This Simple Trick Helped Boost My Productivity by 400%

Everybody can do it.

Have you ever told yourself that you were going to complete a task by a particular hour??

I will finish this in 2 hours, or I will make some progress for at least a few hours today, or I will start this habit today, and so on.

Only to find yourself getting distracted every few minutes until you finally give up:

I have been there.

It took me months of procrastination before I successfully embedded a work-out habit into my daily life.

Now I have been successfully working out as per my schedule for almost 6 months.

I implemented the same trick I used to exercise into my weekend routine, and the results it produced surprised me.

That simple trick is: using a stopwatch.

Before using this trick, I used to work for a few hours on an entire Saturday or Sunday by taking more breaks and less work time.

For every 15 minutes, I used to get tired or distracted and start checking out Reels, YouTube ‘Shorts’, and movie trailers that consumed my time for hours before I got back on track.

Now you can ask me exactly how I used a stopwatch to improve my productivity by 400%.

Let me tell you how.

My morning routine starts with playing badminton outdoors for 1–1/2 hours until 7:00–7:30 AM. I work out for 15–20 minutes after I come home. I take a shower and start working with my laptop.

Once I start working, I turn on the stopwatch and leave my phone behind my laptop or somewhere that I cannot reach easily.

I go over all the things I want to get done or accomplish that day in my head.

(Sometimes, I open my journal and jolt down all these tasks the night before, when going to bed; this works better if you are just starting.)

Planning your day helps you achieve your goals faster.

Now I start with the tasks ahead. I do take breaks to drink water, relax my muscles, and just walk around in the house to not get stuck in my chair.

I did get distracted quite a few times. But my drive to achieve these tasks was a lot higher than my itch to get distracted.

How did I reduce my distractions??

By actually getting distracted.

Huh?? Stay with me, people. This will make sense in a minute.

Every time I wanted to check my phone, I went for it.

The first few times, I intentionally did not stop the stopwatch because I thought this wouldn’t take long.

But boy, was I wrong!! My phone took a lot of time but it achieved its task of distracting me successfully.

A few failures later, I started stopping the timer whenever something distracted me.

Awareness of your actions works wonders when you want to achieve something.

This helped me realize that what I am currently doing with my phone is not part of today’s agenda.

I saw a drastic improvement in how quickly I got back to working on my tasks once I used the timer-stopping technique.

P.S.: I have been inconsistently consistent until now by posting once every 2–3 weeks, but I plan to post every other day on something related to productivity, self-help, growth, and mental health.

Join me on my journey to make yourself better, healthier, and happier.

Until next time, PEACE!!