, it's time to bust out that old egg timer. Unless you hang around with your grandma often, chances are you don't get to see an old-fashioned big timer often nowadays. If you're looking to time things in the kitchen, the built-in microwave or oven timer typically will do the trick. And of course every smart phone user will bust out their favorite timer app when they need to count down the number of seconds? If you're looking for serious productivity boosts opt for analog. Why Use a Timer?The art of distracting yourself is being perfected across the globe, particularly at work. Email applications like Outlook and Gmail notify you when a new message is available. Instant messages appear out of nowhere, your phone vibrates and rings incessantly and text messages will never stop chirping. These devices are created to draw your attention. Although this may increase the effectiveness of communications, it's also depriving us of productivity. Your mind has to be alert to new information every time you take a break from your task. You are able to decide the importance of it, manage it, or put it off. The interruption in your focus can completely take you off focus or even force your brain to engage. Either way, you're burning your time and energy trying to get back to your task. You can force yourself to focus only on the task at the moment by making use of countdown timer. If you allot a set period of time for the task, you'll avoid all things that aren't relevant to the work being completed. Think of your timer like a fencethat prevents you from straying too far. Why Go Analog? You are now free from the egg timer, which may be your prisoner from your childhood. If you want to be able to concentrate on a single task, it is important to have as clear a vision as you can. Write Room is one program that will help you accomplish this. This program allows users to completely block the rest of your computer to ensure you're left with a basic word processor. You're opening yourself up to a myriad of distractions when you use a countdown timer or timer on your computer or cell phone. Emails, RSS updates, instant messages, texts, voice mails...you name it! If you are doing something on your device, you might change your automatic "away" or "idle" status to "active." This could encourage others using similar platforms to hound you up for work-related or personal matters. Beware of these time-bandits! be a problem for you! Set Fair Limits It's impossible to turn off everything and concentrate on one thing all day long and completely removed from the outside world. Your bosses, customers and even loved ones can be somewhat upset when you leave the earth like that. Set aside enough time to complete the task. You could also reduce bigger projects into smaller ones. After some time, come back in and determine what you can do to deal with anything else. You'll be amazed at how much productivity you can achieve just by setting time limits and enforcing these with a non-distraction timer.
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