Monday, May 30, 2011

Track Your Progress

Instant Boss is counting down
Is there a better feeling than looking back on a finished project, seeing what you've accomplished? It's one of those feelings that lifts us up and gives us the energy to do more. Being able to say 'I did it!' is one of the best rewards of a job well done. But before a project is finished, sometimes we feel like our energy is running out. It seems so difficult to estimate how much we've done and how much is left. A great way to stay motivated can be to track how long your work on something.

There's a free App for windows, called Instant Boss, that I love to use to stay focused on one task, and to track how long I've been working on one task.
Go to this website and download the little program. Once it's set up, it's very fast and easy to use. You click on the icon, and can set how much time you want to work, how long you'd like to take a break after each working session, and how often you want to repeat this cycle of work + break. 
The standard setting is 10+2*5. But you can change it to anything you want, and the program will remember your preference.

I use it for writing blog posts faster, working on my lesson plans and writing my book. I love that you can click to 'work longer' and feel like you're earning yourself an extra long break. It's also great to be able to recognize those 10 minutes of work you put in here and there, because they DO add up and can contribute a great deal!
You can find a review of Instant Boss on Simple Productivity Blog, which is where I first heard about it.

I hope you enjoy the program and find it useful in your life. Do you usually track how long you work? Have you tried this program or used it before? Let me know what you think!

2 comments:

Angeliki said...

Excellent, excellent idea. I'll download the programme right now!

Unknown said...

Hope you love it as much as me! It's been a great help and I always treat myself to something nice after I finish an hour's worth of work. Piece of fruit, or something.

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