The Ten-Minute Checkback

We all know the feeling of sitting down and staring at the screen, making countless false starts as we try to get going.

It becomes a vicious circle: we put a lot of pressure on first steps, getting started feels really hard, so we avoid it. Returning to the task with less time, there’s even more pressure, and the cycle starts again.

Suddenly just the start of a project or task has eaten up much more time and headspace than it should have.

The value of working quickly

Working quickly is something I’ve always valued. People often think that speed means rushing. It doesn’t. It’s about moving with pace through the experimentation and iteration loop, learning what actually helps deliver your goals.

We’ve all heard the phrase “fail fast”, a key principle of agile working. Often people think it only applies to huge multi-million-pound tech projects. When I founded Digital Glue, I set about developing small, scalable habits that allowed us to incorporate failing fast into everyday tasks.

The ten-minute checkback

As a client-facing business, we introduced a process called the ten-minute checkback. The first thing we do after a client brief is to start it. Immediately.

In ten to fifteen minutes, the person writing the copy, creating the artwork, or putting together the campaign comes back and shares their initial thoughts.

This isn’t a race to finish the brief in ten minutes. It’s a starting point: it’s the first paragraph, a rough scamp, a quick list of initial ideas.

It’s a technique that’s especially useful where the task is subjective, where there’s a degree of translation and interpretation between different people or teams.

The impact

The ten-minute checkback adds value in a couple of key ways.

For clients, it allows us to sense check what we’ve understood from the brief and spot any miscommunication early in the process, avoiding wasted time on both sides. It keeps projects moving at pace and in the right direction.

For our team members, it helps avoid blank page syndrome. It’s not about going zero to 60, nothing to perfect; it’s just about cracking on with a starter for ten.

By starting straight away, things are less likely to get forgotten or pushed down the list until the deadline is approaching. Things get finished quicker and to a better standard.

Why it works

This is more than just me imposing my love of rapid efficiency on my tolerant team. It’s based on the science of paying attention.

We all like to think we’re great multi-taskers, but the truth is that none of us are.

It takes about 10-15 minutes to focus on a task and get to peak attention. Once we’re in that zone, any distraction doesn’t just cause our attention to dip slightly, it takes us right back to square one.

In a world where we’re surrounded by devices designed to grab our attention, that’s dangerous. What seems like just a momentary disruption — a WhatsApp message, an email notification — means we have to start that 10-15 minute attention-building process all over again.

The ten-minute checkback reminds people to protect their attention. With a limited amount of time to play with, we know we have to avoid distractions and focus on the task.

It also means that once people have reached peak attention on a task, they’ve already got past that initial hurdle of getting started and will very often go on to finish it whilst they’re there.

A get started culture

Working quickly requires focus. That comes both from a clear strategic vision and ways of working.

By building rapid feedback loops into everyday tasks, you create a team that’s open to feedback, works at pace, and delivers the kind of growth that every business wants and needs.

Processes, like the ten-minute checkback, that encourage failing fast mean teams don’t lose time aiming for perfection. They just get started.

Discover the power of the ten-minute checkback and unlock a new level of productivity and efficiency in your work. Learn how this simple technique can help you dive deeper into the world of working quickly and effectively.

Click here to access the eBook