One of the best techniques for salvaging a slow start to the day or getting back on track when you’ve found yourself drifting from your plan also happens to be one of the easiest to implement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Unlike more complex methods that require rearranging your to-do lists, repurposing time blocks, or reprioritizing your day altogether, this method simply requires a shift in perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This simple productivity trick, often referred to as the “Four Quarters” Method, was described by author Gretchen Rubin in her book Better Than Before<\/em> before taking off on TikTok and catching the eye of productivity bloggers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From Rubin’s book:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead of feeling that you\u2019ve blown the day and thinking, \u201cI\u2019ll get back on track tomorrow,\u201d try thinking of each day as a set of four quarters: morning, midday, afternoon, evening. If you blow one quarter, you get back on track for the next quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fail small, not big.<\/p>\nBetter Than Before<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n By tricking your brain into thinking there are many “beginnings” throughout the day, you’re benefitting from the momentum of multiple fresh starts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This division of the day also keeps you from writing off an entire day as unproductive should you get off track because you’ll have multiple chances to make up progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Divide your day into four quarters. The actual timeframes don’t matter that much. What matters is you have your day divided into four separate parts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Adjust based on what works best for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Example Implementation:<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you work through your day, use the start of each quarter as a chance to reset expectations and focus on what you really want to accomplish.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Need to turn around a bad day? Or salvage a slow start? This simple, yet effective approach can get your day back on track with minimal effort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1603,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kadence_starter_templates_imported_post":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":18,"label":"Productivity"}]},"featured_image_src_large":["https:\/\/maximalistproject.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/Four-Quarters-1024x658.jpg",1024,658,true],"author_info":{"display_name":"Maximalist Project","author_link":"https:\/\/maximalistproject.com\/author\/brooks-ntgmail-com\/"},"comment_info":0,"category_info":[{"term_id":18,"name":"Productivity","slug":"productivity","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":18,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":11,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":18,"category_count":11,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Productivity","category_nicename":"productivity","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/maximalistproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1532"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/maximalistproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/maximalistproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maximalistproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maximalistproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/maximalistproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maximalistproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/maximalistproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maximalistproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/maximalistproject.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
Why It Works:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How To Implement the Four Quarters Method:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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