HowTo Get More Work Done In Less Time

Last week when my home internet went out and I was forced to work from the cafe, I was shocked at how I could jam a whole day's work into just 4 hours or less.

Here's how I did it:

Last week when my home internet went out and I was forced to work from the cafe, I was shocked at how I could jam a whole day's work into just 4 hours or less.

Here's how I did it:

1. Since I didn't want to lug my power cord with me, I knew that the time I could spend working was limited to however long my battery would hold out. It turns out that it lasts about 4 hours.
2. I planned when was the best time to work at the cafe. They say, "Please be considerate and don't hog a table during our lunch or dinner time rush." With this in mind, I decided to work from 2pm-5:30pm.
3. Before leaving home for the cafe, I made a list of everything I needed to do that day and ranked the items according to priority. Since I knew that I only had a limited amount of time on my laptop, I wanted to be sure to get my most important stuff done first.
4. When I got to the cafe, I picked a table in the back that was nice and quiet with minimal distractions. I set myself up with a drink and a snack, and remained seated at the table throughout my stay there.
5. With the time constraint breathing down my neck, I definitely felt a sense of urgency. I had stuff that absolutely needed to get done in a short span of time. The sense of urgency allowed me to focus, block out all distractions, and get down to work.
6. I regularly weighed what was still on my to-do list against my remaining time. I adjusted my speed of work to accomodate my restrictions. When I could see that dinner time folks were starting to stroll in, I kicked everything into high gear and committed to leaving my table by 5:30pm, which is 3 1/2 hours after I arrived.
7. At 5:30pm, I packed up my things, said goodbye to the internet for the rest of the day, and headed home. Once home, my broken internet made it so that I wasn't tempted to power up my computer again. At home, I started my home-life stuff, and completely abstained from all work-life activity.

The first day that my home internet was broken, I felt some definite withdrawl symptoms. Anxiety, a feeling of "OMG--my business is at a stand-still. If I can't work all day on stuff, then I won't get everything done." I had the definte feeling of disconnectedness, like I was missing out on something.

By the 2nd day, I feeling of peace came over me, and I was grateful to have some distinctive work/life boundaries. My day felt wide open, and like I had more than enough time to accomplish my personal errands and my work.

I also noticed that I was looking forward to 2pm and getting excited about the thought of starting my workday. This is a feeling of anticipation that I had been missing out on before, because I was simply in work mode all the time.

Since I knew I was going to be working from 2pm to 5:30pm, I was able to plan the rest of my day around that. I did personal stuff in the morning and early afternoon. At night, I had time to unwind my mind from work and actually communicate with live, in-person human beings.

Now the next question is: How do I continue this while working at home? Working from home creates extra challenges, since there are so many more distractions. When you're trying to work, your "real life" distracts you from your work, and when you're trying to relax, your work distracts you from your real life. The result is a kind of limbo, a hovering between work and personal matters, never really touching ground in either sector for long.

My plan is to come up with a strategy for replicating my cafe 4 hour work day success at home. I'm gonna work on this over the weekend and implement the plan on Monday. More to come... 

Comments

[Verna Wilder]

Sharon, this is a great idea--to just go to work at the cafe for specific hours during the day. You're right--when we work at home we're working all the time. I always feel the pressure to keep working, and I feel like I get so little done for all the vigilance. Please keep us posted on how you go about making the cafe plan work at home.

[Sharon]

Hi Verna,

I'm so glad you're back in town. I've missed you! Yes, I'm doing research on productivity this weekend. I've found some great resources that I'll share with you.

Cheers,
Sharon

[Irena]

Your post very interesting, on it is what is not present on other sites.
;)

[Januariusz]

I want to say - thank you for this!
;)

[Manidipa]

Thank you so much for this. I am a journalist who went freelance a couple of years back. And while I'm glad to have reclaimed several hours from office non-work activity and commuting, I feel as though my efficiency has suffered due to (a) the distractions of using home space as work space and (b) the need to fit in mutually exclusive work schedules for different clients.

I originally chose to work from home because I wanted more time for other interests/activities, and I don't feel I've accomplished that. I have suspected on occasion that it should be possible to fruitfully work 5-6 hours a day rather than the usual 8 (or my actual 18 hours in fits and starts), but been disheartened by conflicting demands and fear of 'losing out'. I wondered whether it was just a motto for selling self-help books or whether I was being an impractical dreamer...

Your posts on the 4-hour workday give me hope, and the courage to enforce the boundaries where I want them!

[Sharon Sarmiento]

Hi Manidipa,

Thanks so much for chiming in. Yes, it seems like it's the hardest thing about working from home--working productively and not working all the time. There are so many distractions around us at home! I have done these tips for over year and my productivity has gone way up (and the time I spend in the office has gone way down too!)

Thanks so much for stopping by :-)