Small Business

Work and Break in Equal Increments for Better Productivity

By Dave Johnson

Updated on: November 17, 2010 / 12:32 AM EST / MoneyWatch

There are times when I simply can't motivate myself to work effectively. No matter how important the task, I stare blankly at the screen, distracted and unproductive. Blogger Chetan Surpur suggests that revising your work schedule can dramatically boost your effectiveness.

In his blog, Surpur recommends the 30/30 Minute Work Cycle as a way to avoid the very distractions and inefficiencies I complained about. Here's the basic idea: Work for 30 minutes without distraction and then drop whatever you're doing and take a 30 minute break. Then return to work, recharged. Lather, rinse, repeat.

Surpur claims that this work style works for a number of reasons, including:

When you work, you're more focused, since you know a break is right around the corner.
Work intervals are short, so you have a strong incentive to be productive.
You're less stressed, since breaks happen frequently.

Obviously, this will work better for people who are self-employed or work from home much better than for people who have to go into the office. And you might need to fine-tune the time increments. Maybe work for 60, goof off for 30. But the basic idea remains the same. [via Lifehacker]

Photo courtesy Flickr user Steven Depolo