Transition Fast

I don’t know about you, but I know that I’m having a good day when I transition from one thing to the next at a fast-pace.

I enjoy the surge of fulfillment that comes from having momentum move me from one priority to the next. As someone who has studied effective task transitioning to maximize it for myself, I wanted to share a few things I’ve found to be true.

First, it helps to allocate time for transitioning. Instead of expecting to tackle tasks and commitment immediately back to back, give yourself the expectation of a 5 minute buffer. This means that when that buffer time comes, you have time to do what you need to do to reset your energy, and take care of small distracting tasks like checking your phone. 

Ultimately, rather than judging yourself for being off task and deflating momentum, you stick to the plan and keep momentum while affording the space to address some of the things you can’t plan for. 

This all requires that you have a plan for the day, so that’s my second recommendation for fast transitioning - Keep a detailed schedule. Rather than diluting your energy and focus getting caught up on what to do next, you’ve already decided what to do next and it’s time to execute. 

I recommend 30 x 30 minute timeboxing with specific tasks so that you can know in detail what is on task and what’s not. “You can’t call something a distractions unless you know what you’re being distracted from” is a brilliant insight from Nir Eyal’s book “Indistractable”. A schedule is your stated plan for what you’re meant to do at any given moment of the day.

Which transitions (pun intended) into the third recommendation - Prevent distractions in your environment. Put your phone on ‘Do Not Disturb’. Close your email and Slack windows, and hide the other projects and tasks you’ve been working on. 

Doing things that we didn’t plan to do makes us fall behind. When we fall behind, we make up for the time required to do something in the next timeblock, and before you know it you’re completely off your schedule. Without the clarity of what to do next, there’s more space to negotiate how quickly you make your transitions. 

Here's my personal system for transitioning fast and making the most of every day. Check it out!