The 45-15 rule

A highly recommended way of managing time is the 45-15 rule, developed by Brett McKay. This rule dictates that you do 45 minutes of work and then 15 minutes of play.  In theory, the 15 minutes allows your brain to relax and decompress from working so that you can be more productive while working in the 45 minutes. This method focuses on preventing boredom and burnout by making your work time more efficient. 

For this method to work, you need to be in an appropriate work environment (ideally a quiet place with no distractions) and set a 45-minute timer; there are some apps to help with this, such as ‘focus booster’, and then get on with it. During the 15 minutes, you should actually be relaxing, not doing tasks like checking work emails. 

The Pomodoro method is a similar idea except with different time allowances. These are 25 minutes of working and 5 minutes of relaxing. Depending on who you are and how long you can focus without finding yourself distracted. 

These methods are effective for several reasons. The first reason is that it makes it easier to start a task as it is uncomfortable to start a big task, so by breaking down a task into small pieces then it is easier to break out of avoiding the task. Also, the theory helps with combating distractions as you get a period to look at your phone and answer texts.