Tiny Timers: a technique for focus and productivity

This post will be about a technique I use for focus and productivity that I’ve come to call Tiny Timers.

It’s one of the few techniques that actually stuck and worked for me for months, instead of just a week and a half like usual.

And it helps me get into flow like nothing else.

I like to cut to the chase, so I’ll explain the technique first.

The technique:

• Pick something that’s pleasant to do that you can do in small chunks. (For me, that’s watching gaming content on YouTube. Sorry, not sorry.)
• Pick something that you want to work on that needs your focus. (For me, often, that’s some sort of writing.)
• Set up a timer that can do alternating rounds (I use this one).
• Set it to rounds of X minutes of green (focus), and 2 minutes of red (rest).
• Begin with a rest period. (We want to make it as easy as possible to get started.)
• During that rest period, for these 2 minutes, do your pleasant thing.
• When the timer beeps, for the X minutes of the focus period, work on your task.
• Rinse and repeat. Adjust X as needed.
• Take a longer break after 45-90 minutes.

First obvious question: how much should X be?

I invented this technique when I was at an extremely low point in terms of my productivity, so I started with just 4 minutes.

Yes, it’s a 2:1 ratio of work to rest. Hardly the 5:1 you reach with the Pomodoro timer (25 minutes work, 5 minutes rest, if you’ve never heard of it).

But my focus at the time was totally shot.

To put it in fitness terms: I was a weakling just entering the gym. I needed to lift lighter weights with my focus muscle and build its strength.

And it’s been working. That muscle is getting stronger.

Even though on some days, when I really can’t get going, I go back to X=4 again. Run 4 timers like that, then increase to 5. Run 5 timers like that, then increase to 6, etc.

Second question: why would you use a technique like this?

Look, we’re all equipped with different brains.

Mine is like this:

• easily feels daunted by large projects (and you’d be surprised what it deems ‘large’)
• easily gets distracted, and when distracted, loses track of time in that distraction
• easily falls prey to small temptations like social media, phone time, YouTube, etc.
• last but definitely not least—it’s a brain that wants to “cheat the system”, and find a silver bullet for its problems.

Let me tell you, it’s not the easiest of brains to handle.

But for brains like mine, this technique is useful.

• It breaks down large tasks into chunks of X minutes.
• It allows for distractions but limits the time I spend on them.
• It makes it clear when and for how long I need to resist the small temptations.
• It feels like cheating: I get to get work done and watch some silly YouTube stuff at the same time? Hah!

Some of you have different brains. Some of you don't need this.

Maybe you won't vibe with this technique at all.

Y'all can go focus for 30, 60, 90 minutes at a time without stopping.

Keep doing that. Promise to use that superpower for the good of the world.

But if your brain is like mine—call it a fried attention span, call it lapses in willpower—the Tiny Timers method is a way for us to catch up.

The unexpected progression of working with Tiny Timers

Working with Tiny Timers has an arc to it.

You feel different as you progress through the rounds—and it only takes a few rounds to feel the shift.

At first, you can’t wait for the rest timer to begin.

You don’t really know how to get into your task. You haven’t located the resources for it.

“Where was the WIP file? Which tool did I use for this? Where was I at with this task? How do I even start making progress?”

You don’t really feel like doing it.

You’re only fueled by an initial burst of motivation that quickly fades—but it does get you through the first 4 minutes, and the second 4 minutes…

After a few rounds, you get into a rhythm with your task.

You’ve collected the resources, you’re set on a course of action.

You’ve gathered your tools, and it’s time to get chopping.

The work feels lighter.

The rest timers still help you, but you’re no longer gritting your teeth waiting for the mini-break to begin.

You start feeling like you can do this.

After a few more rounds, the balance of power shifts.

You’ve hit a state of flow with your work.

You’re seeing progress happen.

(And wow, it only took you 20 minutes in 4-minute chunks to make real headway!)

And then the most magic moment of all: the rest timer begins, and your brain says “I don’t wanna!”

“One more minute please, I’m almost done with this section!”

You stop the rest timer just for a moment until you finish some part of the work.

Maybe you forget to turn it on again for a while.

Work begins to feel effortless.

You couldn’t have gotten here if you started off cold, but now…

…now you can keep going and going.

But it doesn’t last forever.

Not to oversell things: at some point you do start feeling mental fatigue.

Maybe you finish a few sections, and you start looking forward to the rest timer again.

This is your signal it’s probably time for a longer break.

Let’s be honest: if you’re working on your laptop, by now you might have spent 45 minutes to an hour in front of it.

It’s time to stand up and stretch, pet your cat, maybe eat something.

Cool off the brain.

And then the cycle repeats again.

But you’re more ready now. Maybe you’ll start with 6 minutes focus to 2 minutes rest this time.

Look, I don’t know why I felt the need to zoom in so much on how Tiny Timers feels for my brain.

Maybe it’s because it’s given me such a clear lens through which to look at the process of building a sense of flow?

Or maybe I’m just excited that despite the challenges of my brain, I can get quite focused when I build that focus gradually.

When I give myself a fake “cheat code”, or an algorithm to follow.

Brains are weird, aren’t they?

But I’m glad I found something that works for mine.

And I do have one request:

If your brain also saw some benefit from using Tiny Timers, send me a DM or leave a comment.

I’d love to see I’m not the only one this is useful for.

That’s why I wrote about it, anyway.

Hope this helps!

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