{"id":2876,"date":"2010-11-10T23:59:20","date_gmt":"2010-11-11T06:59:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.bspcn.com\/?p=2876"},"modified":"2010-11-11T01:43:02","modified_gmt":"2010-11-11T08:43:02","slug":"life-hack-the-3030-minute-work-cycle-feels-like-magic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/2010\/11\/10\/life-hack-the-3030-minute-work-cycle-feels-like-magic\/","title":{"rendered":"Life Hack – The 30\/30 Minute Work Cycle Feels Like Magic"},"content":{"rendered":"

Written by chetansurpur<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A year ago, I switched to the Colemak keyboard layout<\/a>. I\u2019ve since had zero pain in my hands when typing for many hours straight, I\u2019ve been able to type faster, and I make fewer mistakes while typing.<\/p>\n

A few months ago, I decided to try the biphasic sleep cycle<\/a>. It worked as advertised, allowing me to get better sleep and need less of it. I used to sleep for 9 – 10 hours each day, and now I need just 6 – 7.5 to stay just as sprightly, if not more.<\/p>\n

A few weeks ago, after these successful life hacks, my friend told me about the eccentric work cycle that he follows.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou might think it\u2019s crazy and stupid, but it works for me,\u201d he said. \u201cI sit at my desk and work for 30 minutes without distraction<\/strong>, completely absorbed in my work. Then, after the 30 minutes are up, I drop whatever I\u2019m doing and go do something fun for 30 minutes<\/strong>. During this relaxation time, I don\u2019t think about work at all – I play games, write, whatever, but no work. After 30 minutes, I go back to my desk, rinse and repeat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Immediately, I thought,<\/p>\n

\u2018That won\u2019t work for me.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Switching context that often would be too distracting.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018When I\u2019m in my groove, I can\u2019t drop it and come back to it easily.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018It sounds like it would take twice as long to get anything done!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u2018Hmmm. Screw it. I\u2019ll give it a shot.\u2019<\/p>\n

You can probably tell by now where this story is going.<\/p>\n

Abracadabra<\/h5>\n

It works.<\/p>\n

    \n
  • While working on a software project, I would get stuck on a bug and spend hours trying to figure out what went wrong, addicted to the quest and unable to stop, even when I run out of ideas on what else to try.\n

    Now, I stop at the 30 minute mark and relax for half an hour, and when I come back to my computer, my calm mind has a divine inspiration in the first 5 minutes and I blow the bug to smithereens, saving countless hours of exasperation.<\/li>\n

  • I would dread each essay assigned in my humanities class. I would have to spend 2 hours planning my essay, 3 hours staring at Microsoft Word and then another 4 hours painstakingly writing the essay for school (a total of 9+ precious hours down the drain). Most of these hours would be spent in frustration, hating life and the college humanities requirement, and refreshing Gmail and iGoogle every 5 minutes, putting off the time I would have to buckle down and write.\n

    The other day, I spent a total of 3.5 hours (1 hour planning and 30 minutes on each paragraph) and finished my latest essay, no sweat.<\/p>\n

    Oh, and while writing the essay, I also ended up finishing the Halo Reach campaign.<\/li>\n

  • I used to cordon off entire days to study for my midterms, and spend most of them procrastinating and wasting time.\n

    Now, I know that given 8 hours, I\u2019ll have complete focus for 4 of them, and that\u2019s all the total concentrated studying I need for the midterm. Planning is easier, and so is the studying process.<\/li>\n

  • And the best part is, I don\u2019t stress about work as much. I know exactly how much I can get done given a set amount of time. Time is now my bitch, not the other way around.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
    Revealing the trick<\/h5>\n

    So why does it work?<\/p>\n

      \n
    • The work you do is more focused.<\/strong>\n

      Instead of constantly checking your email or RSS feed while you work, distracting yourself and having to switch context every few minutes, you get 30 minutes of solid, focused work. And it\u2019s not too hard to stay focused since the promise of a 30 minute break is just around the corner.<\/li>\n

    • There is less time to work in each interval, so there is more incentive to focus and work hard in the little time you have.<\/strong>\n

      Normally, I find it hard to focus if I feel like I have a whole day to get something done, or something isn\u2019t due for a while. The 30 minute restriction makes it feel like you only have half an hour to get something done, so it provides a psychological incentive to work harder and finish \u201cin time\u201d.<\/li>\n

    • It\u2019s less stressful, since relaxation occurs regularly.<\/strong>\n

      Spending a ton of hours trying<\/em> to work still feels like a ton of hours of work, even if you end up getting nothing done. With the 30\/30 cycle, you\u2019re only working half the time, and the relaxation time actually feels like relaxation without the stress of work. This makes many continuous hours of work much more bearable and productive.<\/li>\n

    • When stuck on a problem, taking the 30 minute break works wonders.<\/strong>\n

      Anyone who has fixed a difficult bug (or even been stuck on a difficult level of a video game) can attest to this. Clearing your mind allows inspiration to sneak its way in when you come back to your desk. Taking a break regularly is a useful habit to adopt even outside of the 30\/30 cycle.<\/li>\n

    • It\u2019s fun!<\/strong>\n

      Work doesn\u2019t even feel like work anymore. It feels more like a game, with checkpoints every 30 minutes and a regular prize to look forward to.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      The proverbial catch<\/h5>\n

      I\u2019ve only been doing this for a few weeks, so I have yet to see if it\u2019s a sustainable model. But it\u2019s been working great so far, so I\u2019m very optimistic.<\/p>\n

      It also takes a certain level of discipline when I\u2019m in the 30 minute work interval, which I\u2019m able to achieve now, because of the novelty of a new approach. But it shouldn\u2019t be too hard to maintain, since the intervals are so short and there is always a reward to look forward to.<\/p>\n

      Go forth and prosper, my children<\/h5>\n

      If you\u2019re interested in trying the 30\/30 work cycle, please let me know in the comments, and make sure you update your comments later with how it goes! I\u2019d love to hear about it.<\/p>\n

      Oh, and if you think 30 minutes might be too short, feel free to experiment. One size most definitely does not fit all, and you might benefit more from a 60\/30 min cycle, or whatever. After all, if I don\u2019t have enough time, or if I\u2019m working on something inherently fun, I end up using a 60\/30 cycle. Basically, the point is to set aside regular intervals of relaxation and fun to keep your mind fresh and alert throughout. How you go about doing it is totally up to you.<\/p>\n

      Okay, my thirty minutes are up. I\u2019m off to start the Black Ops campaign. Good luck and godspeed.<\/p>\n


      \nBonus: Mustaches: What a Difference They Make!<\/strong><\/p>\n

      \"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Written by chetansurpur A year ago, I switched to the Colemak keyboard layout. I\u2019ve since had zero pain in my hands when typing for many hours straight, I\u2019ve been able to type faster, and I make fewer mistakes while typing. A few months ago, I decided to try the biphasic sleep cycle. It worked as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2876"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2876"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2876\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2877,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2876\/revisions\/2877"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2876"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2876"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2876"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}