I strongly disagree that developers should stop whatever they're doing just to do any 2-minute task that comes up. This would be a huge distraction. When you're a developer, you need long chunks of quiet time to focus on your project. Constantly interrupting that focus to do 2-minute tasks is a sure way to make sure you can never get "in the zone" and concentrate on anything.
Personally, unless a 2-minute task is time-sensitive, I let a bunch of them pile up, then take 30 minutes or so to do them all at once.
Agreed. One of my worst productivity killers at work is the "hey, could you do this little thing? I know it'll only take you two minutes" type of request.
It might only take two minutes to do, but it's also just botched a nice hour long flow with the context switch.
Does it really work to (try to) split your tasks in to 15 minutes chunks?
I often feel this kind of approach just ends up consuming more of my time as I'm constantly organising and splitting my tasks instead of just doing them.
Another item to add: Be good at filtering tasks when they come in.
A lot of people are not good at simply discarding work when it comes in, which is the best time to say 'No' or do the quick analysis to see whether it will actually add value.
Unfortunately, this takes some time and intuition to build up. You have to trust yourself that you can make decisions that are fast and accurate.
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[ 207 ms ] story [ 901 ms ] threadPersonally, unless a 2-minute task is time-sensitive, I let a bunch of them pile up, then take 30 minutes or so to do them all at once.
It might only take two minutes to do, but it's also just botched a nice hour long flow with the context switch.
Another one I like is to save my small tasks for the next morning. It helps get my day going by achieving lots of small goals.
I often feel this kind of approach just ends up consuming more of my time as I'm constantly organising and splitting my tasks instead of just doing them.
A lot of people are not good at simply discarding work when it comes in, which is the best time to say 'No' or do the quick analysis to see whether it will actually add value.
Unfortunately, this takes some time and intuition to build up. You have to trust yourself that you can make decisions that are fast and accurate.