# Productivity tool: race!

_Inspired by recent batch of productivity posts, I wrote my short story_ _down__. To a reasonable extent, this story is real._

| 2:00 | As usual, I put my breakfast into the microwave and set it to 2:00. |
| --- | --- |
| 1:58 | It took two seconds for a train of though to start: |
|     | "Waste, again. Again!" |
|     | "What am I supposed to do this entire time? Stare at the clock?" |
|     | "Useless and boring, but can't start any serious work or thought in time-frame this short" |
|     | "Why don't I switch to Soylent, hire a maid or just eat the damn thing cold?" |
| 1:53 | It took me five seconds to notice and derail that train on the basis of "Been there, done that, nothing significant changed since" |
|     | But this time something went differently. |
| 1:52 | "What do I get to lose if I just try to do something, anything?" |
|     | "Food's gonna get cold. Also you can't multitask that much, so no thinking either." |
|     | "So what. If I don't make it in time I'll just reheat that food and at least one other thing will be done already. And didn't I just say I can't think of anything serious that fast anyway?" |
|     | It took me 16 seconds to scan today's TODO for anything I had any chance to accomplish within ninety-something seconds. |
|     | "Work. Takes too long to start, hardware limitation" |
|     | "Read... what? Would take a while to find something new and short enough. I could prepare next time, not now" |
|     | ... |
|     | "A shower. Usually takes me at least 5 minutes... but why?" |
| 1:36 | I rushed to the bathroom. |
|     | "Skip everything that can be skipped, but nothing important" |
|     | Leaving clothes where I stand. |
|     | "No time to fiddle with the faucet. Just turn it on roughly around the point where it's supposed to be" |
|     | A bit too cold. So what. |
|     | "No time to select soap/shampoo/gel. Just apply top-to-bottom whatever comes up first." |
|     | Blargh, hair conditioner. Bad idea. |
|     | "Note to self: sort this stuff" |
|     | Top-to-bottom, fast moves, keep accurate. |
|     | "Come on, come on, come on! I can't believe the microwave didn't finish yet!" |
|     | Head too. Don't skip anything important, remember? One last jet of water and I grab the towel. |
|     | "No need to dry the hair so much, you're not going out anytime soon" |
|     | I throw the towel back on the hanger and run to the kitchen. Did it beep already and I didn't hear it? Did it broke? |
| 0:42 | "What?!" |
| 0:41 | \\- What?! |
| 0:20 | For 21 seconds of my Saved Time I allowed myself to stare at the clock to make sure time flows at the same rate it used to. |
|     | "It took me 54 seconds to take an okay shower. A minute and 40 seconds ago I didn't believe it was possible." |
|     | "Not productive." |
|     | "What _else_ can I do?" |
|     | "Now we're talking!" |
| 0:001 | I spent the last 20 seconds to build a mental model of what just happened and store it for later experiments... |
| BEEP! |     |
|     | ... and then it hit me, again. I made breakfast, took a shower and thought of something new and possibly significant, all within the time-frame so short I didn't believe possible. I _could_ multitask that much. And I will do better with training. |