THE 30 MINUTE RULE: HOW TO SUPERCHARGE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY WITHOUT SACRIFICING FUN

Everyone dreams. You would be lying if you told me that you were completely satisfied where you are right now. Human beings are hardwired to dream; from the Stone Age hunter to the President of the United States, every human being has an innate desire to grow and fulfill a much larger need. Abraham Maslow conceptualized a hierarchy of needs, which somehow lends structure to the understanding of this need.

I, like everyone else, have these dreams. My drive, however, wants me to fulfill them. So, in pursuit of all my dreams, I constantly run into my biggest barrier...time. My life is filled with a constant effort to optimize time. The more I read productivity books and listen to gurus on the subject; I come to find that there can be no one solution for everyone. Instead, everyone should BUILD their own solution on how to fit more into the limited time of their day. So, I did. And I am going to share part of this solution with you.

I have to credit Dr. Neil Fiore's book The Now Habit for the idea behind the The 30 Minute Rule. Basically, the The 30 Minute Rule refers to concentrated efforts lasting not less (or more) than 30 minutes at a time. How does this work?

First, on your daily calendar, schedule all your appointments. This refers to items such as, dentist's appointments, picking your child from school etc. Basically, stuff you have to do. After you do this, schedule your play time. These are things you don't have to do, but would enjoy doing. No, the date with the hot blonde you met at the gym is not a necessary appointment; it would fall into this category. Finally, once you set up both the previous sets of appointments, then you fit in work around all this. Why does work get scheduled last? Dr. Fiore believes that by doing this, you are psychologically telling yourself that you are not foregoing any necessary appointment or fun. This allows you to concentrate on your work and goal achievement efforts without feeling like you are sacrificing your other activities.

The second part of the The 30 Minute Rule, is to schedule your work in 30 minute increments. I modified this approach by not scheduling work but actually working when I get the opportunity in 30 minute increments. For example, let's say a typical scheduled day for me has the following appointments.

1:00pm Meet Kristy for lunch.

2:00pm Meeting with boss.

5:00pm Pick up clothes from dry cleaners.

7:00pm Meet Kelly to pick up running shoes.

9:00pm Watch Law and Order on TV.

As you probably can surmise, the 2:00pm appointment and the 5:00pm appointments are ones that I have to take part in. The other three appointments are ones that I want to take part in. I may move the shoe pick-up appointment with Kelly into the have to do category because she has a tendency to get a little craaaaazzyyy. But that's another story.

With the schedule above, when I get into work, I'll immediately start on a project that I planned the previous evening, for 30 minutes. This allows me to start off the day by completing some quality work. The important thing about The 30 Minute Rule is that you have to do quality, concentrated work for 30 minutes. This means, no interruptions (email, internet etc) or distractions (thinking about that hot waitress you chatted up last week). When the 30 minute stretch is complete, you can get distracted, catch up on your email, get a drink or just relax for a little while.

After the first 30 minutes, I go to make myself a latte. Then I return with my "reward" and proceed to do another 30 minute stretch. After which, I check my email and make any calls I have to make. Then, I proceed to do another 30 minute stretch, before going to chat with my colleagues and catch up on water-cooler stories. I realize it's almost 12:15p and I am meeting Kristy for lunch. This is a fun activity for me, so in order to justify this activity, I do another 30 minutes of concentrated work and then, I leave to meet my lunch appointment. An important part of The 30 Minute Rule is to do 30 minutes of work/tasks before going to a "fun" activity.

I continue the afternoon, like I did the morning, putting in 30 minute stretches where I can. The next fun appointment would be the shoe-picking with Kelly, so, before I head off to meet her, I would do 30 minutes of work. In this case, I am home from work, so I do something like to complete part of the book I am writing, for 30 minutes. Then, after I get home, before I tune in to watch an exciting episode of Law and Order, I clean my bathroom for 30 minutes.

See the pattern here? With The 30 Minute Rule, you are not sacrificing your fun, but you are justifying your fun with work before it. Trust me, it is much easier to do work that is not fun when you know you are going to have fun in 30 minutes!!

Well, I hope this helps you achieve more with the limited time you have.

Good Luck!!

Jeev