There is a plethora of ways to work and ways in which to manage your working time. Not to mention, there are plenty of apps that can help you to make the most of your time. In this article, I will explore how I define focus time, how I manage my time with focus time, and how to make the most of it all.

What is it?

Simply put, I define focus time as the time I use to get things done and be productive throughout the week. This is the time where I turn off the notifications on my phone and computer while I work through things I have listed for myself as “need to get done.” 

During the week I set aside up to an hour at a time for three or four days of the week, depending on how much I have to do. I keep my sessions to a single hour so that they are short enough that I can easily stay focused but have enough time to get a few things on my list done during each session. Most importantly, not only do I have focus time for work but I do this for myself at home as well.  

My biggest ally during focus time is a timer. It is something so simple that allows me to keep to the schedule I set up at the beginning of the week. Of course, things do not always go as planned, but the best part is that I can add more focus time to a different part of my day or another day that week. I can create more time for myself whenever it is needed. 

Organize the Day

Without my focus time the entire week feels like wasted energy. It is important that I keep this time organized and the following is how I try to do so.

To start, I keep my professional focus time separate from my personal focus time. Even though I work from home, I find it important not to mix the two as when I am on the clock I want to be working on relevant issues. The same goes for when I am off the working clock. I want to use my time at home on relevant things, whether it is for a personal project or for meal prepping or cleaning. 

I try not to overload myself during the week. By this I mean that I do not schedule too much focus time into my calendar in a single week. One week I may have 3 work focus times and 1 home focus time. Another week I may have 2 for work and 1 for home or 1 for work and 2 for home. I try to keep my focus time schedule as flexible as can be!

The most important part of my focus time is my list of to-dos. It is an ever changing and shifting list. Whenever I try to manage or re-organize what I need to do, I start with writing things out in the order I think they should to be done. The items on my list are prioritized with the most important items or tasks that will assist those that follow at the top of the list. I work through this process during my focus time then use another focus time to start working through the listed items. 

Make the Most of Focus Time

During my focus time, I do my best to put the phone aside, turn off notifications, and start checking off accumulated items from my list. It may sound like a no-brainer but getting into this habit took some time and persistence. As hard as I try to stick to this rule, it does not always go as planned. There are times when life gets in the way. The only thing to do is pivot a bit, regroup, and schedule a new focus time for another day.

To make my focus time as affective as possible, the first tasks on the to-do list are usually those that will take the longest amount of time to complete. First items may also be those that assist or make following tasks shorter or subsequently easier to manage. By following this sort of structure, it not only works well for me but I know what to expect and can more easily commit my mind to what is at hand every day.

Structuring my focus time has also proved helpful. For each focus time I have I try to break the time down to 80% checklist items and 20% answering emails from my inbox. Keep in mind this is typically for any work focus time, although it may be part of personal focus time as well. To differentiate the breakdown, think of the 20% of time answering emails as responding to ad-hoc inquiries that are not necessarily included in the ongoing task list. By segmenting my time in this way, I am not sinking all of the focus time I have into a single task on the to-do list or on clearing out my inbox, but I am actively multitasking and maximizing my productivity.

Join the Conversation

If you already use focus time to help yourself stay organized, comment on LinkedIn or Twitter with ways you optimize your focus time. 

Even if you’ve not tried to implement focus time, let us know if this was helpful or if there is anything you think should have been included to make things more helpful.