It’s well documented that the digital workplace is full of distractions and fragmented schedules. As we can accomplish a wider variety of tasks from our computers, we get more and more little tasks to complete, making it difficult to get into the zone. That’s where time chunking can make a difference, helping you to focus on your tasks and boost your productivity.

It’s likely that every worker has experienced interruptions to their workflow. You’re trying to work your way through one task, but then your email inbox pings – do you ignore it and keep working, or pause your task to respond? Either option has its pitfalls. Breaking your focus makes it difficult to accomplish either task because, unless you can hyperfocus, the switch tends to reset your focus as you reorient yourself to the new task. On the other hand, ignoring the email and working on the task at hand could mean that your inbox piles up as more and more emails come through. With time chunking, the second option is the way to go – and here’s why.

Time chunking essentially boils down to picking a single task and allocating a specific period of time to devote to that task. The strategy sits directly opposite multitasking on the workflow spectrum: as multi-tasking actually reduces the quality of our work and can even make things take longer, time chunking has you forgetting about every other task to get just one done well. For instance, if you need to write a report, you might dedicate a block of two hours out of your day to finish it without any distractions. Turning off your phone, silencing your emails, putting on headphones – however getting in the zone works for you, that’s how you’re going to get the report done in two hours.