The wonders of the Weekend Sprint (for 9 to 5ers)

[Lucho]

Same old excuses…
“I do not have enough time”
“Where will I find the time with my 9 to 5, etc.”

Some simple maths…
168 hours in a week
40 hour work-week, call it 50 hours with commuting
56 hours of sleep per week

Simple conclusion: Over of a third of our time is remaining!

“But, Lucho… I need to cook, clean, look after the kids, work out, view latest must-watch Netflix show, etc.”

Possibly that is true. So I have a new proposal for all my 9-5ers out there (including myself) looking to create a fast lane business… and it’s probably obvious. Well, obvious for those who understand sacrifice and the compound effects of focussed work.

Enter The Weekend Sprint...

6pm Friday to midnight Sunday = 54 hours to play with.

What are you going to accomplish in 54 hours?? Forget about sleep, what is the end result that you will show at midnight on Sunday evening? Now, decide a very, clear goal for that time frame… and then f***ing sprint at 100mph towards it! No coffee breaks or dinner dates with friends, no watching sports, no idle fapping... just sprint!

“Why sprint? But don’t we need to rest?”…

I’ll let the words of Naval Ravikant answer this one… and for the second part, you can rest Mon-Fri.

"[Knowledge workers] sprint as hard as they can while they are working on something and they are inspired and are passionate, and they rest to take long breaks. It’s more like a lion hunting, and much less like a marathon runner running, so you sprint, then you rest, you reassess and you try again. And what you end up doing, you end up building a marathon of sprints"

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/873624849230385152

“…building a marathon of sprints” - This is the long-term strategy, this is the system that the sprints build over time.

“But what about my social “obligations” to my friends? What if it makes me happy to see my friends on the weekend?”



Are your friends putting food on the table? No.
Can you not see them on a weekday evening? Of course you can.

“But what if none of my friends will drink a beer with me on the weekdays?”

Great, all the more reason not to poison yourself.

“But what about watching *insert latest Netflix drama*?"

F*** Netflix, if you love video content so much, then produce your own! Take on the producer mindset.

“But what if I am not inspired on Friday?”

This is where the second part comes in.

During the week, you will be doing everything, doing your 9-5, working out, cooking (prepping your meals for the weekend), laundry, dating your wife, paying your bills, whatever… doing all in the week.

This will make your weekdays so dull, that you will be pulling your eyeballs out waiting for Friday evening to come and all the possibilities to work on your business.

If you do experience a strong bout of inspiration during the week, at the very least, spend 30 mins writing your ideas down in extreme detail to the point that when you circle round to Friday, you can pick up straight away on these ideas.

So, guess what day it is today? 

That’s right, it’s Friday… the perfect time to start The Weekend Sprint!

So write down the goal and sprint at it NOW!





P.S. Understand I’m writing this is message to myself as much as I am to you.

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Great write up, as I like to repeat over and over, our actions (not words) expresses our priorities.

I just told my step-son that he needed to find a new job closer to home and less taxing, even if it pays 30% less. His job is so taxing, plus the commute, that he has nothing left to give his business.

When he didn't really understand the logic, I said a new job closer to home will give you an extra 40-50 hours per month -- and that gaining those extra hours in his life are worth the price, a few hundred dollars lost in opportunity cost is gained in free time, not to mention, having more mental and physical energy.

 

[Lucho]

Great write up, as I like to repeat over and over, our actions (not words) expresses our priorities.

I just told my step-son that he needed to find a new job closer to home and less taxing, even if it pays 30% less. His job is so taxing, plus the commute, that he has nothing left to give his business.

When he didn't really understand the logic, I said a new job closer to home will give you an extra 40-50 hours per month -- and that gaining those extra hours in his life are worth the price, a few hundred dollars lost in opportunity cost is gained in free time, not to mention, having more mental and physical energy.

Thanks for the response MJ!

And WRT your step-son, I couldn't agree more about the advice.

I guess if you are in a situation where you do have to get a job, best options (in order) are:
A) Get a remote-working job (where the IT team do no monitor your activity), or
B) Get a job as close travelling distance/time to your home as possible