Two Productivity Techniques That Can Help You Do More (by Actually Doing Less)

Not every productivity method works for every person. That's why there are so many out there, and it's also why you need to spend time figuring out which ones might work for you, even if you have to alter or adapt them a little bit. When you're facing down an unusually big or overwhelming task, the traditional methods that you usually rely on may not be helpful. Why not try a one-two punch, combining two I like a lot to make it easier?

The "one bite" technique

First, let's try the one-bite technique. This takes a little pre-planning, but can help you out when a task feels daunting. Grab a piece of paper (or use a digital document) and write down your task. Let's say it's leading a quarterly meeting at work. Next, break it down into the smaller tasks that make it up, which could be coordinating the attendees, setting an agenda, making sure the tech and meeting space are order, and keeping track of what is said during the meeting.

From there, keep breaking it all down. Coordinating attendees means not only sending out calendar invites, but determining who should get one and staying on top of the lists of who accepted and declined, as well as sending out or scheduling meeting reminders for everyone. Determining the agenda means checking in with presenters and managers on what they're able to present as well as simply writing down a list of topics to go over and allotting the right amount of time to each. Checking on the tech and meeting space mean coordinating with IT, renting the meeting room, checking that your digital meeting space subscription is paid up, and ensuring you'll have enough seats for all attendees. Keeping track of what is said involves designating a note-taker, making sure the AI transcription service is paid for and functioning, setting up a recording system, and creating a timeline and work flow to make sure minutes are distributed to necessary parties in a timely, efficient way when the meeting ends.

Obviously, when you take on the responsibility of setting up a meeting, you know these are all the things you'll need to do, but if you look at the task as one big thing—"run the meeting"—instead of consciously breaking it down into smaller duties, you're more likely to get overwhelmed. This is true for everything, from planning a vacation to cleaning the house. Training yourself to break tasks down into smaller "bites" instead of just launching into work on the larger product will not only help you keep everything running smoothly, but will motivate you, too: As you see smaller tasks getting done, you'll feel accomplished and prepared to keep going.

This is similar to the "one more" trick, which asks you to consider whether you can do "one more" thing every time you mark off a small accomplishment. I use "one more" when I'm cleaning now that I have consistently failed for years to follow a stricter cleaning schedule—and it works fabulously. Acquainting yourself with the various ways tasks can be broken down and approached can help you in your personal, professional, academic, and social lives. Below is another way you can do that if you're focusing on "bites" and need a touch of structure for your next steps.

The "reverse Pomodoro" technique

Breaking down the "bites" of your task isn't enough. You do have to actually complete the bites. When there's a lot to do, it can be hard to make yourself do it or know where to start.

You have to start by determining the order in which you'll tackle your bites. There are a few easy ways to do this with the easiest being the ABCDE method (where you assign subjective grades to each duty quickly, then start working), and a more complex, but objective, option being the Eisenhower matrix. Pick one and just get it done because you have to get started on the bites.

If you were using a traditional productivity technique, like the Pomodoro method, you'd start off by working for 25 minutes straight and then taking a five-minute break. That can be daunting, though. Frankly, 25 minutes is a lot of time when you're stressed, even if you've figured out a loose gameplan with one of the prioritization techniques above.

Instead, try the "reverse Pomodoro" method, which is just like its namesake, except switched around. Instead of working for 25 minutes and getting a tiny break, you work for five, then get a big break. It might seem counterproductive since working for five minutes and relaxing for 20 or 25 means you have a lot of downtime, but it's helpful if you're truly having a hard time getting into the flow of working. People who've tried this method praise it for helping them take the anxiety out of working on a big project because even though there's a lot of chilling out, work is getting done in those five minutes. Eventually, once you have a few tasks completed, you'll be feeling better about the project overall. Don't be surprised if you suddenly feel like you can slog it out for longer than five minutes at a time and slowly move into a more traditional Pomodoro framework to finish up the task. To be honest with you, it's a bit of a mental trick and is similar to the "one more" rule mentioned above. Whenever I tell myself I'll just do one thing, then chill, I always end up doing much more just because I feel more accomplished after the first few minutes. If you have to bamboozle your brain a little, so be it.

You can reap maximum benefits here by first breaking down your task into those small bites, then completing one bite per reverse-Pomodoro work slot. It's five minutes to email the meeting invitation, then a break. Five minutes to have IT check out the tech connections in the meeting room, then a break. Five minutes to draw up a schedule and pass it around, then a break. It's not cheating to focus on your downtime, especially if you're not being productive enough when you try to work for 25 minutes straight. In fact, breaks and downtime are essential to productivity overall. It's better to get something done than nothing and once you start racking up those somethings, you'll feel motivated to sprint to the finish line.

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