Your bedside alarm clock starts buzzing and you put it on snooze to enjoy a little more sleep. The alarm goes off again forcing you to leave your bed and hit the gym. You jump on the treadmill, set the timer to 30 minutes and enjoy your favorite cardio.

After a warm shower, you make your way to the kitchen and set the egg timer and wait for it to ding. As soon as the timer dings, you dish out the boiled egg and enjoy it with a macchiato.

You’re leaving for work and hail a ride on Uber. This starts another timer, telling you how long the driver is going to take to reach you. Once your ride begins, the app tells you the estimated time it’ll take for you to reach your destination.

So you see that our lives are affected by different timers in one way or the other.

Unfortunately, the same trend does not continue when we are at work. That is why we are unable to achieve our productivity goals.  Why not apply the same timer technique at work and enhance your productivity?

In this article, you will learn about six ways in which setting a timer can boost your productivity.

1.   Keeps You Committed

Staying committed to a single task seems difficult, especially when you are in the habit of juggling multiple balls at once. Setting a timer keeps you committed to a single task and doesn’t let your focus and attention dwindle. As a result, you can complete that task much faster.

For example, you can set a 40-minute timer and dedicate all that time to a single task and complete it in the best possible way. This tactic can come in handy for critical tasks that require your undivided attention. Even if you don’t like a task you are working on, setting a timer at 40 minutes can reduce the chances of shifting to new tasks before the current one is complete. This level of commitment brings out the best amongst employees and help you achieve more in less time.

2.   Keep Distractions at Bay

Emails, blabbering colleagues, social media, phone calls, notifications, browsing the web and other distractions can put you off your target. These distractions are the biggest productivity killers at work, putting a huge dent in your productivity. By setting a timer, you can keep all these distractions at bay. As the clock keeps ticking, you are less likely to focus on these distractions and more likely to be laser-focused on the task at hand.

For instance, if your phone rings, you will put it to silent or pick up the call and tell the caller that you have 15 minutes left to complete a task and will call you later. The same goes for emails, text messages and even noisy co-workers. Moreover, you can also control the urge to check your social media accounts and avoid wasting time on these distractions.

3.   Avoid Multitasking

All of us are guilty of multitasking. Whether it is the nature of the work that forces us into multitasking or the constant urge of outperforming our peers, the result is the same, lower productivity. Yes, you read that right. It is one of the things you should stop doing if you want to be productive, according to science.

Stanford University’s research shows that multitasking can decrease your productivity and reduce your efficiency. That is not all, a study conducted at the University of London has shown that multitasking can damage your brain and decrease your IQ levels.

Our brain is not designed to switch between tasks, so it takes a long time when you switch focus from one task to another.  By setting a timer, you are focusing on one thing at a time. This allows you to create a singular focus that allows you to achieve your goal and prevent your mind from dwindling.

4.   Maintain Discipline

With so many tasks to complete daily, we try to follow the “move fast and break things” mantra of Mark Zuckerberg, which might work in some cases but not every time. One particular downside of this approach is that you end up creating a lot of mess and all that mess can hamper your productivity over time.

You will have a hard time finding items because of the mess you have created. This will result in wastage of time and you end up missing your daily productivity goals. That is why it is important to instill discipline in your workday and setting productivity timers are a great way to do that.  TaskQue’s timer feature helps you set a time limit for each task and stay on track.

5.   Build Momentum

There are instances where you are unable to give your 100%. This usually happens when you are working on an unappealing or complex task. A timer provides a great way to channelize your energy and get it out in smaller bursts. This helps you in building momentum, which would help you in completing complex tasks quickly. Once you hit your stride, you will be able to complete tasks much faster and get more done with fewer resources.

6.   Make Breaks Meaningful

You are exhausted and want some time off. Take a break but make sure you set timer for 20 minutes. This prevents your breaks from getting too long. On the other hand, you can use the break time more carefully when you know that you have a handful of minutes of free time to enjoy. As a result, you start to value every minute of your break time and spend it on useful activities.

Conclusion

Just like your personal life, setting a timer can come in handy in your professional life as well. It can help you enhance your productivity by helping you to stay focused and committed to critical tasks at hand. Setting a timer also helps with blocking out distractions and allows you to get more done in less time. It can also make your breaks more meaningful and help you stay organized while maintaining discipline.

How do you use a timer to enhance your productivity? Share your experiences with us in the comments section below.