The “I haven’t done enough” feeling
Continuous feeling of “I haven’t done enough”, sounds familiar? I’ve done some digging and it turns out we’re definitely not alone with that anxious feeling. It’s actually quite common. Especially in fields like tech where projects can be huge and never feel finished.
I’m currently studying software development and working as a web developer. I’ve noticed how hard it can be to see the progress in a large project. The finish line is always moving. Recently, I rediscovered a simple method that helped me deal with this: timeblocking.
I actually first heard about it about ten years ago when I was studying to become a sports instructor. Back then it didn’t really click. But now, as I juggle school and work again, totally different field though, I’m seeing its benefits in a new light.
What is timeblocking?
Timeblocking (or pomodoro technique) is a simple but powerful productivity method where you divide your day into focused blocks of time. Each block is dedicated to a single task or type of work. Instead of keeping a long and never-ending to-do list, you plan your time in advance by deciding what you’ll work on and when. Here’s an example of one of my day this week:
- 9:00 – 9.50 – emails
- 10:05 – 10:30 working on integration issue
- 10:35 – 11:00 working on integration issue
- 11:05 – 11:30 working on integration issue
- 11:30 – 12:00 lunch break
- 12:00 – 12:25 marketing plans
- 12:30 – 12:55 marketing plans
- After my work, during afternoon, I did some school work and finished 2×50 minutes timeblocks with ten minutes break between them.
As you can see the blocks length can vary depending the work you do. The main goal isn’t to control every minute, but to protect your focus and measure progress in completed blocks. That shift in focus from “how far I still have to go” to “what I’ve already done today”. It can really change how you feel at the end of the day.
Why I gave it a second chance
A week ago, I read about this technique again in a book for my studies. The author mentioned how it can help shift your mindset from big and overwhelming goals to smaller achievable wins. That made me curious, because during my studies and work, I was felt anxious about the work I haven’t done yet. Even there was no deadlines coming soon.
So I gave it a second chance. I blocked my days into short sessions: coding, studying, content creation and breaks. After a few days, I noticed that I felt more relaxed. Actually I felt that from day one. Even if I didn’t finish everything I could still see where my time went. I stopped judging the day based on what was left undone and started appreciating what I had actually done. After finishing planned blocks, I’m feeling done and more relaxed.
If you ever find yourself feeling like you haven’t achieved enough, try blocking your time and tracking the small wins. You might realize you’re already doing better than you think. It’s only a week now timeblocking but the results have been surprisingly good I would say. I’m trying to keep this up and I’ll update you later.
And if you enjoyed this post, you can find me on TikTok and YouTube as @humansideoftech or join to weekly wrap-up to learn more about soft skills in tech.
Thank you for reading,
Otto