What are your thoughts on working only 4 hours a day?

[JahvonCreamCone]

Does it sound reasonable for me to sleep until I'm no longer tired. 11am. Then do 4 hours of focused work?

I notice when I wake up early. And try to work all day. I get easily distracted. And often find myself dozing off.

I'm currently working on a book, so I'm home 24/7. What are your thoughts on the minimal hours a entrepreneur should be working daily? And is it ok to sleep basically all day and work the rest of your time?

 

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[FionaS]

I suppose you could do it that way, but you'll probably progress much slower working 4 hours a day. What are you doing with the other 20? You can't be sleeping all that time (and if you are, you may want to talk to a doctor).

Have you tried the pomodoro technique? Get a timer and work in increments. 25 minutes of focused work, 5 minute break - after 4 work sessions, take a slightly longer break. I've found that helps me a lot with distraction.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Do whatever works the best for you. If your best productivity comes after 3 shots of whiskey while hanging upside down on a trapeze, do it.

You don't need our approval.

 

[AllenCrawley]

<-------------

Meh, I used to think my best productivity was when waking up later but that's all changed now.

 

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[csalvato]

You have to find the rhythm that works for you. I wake up at about 8 AM and F*ck around until about 12-1 PM. Sometimes later. Then I get into a groove and can go 2-3 hours or 15 hours.

Part of this is self exploration and figuring out how you work best. It's very tricky, and I feel guilty all the time, but there's no right answer. People think I am crazy when I describe how I work.

Also, keep in mind that high-level thinking tasks sometimes take more time and are harder to get into. Like, if I am thinking about the next direction for my business that can take 2-3 days of thinking where I feel like I am getting nothing done at all.

Then, when I am coding I can get down and dirty for 20 hours 3 days in a row.

Creativitiy is much harder to do and "focus" on like normal work/tasks.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Meh, I used to think my best productivity was when waking up later but that's all changed now.

Miracle morning?

 

[ItaloAmerican]

From my experience the night before is important.
As long as you don't stay up too late and get about 7-8 hours worth of sleep you should be fine.

If you want to be focused by 9 or 10 the next morning, wake up about 2 hours earlier and use the time to WAKE UP.
You could have some coffee or something, go running or to the gym before you start your day.
While WAKING UP my advice is that you already get your mind set for what you're going, for instance think about what you could write or go through some ideas. Sort of like "brainstorming" or as I affectionately call it "brain-masturbating".

Hope this helps you use more of the day.

 

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[Lakeview]

What are your thoughts on the minimal hours a entrepreneur should be working daily?

I have never thought about hours, just what I need to get done to reach my goal. If you don't have goals, there are bigger issues than time.

 

[IceCreamKid]

Miracle morning?

I had a miracle morning not too long ago by sheer accident. I woke up at 4am and couldn't go back to sleep so I ended up just working. It was surprisingly productive so I repeated it again and again.

 

[AllenCrawley]

Miracle morning?

Pretty much but I used to wake up a few years ago around 10am but realized I was just kidding myself that I was more productive. Started getting up around 7am and productivity increased a lot. After miracle morning I get up anywhere from 4:30am to 6am and am even more productive.

 

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[csalvato]

Pretty much but I used to wake up a few years ago around 10am but realized I was just kidding myself that I was more productive. Started getting up around 7am and productivity increased a lot. After miracle morning I get up anywhere from 4:30am to 6am and am even more productive.

What time do you go to bed at night? 8? 9?

 

[AllenCrawley]

What time do you go to bed at night? 8? 9?

I don't need 8 hours sleep. 7 is the most. However, right now, I'm working on building a company so I may only get 4 or 5 hours of sleep.

"I'd Rather Be Tired Than Broke."

Even so, my eating lifestyle (Paleo) and bulletproof coffee insure boundless energy and mental clarity. Without that I wouldn't be able to do it.

 

[csalvato]

I don't need 8 hours sleep. 7 is the most. However, right now, I'm working on building a company so I may only get 4 or 5 hours of sleep.

"I'd Rather Be Tired Than Broke."

Even so, my eating lifestyle (Paleo) and bulletproof coffee insure boundless energy and mental clarity. Without that I wouldn't be able to do it.

I eat paleo too, but I know the value of sleep to my body. With bad sleep, everything I do is pure crap. It's an area upon which I won't compromise because I don't do as well with bad sleep.

But I am thinking of trying to wake up earlier as the one time in my life where I regularly woke up at 5:00 AM I was pretty productive...

 

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[Moodswing]

I eat paleo too, but I know the value of sleep to my body. With bad sleep, everything I do is pure crap. It's an area upon which I won't compromise because I don't do as well with bad sleep.

But I am thinking of trying to wake up earlier as the one time in my life where I regularly woke up at 5:00 AM I was pretty productive...

Also, get a good meditation practice going. The moment I made meditation a daily habit (2x 15/20min a day) I noticed I needed a lot less sleep and my deep sleep increased drastically. Now I sleep ~6 hours and have never felt better upon waking up. Search the internet about the meditation/sleep correlation.

 

[JahvonCreamCone]

I suppose you could do it that way, but you'll probably progress much slower working 4 hours a day. What are you doing with the other 20? You can't be sleeping all that time (and if you are, you may want to talk to a doctor).

Have you tried the pomodoro technique? Get a timer and work in increments. 25 minutes of focused work, 5 minute break - after 4 work sessions, take a slightly longer break. I've found that helps me a lot with distraction.

I'm going try that technique. Thanks.

 

[JahvonCreamCone]

Do whatever works the best for you. If your best productivity comes after 3 shots of whiskey while hanging upside down on a trapeze, do it.

You don't need our approval.

Thanks MJ. Lol I was kinda surprised when I saw you replied.

 

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[AubreyJ]

You need to do what is best for you, because what is best for you might not be what is the best for me, or for anyone else on this board.

I know that for myself, I don't think I could ever work just 4 hours a day, at least not on the beginning (which is where i am right now)
My daily routine is that I wake up at 5:30AM, go to the gym for 2 hours, come home, eat, read/catch up on news for an hour or so, and then start work around 9-10AM. I take breaks throughout the day, like I go running mid-afternoon with my dog everyday for an hour, or I'll take a break to run an errand or two. And then I spend my nights doing my most productive work, I put on headphones, turn up my music, and do as much work as I can for 2-3 hours.

I like to go to bed at night feeling like I made the most of my day, and productivity differs from person to person. So, if you can work 4 hours a day and feel as though you had a productive day and made most of your time, than go for it!

 

[JahvonCreamCone]

You have to find the rhythm that works for you. I wake up at about 8 AM and F*ck around until about 12-1 PM. Sometimes later. Then I get into a groove and can go 2-3 hours or 15 hours.

Part of this is self exploration and figuring out how you work best. It's very tricky, and I feel guilty all the time, but there's no right answer. People think I am crazy when I describe how I work.

Also, keep in mind that high-level thinking tasks sometimes take more time and are harder to get into. Like, if I am thinking about the next direction for my business that can take 2-3 days of thinking where I feel like I am getting nothing done at all.

Then, when I am coding I can get down and dirty for 20 hours 3 days in a row.

Creativitiy is much harder to do and "focus" on like normal work/tasks.

That makes sense, thanks

 

[csalvato]

Also, get a good meditation practice going. The moment I made meditation a daily habit (2x 15/20min a day) I noticed I needed a lot less sleep and my deep sleep increased drastically. Now I sleep ~6 hours and have never felt better upon waking up. Search the internet about the meditation/sleep correlation.

I have a hard time meditating. My mind starts to wander and I just get frustrated. I meditate a lot better after yoga though...but that's only 1x/week.

 

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[robotunicr0n]

I'm also a bulletproof coffee fiend, as well as an early riser. Last week I started hard work on a new revenue stream and only ended up getting about 5 hours of sleep every night. I had bulletproof coffee in the morning and had a steady energy throughout the day. I knew I was tired but it helped me think straight. Usually after a sleep that short I can't focus at all during the day. Since I'm also working a slowlane 9-5 the energy is important to keep my business funding coming

 

[aernout]

I have a hard time meditating. My mind starts to wander and I just get frustrated. I meditate a lot better after yoga though...but that's only 1x/week.

Isn't the point of meditating that you train your mind to not wander off while meditating? I think you just need to keep practicing it.

 

[JahvonCreamCone]

From my experience the night before is important.
As long as you don't stay up too late and get about 7-8 hours worth of sleep you should be fine.

If you want to be focused by 9 or 10 the next morning, wake up about 2 hours earlier and use the time to WAKE UP.
You could have some coffee or something, go running or to the gym before you start your day.
While WAKING UP my advice is that you already get your mind set for what you're going, for instance think about what you could write or go through some ideas. Sort of like "brainstorming" or as I affectionately call it "brain-masturbating".

Hope this helps you use more of the day.

Brain masterbating sounds right up my alley

 

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[JahvonCreamCone]

You need to do what is best for you, because what is best for you might not be what is the best for me, or for anyone else on this board.

I know that for myself, I don't think I could ever work just 4 hours a day, at least not on the beginning (which is where i am right now)
My daily routine is that I wake up at 5:30AM, go to the gym for 2 hours, come home, eat, read/catch up on news for an hour or so, and then start work around 9-10AM. I take breaks throughout the day, like I go running mid-afternoon with my dog everyday for an hour, or I'll take a break to run an errand or two. And then I spend my nights doing my most productive work, I put on headphones, turn up my music, and do as much work as I can for 2-3 hours.

I like to go to bed at night feeling like I made the most of my day, and productivity differs from person to person. So, if you can work 4 hours a day and feel as though you had a productive day and made most of your time, than go for it!

Great answer, thank you

 

[Vagabond 007]

I find that if I'm really focused on something, time is somewhat irrelevant. There have been times where I've put in a solid 10+ hours of actual work and it didn't bother me one bit.

If you are enjoying what you're doing or at least what you're doing is to help your future, why limit yourself to only 4 hours of work? I can't imagine your thought process being "Man, I'm really enjoying this, but I better stop now since it's been 4 hours."

 

[MorgothBauglir]

I have a hard time meditating. My mind starts to wander and I just get frustrated. I meditate a lot better after yoga though...but that's only 1x/week.

I've been meditating for years and my mind will still wander. It's perfectly normal. When you notice it happening, just recognize it and steer your mind back to your breathing/mantra/whatever it is you use to focus.

 

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[sle3pyguii]

4 hours of productive work is far better than 8 hours of mediocre work.

I'm only really productive about 3 hours a day at my slowlane job, and it's usually in the mornings from 9-12. I usually get more done during those 3 hours than the other 5-7 hours I'm putting in.

 

[Formless]

Does it sound reasonable for me to sleep until I'm no longer tired. 11am. Then do 4 hours of focused work?
I notice when I wake up early. And try to work all day. I get easily distracted. And often find myself dozing off.
I'm currently working on a book, so I'm home 24/7. What are your thoughts on the minimal hours a entrepreneur should be working daily? And is it ok to sleep basically all day and work the rest of your time?

You have my utterly insignificant permission to work whichever way suits you.

Because ultimately that's the real motive behind your post. Validation. (And that is not an insult or a stab.)

 

[JahvonCreamCone]

You have my utterly insignificant permission to work whichever way suits you.

Because ultimately that's the real motive behind your post. Validation. (And that is not an insult or a stab.)

Lol why thank you

 

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[Kak]

My advice... Bust your a$$... Then in the very near future you will have earned the right to work 0 hours if you don't feel like working.

 

[AllenCrawley]

"Most of you don't want success as much as you want to sleep. I'm here to tell you that if you want success you got to be willing to give up sleep. You've got to be willing to work off of 3 hours of sleep, 2 hours of sleep. If you really want to be successful, sometimes you're going to have to stay up 3 days in a row. Because if you go to sleep you might miss the opportunity to be successful." - Eric Thomas

My advice... Bust your a$$... Then in the very near future you will have earned the right to work 0 hours if you don't feel like working.

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