Tedious work

How to think about timeboxing tedious work

Whenever I do something repeatedly, I look for ways to do it more efficiently.

It’s a great habit until it’s not.

Not everything needs to be made more efficient.

I don’t aim to make each step more efficient when taking a walk. It will take the joy away from the walk.

(that may be a half-truth; I do think about how much I swing my long arms…)

Timeboxing helps with tedious work.

It’s a subtle game; get done in 25 minutes.

Specifically, the Pomodoro technique.

The “ticking” gets through hardest part.

Starting.

Once going, it’s easy to keep going.

I often need to remind myself to stop.

Even more often, I work past the timer as it ends or forget it’s there.

The start of the timebox is the most effective part.

Think of it this way: 80% of the hard part is starting, and all you need to do is start and stare at a timer.