5/5 Work System

The system is pretty simple:

1) Work for 5 minutes
-> Keep going until you feel like taking a break
2)Take a 5 minute break

Woah! Isn’t that a ton of break time?Yes, it can be! However, most of the time, I find that once I am started on something I keep on trucking for a while. The advantage to the work period being only 5 minutes is that it is much easier to get myself started (“It’s only for five minutes!”).

Advantages:According to learning theory, a few conditions are helpful in maximizing behavior:

1.Contiguity. The reinforcer for the behavior should occur soon after the behavior. By having a rewarding break immediately after a work behavior, you are maximally reinforcing that behavior.
2.Contingency. The reinforcer should only be given after the desired behavior is produced. In so far as this system reduces procrastination (in which you are giving yourself the reward without requiring the desired behavior), your reward system for doing the work will be much more effective.
3.Variable reinforcement schedule. Variable interval reinforcement schedules are when the reinforcer is administered after varying lengths of time.This is superior to fixed interval schedules in that it tends to produce more continuous behavioral response. This 5/5 schedule approximates a variable interval schedule (the difference is that you control the length of the variable instead of it being unpredictable).

Disadvantages:If you get caught up in something during your break, the temptation may be there to just keep going and not start back on work. This is always the case with any work system, but this one in particular gives you a lot of points during the day where you need to decide to stick to the plan.For this system to work, it should be a priority to get back to work after every break.You might want to set up a strong reward for making it through the day or a work period with going back to work after every break. You might notice a tendency to get caught up in certain kinds of activities, such as twitter. I’d recommend breaking with activities that don’t have a tendency to “suck you in.”

Variations:
5 minute top priority or anxiety provoking task then 5 minutes any work task

1)Work on top priority task for 5 minutes
-> Keep going until you feel like taking a break
2)Spend max 5 minutes on any work task you want

Basically, this system is for folks whose problem isn’t so much getting started on work, but making progress on the top priority tasks, especially those that are difficult/frustrating/anxiety provoking. The 5 minute work period is replaced by a 5 min top priority work period, and the break is replaced by a 5 minute “work on whatever you feel like working on” period. You’ll still want to get breaks every so often. I alternate between the basic system and this variation. On days when I can hardly get started on anything, I’ll use the standard system. On days when I have some major priority tasks to accomplish, I’ll use this variation. Of course, you can also change to the 5 minute “top priority” rule for the work period, but keep the break period.

Increase or decrease the work/break periods
Lately, I’ve been trying a 2 minute work period. That is even easier to get back to, but does not seem to have much effect on how long I actually work.

Implementation

Any timer should do. You can set it to five minutes. Just keep going after the 5 minute work period (or take a break right away). Start it again when you start the five minute break. I use Instant Boss which is a free, simple timer application. It will let you program your work and break periods and has a handy “work a little longer” option when your work time is over. The sounds are a little bit annoying, so I switched them. Also, make sure you press “apply” after putting your work and break values.