Boost Your Productivity With The 52/17 Rule

Have you ever worked so hard without taking a break that you’re nearly running to the restroom by the time you stand up? Have you ever found yourself challenging to concentrate because you were nodding asleep before your computer? So, what’s this? Our brains and bodies cannot labor continuously all day.

Taking a break aids in the preservation of our memories. Resting when awake – taking a break from work – now appears to have a distinct but equally important function in digesting and ingraining information into the brain. In essence, downtime is a cognitive requirement, not a luxury. It restores focus and motivation, as well as creativity and productivity.

That individual exists in every office. He is the one who always seems to get a lot more done than everyone else, yet never appears worried or rushed to complete a task. What method do they use to complete the task? And more importantly, can you use those strategies to boost your productivity?

What Is The 52-17 Rule, And How Does It Work?

The 52/17 Rule is one way of managing the time that suggests working for 52 minutes and then resting and replenishing for 17 minutes. This idea was initially proposed in 2014, and a slew of additional publications has subsequently covered it. DeskTime, a time monitoring, and productivity program were the first to identify and illustrate the 52/17 efficiency theory. You may ask, “how do I follow this rule?” Well, the answer is simple:

• Make a list of the most critical things to complete first.
• Set the timer on your phone or any productivity software to 52 minutes.
• Take a 17-minute break.
• Get a cup of coffee or tea – Go for a brief stroll
• Eat a good meal – Stretch – Meditate
• Continue in this flow by starting a new 52-minute work sprint.
• Adjust your meetings to 52-minute time windows to accommodate this into your schedule.
• Don’t completely rely on to-do lists; instead, use your calendar.

It’s important to remember that the 52-17 rule is an average. So think about when you’d like to take a break from work and when you’d like to take it.

Using the time-tracking and productivity tool, experts studied the routines of the most productive employees. They pinpointed the working flow that leads to that extraordinary capacity to get things done.

And you might be surprised by the trick. It turns out that the capacity to take adequate breaks is something that the most productive 10% of our users have in common. The most productive people, in particular, work for 52 minutes at a time, then take a 17-minute break before returning to work.

Work For 52 Minutes, Relax For 17-Minutes 

While it may appear inefficient, the findings revealed that a rotation of 52 mins of heavy labor accompanied by 17 mins of relaxation was the most efficient. Altogether, the 52/17 rule appears to be mainly for individuals who are secure in their ability to focus on one single subject for nearly an hour.

The employees with the best production scores don’t even work eight-hour days. Working smarter with regular breaks, it turns out, is the key to maintaining the maximum level of productivity throughout a workday. Because they view their working times as sprints, the most productive 10% of users can get the most done in the comparably short amounts of time available. Such people make the most of those 52 minutes by working hard for a short period before resting to prepare for the next surge. In other words, they labor with a specific goal in mind.

What To Know About This Rule?

Working with a purpose is the “100% devotion hypothesis,” which states that you do it entirely whatever you do. As a result, you devote 52 minutes of your workday to completing tasks, getting things done, and making progress. During the 17-minute break, you entirely disconnect yourself from your work – you’re genuinely relaxing, not checking your email every few minutes.

It’s impossible to be 100 percent productive all day. It’s simply not humanly feasible to make the most of every minute, get things done, and hustle. 

Concentration is identical to a muscle: it needs rest to perform correctly and should not be overused. Otherwise, you'll burn out and find it difficult to get back into the groove of things. So, commit to taking some significant breaks. If 17 minutes per hour seems excessive (to you or your boss), try cutting it down to five or ten minutes per hour and see what happens. You might be surprised by the outcomes.

Case Study

Chris Winfield, an entrepreneur, argues that by taking frequent breaks throughout the day, he was able to cut his workweek in half. As you would expect, striking the appropriate ratio between rest and work is difficult. Certain appointments and meetings might be challenging to include in a person’s calendar. However, Winfield could reduce his workweek from 40 hours to 16.7 by working part-time (excluding the time for meetings). It is a significant difference, mainly because he was always doing all he desired. Winfield argues that his technique shifted his perspective on the workweek:

Moving from a five-day workweek, where I had to finish working by 5 p.m., to a seven-day workweek, where I could work whenever I wanted, was the final piece of my jigsaw. It increased my available time from 40 to 45 hours per week to 168 hours per week, allowing me to complete my work. Because I only require 16.7 hours net, I’m only working 10% of the time. What a distinction.

Even though Winfield didn’t include the phone call and meeting hours in his overall time, he was able to keep his marbles by taking little pauses.

Conclusion 

As you would expect, condensing your workweek to less than half its original size offers many possibilities. The only way a person can do this is to prioritize key activities properly. You’ll be able to approach the remainder of your job in a clear, stress-free manner if you ensure that you handle high-priority chores as efficiently as possible.