Step One: Download my Top 6 Daily Planner. This is a single page PDF. Just open it up, print it out and put it on your desk in front of you. Turn off all distractions.

Step Two: Take a pen and write down six nagging little things you’ve been meaning to do, like sending emails, making call backs, writing snail mail notes, updating your grocery list, or just about anything you can do in under ten minutes while sitting at your desk. Put these six items in the boxes provided at the top of the sheet.

Step Three: Set a timer for fifty minutes. Ready, set, go…

Step Four: Do the items in the order you wrote them down. When you are done with each one, click the check-off box next to the item in the form.

Step Five: When the timer goes off, stop and admire your work. You’ll probably find that you got most or all of the items completed. Now get up from your chair and take a much needed ten minute break. Walk around and celebrate your small victories!

You have just experienced the power of timeboxing and daily planning.

For many people, the 50 minute time block is easy to setup and track. I use it all the time for social media, writing blog posts, writing fiction chapters, making follow up calls, exercising, and generally getting important things done. The secret is pushing the timer button. Once the clock is ticking and the distractions are off, the productivity begins. I work until the timer rings and then get up and take a break.

It turns out that getting up and walking around during this ten minute break may be extending my life. Current research has found that sitting for extended periods may be killing us. Here are some sobering statistics from a popular health newsletter.

• A 2012 meta-analysis found that those who sat for the longest periods of time on a daily basis were twice as likely to have diabetes or heart disease, compared to those who sat the least
• This recent study found that six hours of uninterrupted sitting effectively counteracted the positive health benefits of a whole hour of exercise.
• One of the most recent studies in this field found that just one hour of sitting impaired blood flow to the main leg artery by as much as 50 percent!

However, here is some good news….

• On the upside, simply taking a five minute walk for every hour spent sitting was found to ameliorate the heart disease risks associated with chronic sitting.
• For intermittent movement, the key, experts say, is to avoid sitting for more than 50 minutes out of each hour.

Given this research, setting up several 50/10 minute sessions during the day may be the key to not only better productivity, but better health as well.

I like to set up three or four 50 minute sessions back to back. That way I can keep distractions to a minimum, and multiply their effectiveness. With the addition of good cardiovascular news, these sessions may be helping my heart as well. These sessions have been my key for writing numerous books and producing over a thousand blog posts over the years.

I’ve also found that a regular 50 minute session during the day of walking/interval running helps me feel better and be more alert.

Overall, the 50 Minute Solution  has multiple benefits.

Why not pick up a digital timer, set it for 50 minutes and get started today. Just remember to get up and take a walk at the end.