<\/a>Benjamin Hardy<\/a>Mar 20<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\n traditional 9\u20135 workday is poorly structured for high productivity. \nPerhaps when most work was physical labor, but not in the knowledge \nworking world we now live in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although\n this may be obvious based on people\u2019s mediocre performance, addiction \nto stimulants, lack of engagement, and the fact that most people hate \ntheir jobs\u200a\u2014\u200anow there\u2019s loads of scientific evidence you can\u2019t ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The most productive countries in the world do not work 8 hours per day. Actually, the most productive countries have the shortest <\/em>workdays.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n People\n in countries like Luxembourg are working approximately 30 hours per \nweek (approximately 6 hours per day, 5 days per week) and making more money <\/em>on average than people working longer workweeks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is the average <\/em>person in those countries. But what about the super-productive?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although\n Gary Vaynerchuck claims to work 20 hours per day, many \u201chighly \nsuccessful\u201d people I know work between 3\u20136 hours per day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\n also depends on what you\u2019re really trying to accomplish in your life. \nGary Vaynerchuck wants to own the New York Jets. He\u2019s also fine, \napparently, not spending much time with his family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s completely fine. He\u2019s clear on his priorities.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n However,\n you must also be clear on yours. If you\u2019re like most people, you \nprobably want to make a great income, doing work you love, that also \nprovides lots of flexibility in your schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If that\u2019s your goal, this post is for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWherever you are, make sure you\u2019re there.\u201d\u200a\u2014\u200a<\/em>Dan Sullivan<\/p>\n\n\n\n If\n you\u2019re like most people, your workday is a blend of low-velocity work \nmixed with continual distraction (e.g., social media and email).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most\n people\u2019s \u201cworking time\u201d is not done at peak performance levels. When \nmost people are working, they do so in a relaxed fashion. Makes sense, \nthey have plenty of time to get it done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, when you are results-oriented<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>rather than \u201cbeing busy,\u201d you\u2019re 100 percent on <\/em>when you\u2019re working and 100 percent off<\/em> when you\u2019re not. Why do anything half-way? If you\u2019re going to work, you\u2019re going to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To get the best results in your fitness, research has found that shorter but more intensive exercise<\/a> is more effective than longer drawn-out exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The concept is simple: Intensive activity followed by high-quality rest and recovery.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Most of the growth actually comes during the recovery process. However, the only way to truly recover<\/em> is by actually pushing yourself to exhaustion during the workout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\n same concept applies to work. The best work happens in short intensive \nspurts. By short, I\u2019m talking 1\u20133 hours. But this must be \u201cDeep Work,\u201d<\/a>\n with no distractions, just like an intensive workout is non-stop. \nInterestingly, your best work\u200a\u2014\u200awhich for most people is thinking\u200a\u2014\u200awill\n actually happen while you\u2019re away <\/em>from your work, \u201crecovering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For\n best results: Spend 20% of your energy on your work and 80% of your \nenergy on recovery and self-improvement. When you\u2019re getting \nhigh-quality recovery, you\u2019re growing. When you\u2019re continually honing \nyour mental-model, the quality and impact of your work continually \nincrease. This is what psychologists call, \u201cDeliberate Practice.\u201d It\u2019s \nnot about doing more, but better <\/em>training. It\u2019s about being strategic and results-focused, not busyness-focused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In one study, only 16 percent<\/a> of respondents reported getting creative insight while at work<\/em>. Ideas generally came while the person was at home, in transportation, or during recreational activity. \u201cThe most creative ideas aren\u2019t going to come while sitting in front of your monitor,\u201d <\/em>says Scott Birnbaum, a vice president of Samsung Semiconductor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\n reason for this is simple. When you\u2019re working directly on a task, your\n mind is tightly focused on the problem at hand (i.e., direct \nreflection). Conversely, when you\u2019re not working, your mind loosely \nwanders (i.e., indirect reflection).<\/p>\n\n\n\n While\n driving or doing some other form of recreation, the external stimuli in\n your environment (like the buildings or other landscapes around you) \nsubconsciously prompt memories and other thoughts. Because your mind is \nwandering both contextually (on different subjects) and temporally \nbetween past, present, and future, your brain will make distant and \ndistinct connections related to the problem you\u2019re trying to solve \n(eureka!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Creativity<\/a>, after all, is making connections between different parts of the brain. Ideation and inspiration is a process you can perfect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Case\n in point: when you\u2019re working, be at work. When you\u2019re not working, \nstop working. By taking your mind off work and actually recovering, \nyou\u2019ll get creative breakthroughs related to your work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to psychologist Ron Friedman, the first three hours of your day are your most precious for maximized productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTypically,\n we have a window of about three hours where we\u2019re really, really \nfocused. We\u2019re able to have some strong contributions in terms of \nplanning, in terms of thinking, in terms of speaking well,\u201d <\/em>Friedman told Harvard Business Review<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This\n makes sense on several levels. Let\u2019s start with sleep. Research \nconfirms the brain, specifically the prefrontal cortex, is most active \nand readily creative<\/a>\n immediately following sleep. Your subconscious mind has been loosely \nmind-wandering while you slept, making contextual and temporal \nconnections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, immediately following sleep, your mind is most readily active to do thoughtful work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So,\n your brain is most attuned first thing in the morning, and so are your \nenergy levels. Consequently, the best time to do your best work is \nduring the first three hours of your day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\n used to exercise first thing in the morning. Not anymore. I\u2019ve found \nthat exercising first thing in the morning actually sucks my energy, \nleaving me with less than I started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Lately,\n I\u2019ve been waking up at 6AM, driving to my school and walking to the \nlibrary I work in. While walking from my car to the library, I drink a \n250 calorie plant-based protein shake (approximately 30 grams of \nprotein).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Donald Layman, professor emeritus of nutrition at the University of Illinois, recommends consuming at least 30 grams of protein for breakfast<\/a>. Similarly, Tim Ferriss, in his book, The 4-Hour Body<\/em><\/a>, also recommends 30 grams of protein 30 minutes after waking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Protein-rich\n foods keep you full longer than other foods because they take longer to\n leave the stomach. Also, protein keeps blood-sugar levels steady, which\n prevent spikes in hunger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I get to the library and all set-up by around 6:30 AM. I spend a few minutes in prayer and meditation, followed by a 5\u201310-minute session in my journal<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\n purpose of this journal session is to get clarity and focus for my day.\n I write down my big picture goals and my objectives for that particular\n day. I then write down anything that comes to my mind. Often, it \nrelates to people I need to contact or ideas related to a project I\u2019m \nworking on. I purposefully keep this journal session short and focused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n By\n 6:45, I\u2019m set to work on whatever project I\u2019m working on, whether \nthat\u2019s writing a book or an article, working on a research paper for my \ndoctoral research, creating an online course, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Starting\n work this early may seem crazy to you, but I\u2019ve been shocked by how \neasy it is to work for 2\u20135 hours straight without distractions. My mind \nis laser at this time of day. And I don\u2019t rely on any stimulants at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Between\n 11 AM-noon, my mind is ready for a break, so that\u2019s when I do my \nworkout. Research confirms that your workout is better with food in your system<\/a>.\n Consequently, my workouts are now a lot more productive and powerful \nthan they were when I was exercising immediately following sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the workout, which is a great mental break, you should be fine to work a few more hours, if needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If your 3\u20135 hours before your workout was focused, you could probably be done for the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\n understand that this schedule will not work for everyone. There are \nsingle-parents with kids who simply can\u2019t do something like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We\n all need to work within the constraints of our unique contexts. \nHowever, if you work best in the morning, you gotta find a way to make \nit happen. This may require waking up a few extra hours earlier than \nyou\u2019re used to and taking a nap during the afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Or, it may require you to simply focus hardcore the moment you get to work. A common strategy for this is known as the \u201c90\u201390\u20131\u201d rule<\/a>,\n where you spend the first 90 minutes of your workday on your #1 \npriority. I\u2019m certain this isn\u2019t checking your email or social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever your situation, protect your mornings!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019m\n blown away by how many people schedule things like meetings in the \nmornings. Nothing could be worse for peak performance and creativity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Schedule all of your meetings for the afternoon, after lunch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t check your social media or email until after your 3 hours of deep work. <\/em>Your morning time should be spent on output, not input.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If\n you don\u2019t protect your mornings, a million different things will take \nup your time. Other people will only respect you as much as you respect \nyourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Protecting your mornings means you are literally unreachable during certain hours. Only in case of serious emergency <\/em>can you be summoned from your focus-cave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What you do outside of work is just as significant for your work-productivity as what you do while you\u2019re working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A March 2016 study in the online issue of Neurology <\/em><\/a>found that regular exercise can slow brain aging by as much as 10 years. Loads of other research has found that people who regularly exercise are more productive at work<\/a>. Your brain is, after all, part of your body. If your body is healthier, it makes sense that your brain would operate better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If\n you want to operate at your highest level, you need to take a holistic \napproach to life. You are a system. When you change a part of any \nsystem, you simultaneously change the whole. Improve one area of your \nlife, all other areas improve in a virtuous cycle. This is the butterfly\n effect in action and the basis of the book, Start with Habit, <\/em>which\n shows that by integrating one \u201ckeystone habit,\u201d like exercise or \nreading, that the positivity of that one habits ripples into all other \nareas of your life, eventually transforming your whole life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consequently, the types of foods you eat<\/a>,\n and when you eat them, determine your ability to focus at work. Your \nability to sleep well (by the way, it\u2019s easy to sleep well when you get \nup early and work hard) is also essential to peak performance. Rather \nthan managing your time, then, you should really be focused on managing your energy. <\/em>Your work schedule should be scheduled around when you work best, <\/em>not around social norms and expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You only need one<\/strong>\n keystone habit to start. If you create one, then you\u2019ll have built the \nconfidence to build several more. The reason is simple: how you do \nanything is often how you do everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If\n you can lock in one keystone habit\u200a\u2014\u200aparticularly something that is \nfundamental and important like food or money or time\u200a\u2014\u200athen you\u2019ll have \ngained sufficient confidence and control in your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This\n is actually what most people don\u2019t understand about willpower. They \nthink willpower is about self-control when willpower is actually a \nmatter of confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you have low willpower, it\u2019s because you have low confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You\n create confidence by getting small wins, which ripple into bigger wins.\n The more confident you are, the less willpower you need to make good \nchoices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So how do you build a keystone habit quick?<\/p>\n\n\n\n One answer that psychologists have hit upon is called \u201cimplementation intentions.\u201d<\/a> It\u2019s extremely simple and easy to apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Basically, you create a planned response<\/em> every time you\u2019re either triggered or tempted to do something you don\u2019t want to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For\n example, every time you get triggered to smoke a cigarette, you \nimmediately call a friend. You can also have back-up plans if the friend\n doesn\u2019t answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But the principle is simple: have an immediate response to a trigger so you don\u2019t unconsciously react.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Your\n planned and immediate response takes willpower out of the equation \nbecause it takes choice out of the equation. Willpower is all about \nchoice, or in reality, the lack of having made a choice. Willpower is \nthe byproduct of not knowing exactly what the outcome will be. For \ninstance, when you get triggered to smoke or do any other negative \nbehavior\u200a\u2014\u200aif willpower is part of the equation, it is because you \nhaven\u2019t decided beforehand what you will do. You\u2019re still undecided. \nHence, 98% commitment is much harder than 100% commitment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n True\n decisions mean you have cut-off alternative options. Decision is the \nopposite of decision fatigue, and decision fatigue is the same thing as \nwillpower. Thus, willpower is the absence of decision, and leads to an \nemotional tug-of-war within yourself which generally ends in failure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Part\n of the genius of implementation intentions is simply their ability to \ndistract you from your trigger for long enough for the trigger to \nsubside. In the brief 10\u201360 second window where you\u2019re going through \nyour pre-planned and healthy response to a trigger, your re-reminded of \nthe decision you made and the goals you\u2019re pursuing. The trigger and \ndesire go away as you engage in healthy behavior and re-ignite your \nconfidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\n applied an implementation intention while at Disney World the other \nday. Instead of caving into the junk food all around me, I did a bunch \nof push-ups. Every time I wanted to eat snacks, I just did 10 pushups. \nBy the end of the day, I\u2019d done over 100.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Habit formation is about replacement<\/strong>\n more than simply removal. You can\u2019t just create a void in your life. \nYou need to fill it with something more congruent. Therefore, in order \nto build a successful implementation intention or pre-planned response\u2014 \nyou need to establish an \u201cif-then\u201d response to whatever you\u2019re trying to accomplish.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pick the goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whenever an obstacle appears, use your if-then response. Example:<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\n doesn\u2019t really matter what your pre-planned response is, so long as you\n consistently do it. By consistently following through, you\u2019ll create \nsmall wins. Small wins build self-respect and confidence, thus lowering \nyour need for willpower. Small wins and confidence solidify the \ndecisions you\u2019ve made, giving you increased inner-knowing that you \nabsolutely will achieve your goal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Another\n key reason that confidence lowers the need for willpower is that the \nmore confident you get, the more you genuinely DESIRE better results. At\n the heart of willpower is not actually knowing what you want. Indeed, \nyou may actually still desire<\/em> eating bad food, for example. Thus, you\u2019re at continually battling within yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is a horrible yet common way to live.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most\n people do not know what they truly want. They don\u2019t know how to make \ndecisions. They haven\u2019t learned how to build genuine confidence. Most \npeople’s lives are a constant back-and-forth of indecision and lack of \nclarity. Yet, decision and clarity go hand-in-hand are not actually hard\n to build. They are skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You start with one simple one. And watch the ripples grow and success compound.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As you become more confident and mature as a person, your desires fundamentally change<\/em>.\n You stop wanting stuff you used to want. You start wanting to succeed. \nYou start loving yourself enough to win at life. You start seeing a much\n bigger picture for yourself. You realize increasingly more that you are\n the one painting the picture and actually have been the entire time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rather\n than being disappointed by your previous choices, you\u2019re increasingly \ngrateful for what your life is. You see increased vision and potential \nin everything around you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research in several fields<\/a> has found that recovery from work<\/a> is a necessity for staying energetic, engaged, and healthy when facing job demands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRecovery\u201d<\/a> is the process of reducing or eliminating physical and psychological strain\/stress caused by work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One particular recovery strategy that is getting lots of attention in recent research is called \u201cpsychological detachment from work.\u201d<\/a> True psychological detachment occurs when you completely refrain from work-related activities and thoughts <\/em>during non-work time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Proper detachment\/recovery from work is essential<\/a>\n for physical and psychological health, in addition to engaged and \nproductive work. Yet, few people do it. Most people are always \n\u201cavailable\u201d to their email and work. Millennials are the worst, often \nwearing the openness to work \u201cwhenever\u201d as a badge of honor. It\u2019s not a \nbadge of honor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Research has found that people who psychologically detach from work experience:<\/p>\n\n\n\n When\n you\u2019re at work, be fully absorbed. When it\u2019s time to call it a day, \ncompletely detach yourself from work and become absorbed in the other \nareas of your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If\n you don\u2019t detach, you\u2019ll never fully be present or engaged at work or \nat home. You\u2019ll be under constant strain, even if minimally. Your sleep \nwill suffer. Your relationships will be shallow. Your life will not be \nhappy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not only that, but lots of science has found play<\/em>\n to be extremely important for productivity and creativity. Just like \nyour body needs a reset, which you can get through fasting, you also \nneed to reset from work in order to do your best work. <\/em>Thus, you need to step away from work and dive into other beautiful areas of your life. For me, that\u2019s goofing off with my kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stuart Brown<\/a>, founder of the National Institute for Play<\/a>,\n has studied the \u201cPlay Histories\u201d of over six thousand people and \nconcludes playing can radically improve everything\u200a\u2014\u200afrom personal \nwell-being to relationships to learning to an organization\u2019s potential \nto innovate. As Greg McKeown explains<\/a>, \u201cVery successful people see play as essential for creativity.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In his TED talk<\/a>,\n Brown said, \u201cPlay leads to brain plasticity, adaptability, and \ncreativity\u2026 Nothing fires up the brain like play.\u201d There is a burgeoning\n body of literature highlighting the extensive cognitive<\/a> and social<\/a> benefits of play, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n In her book, On Repeat: How Music Plays the Mind<\/em><\/a>, <\/em>psychologist\n Elizabeth Hellmuth Margulis explains why listening to music on repeat \nimproves focus. When you\u2019re listening to a song on repeat, you tend to dissolve <\/em>into the song, which blocks out mind wandering (let your mind wander while you\u2019re away from work!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n WordPress founder, Matt Mullenweg<\/a>, listens to one single song on repeat to get into flow. So do authors Ryan Holiday<\/a> and Tim Ferriss<\/a>, and many others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Give it a try.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can use this website<\/a> to listen to YouTube videos on repeat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I generally listen to classical music or electronic music (like video game type music). Here are a few that have worked for me:<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ve\n created a cheat sheet for putting yourself into a PEAK-STATE, \nimmediately. You follow this daily, your life will change very quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get the cheat sheet here!<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n Medium member since Mar 2017<\/p>\n\n\n\n Husband and father of 5 kids! PhD candidate in Organizational Psychology. Bestselling author of Willpower Doesn\u2019t Work.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Benjamin HardyMar 20 The traditional 9\u20135 workday is poorly structured for high productivity. Perhaps when most work was physical labor, but not in the knowledge working world we now live in. Although this may be…<\/p>\nThe Myth of the 8 Hour Workday<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Quality Vs. Quantity<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Your First Three Hours Will Make or Break You<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Protect Your Mornings<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Mind-Body Connection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
A Very Simple Technique For Building Keystone Habits<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Don\u2019t Forget to Psychologically Detach and Play<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Cognitive<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Social<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Listen to Brain Music<\/a> or Songs on Repeat<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Ready to Upgrade?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Benjamin Hardy<\/a><\/h3>\n\n\n\n