A common phenomenon many engineers experience is the feeling that despite starting their day early, it ends without tangible progress or a clear sense of what was achieved.
"It's already 6 PM and I haven't accomplished anything!".
Apart from the discomfort this brings, repeated experiences of this situation negatively impact performance and productivity.
One of the most crucial skills engineers need, and one that distinguishes junior engineers from their more seasoned counterparts, is the ability to estimate tasks. a somehow very challenging one.
My go-to method for handling estimations, is breaking tasks into smaller sub-tasks and allocating focused time blocks on my calendar (Code X, Code Y, DevOps Z, Product, Code Review). I then estimate the total time needed for each sub-task.
For instance, task X comprises x1 to x7, where x1 to x3 require a day each, and x4 to x7 take a week combined.
However, this becomes more challenging when there's no evidence of how much time a task should take due to lack of experience or historical data.
The uncertainty of time spent on smaller tasks contributes to the initial issue of time slipping away unnoticed, eroding our control over our schedules.
We are not really owning our time.
A few years ago, I adopted Toggl Track along with the Pomodoro technique, significantly boosting my productivity.
Toggl Track functions as a timer. You start it when a new 'focus' block begins and stop it when it ends.
The Pomodoro technique, which involves breaking work into 'focus' and 'break' intervals (1h focus, 10m break), empowers you to manage and own your time effectively.
At the end of each week, you receive a comprehensive report detailing your time allocation patterns, facilitating gradual improvement.
A successful day may involve completing 5 full intervals of one hour each (measured by Toggl), while a less productive day might include only two to three intervals.
Another valuable feature of Toggl is its integrations with platforms like: GitHub, Jira, Calendar, and Chrome. These integrations seamlessly provide context about your ongoing tasks (e.g., Code Review: 45 minutes, Planning: 30 minutes, etc.).
Start owning your time!
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