Some people have expressed that although they'd like to do the 4-hour workday experiment that they can't, either because they work in a regular office and need to work 9-5, or because their plate is so full that there's no way that 4 hours is going to cut it.
The good news is that there's nothing really magical about the 4 hour time period. The exercise works because knowing you're only working a half day creates a tight time constraint, which helps you kick your efficiency into high gear.
As Steve Pavlina says, "Once your brain realizes that working time is scarce, you suddenly become a lot more efficient because you have to be. When you have tight time constraints, you will usually find a way to get your work done."
So, how can you get the benefits of the 4-hour workday approach if your job dictates that you've gotta work 9-5 (or longer)?
- Set some sort of timer that will alert you when 30 minutes has passed.
- Focus on completing as much work as you can within the 30 minute time limit.
- When the timer goes off, stop working for 5 minutes.
- Take the 5 minute break to organize what you're going to work on for the next 30 minutes.
- After the 5 minute break, start the process again.
In the olden days (you know, the 1990's), we would have simply used an egg timer, an alarm clock or a stopwatch to monitor our time and keep us focused on task, but hey, this ain't the dark ages any longer.
There's a much cooler way to do this productivity exercise using a gadget you probably already own--your iPod.
This little iPod productivity trick comes to us from Brad, and his instructions are:
1. From the main menu screen Scroll to the Extras and click the middle button
2. From extras, choose Clock
3. Choose the Sleep timer and pick a time period (I choose either 15 or 30 minutes)
4. Select some music.
From there, it’s a race against the clock. How much work can you do on your
project before the music stops? Challenge yourself. Get busy - work focused -
work fast.
And this is key:
When the music stops, you stop!
Put down your pen, put down your work. Take 5 minutes to think about what you got done and what’s left. You can’t get back to work until the 5 minutes is up, so plan what you are going to do during this time.
Great tip, Brad!
I've discovered an extra bonus that goes along with this exercise--the earphones work as a mini "do not disturb sign".
When people come up to me to make small talk, and they see that I'm wearing earphones, they usually say, "Ohhhh, you can't hear me." Then they go away and leave me alone.
The reality is that I can hear them just fine (shhhh, don't tell!), but I am trying to concentrate on my work, and I need to not be constantly interrupted.
Another thing I've learned--the music you choose is crucial. If you're trying to read or write, you might want to listen to classical music or nature sounds. Save the Metallica for when you're working out or cleaning the house ;-).
Even if your day stretches beyond 4 hours, if you do this exercise you'll gradually increase the amount of time that you can stay focused on a particular task.
And remember, your optimum productivity time period may not need to be longer than 30 minutes. Brad reports that master copywriter Edward Schwartz found that his productivity sweet spot was 33 minutes and 33 seconds, and he always set his pocket timer accordingly.
(I can anticipate the protest that will come with this productivity tip. I can hear some folks saying, "But my boss won't let me listen to my iPod at work." If this is the case, simlply give me his/her email addy, and I'll have a word with this slavedriver of a boss of yours about the importance of getting creative with how we handle workflow. )
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