![]() I also take time each evening to focus on planning the next day. These can be helpful fuel for jumping right into productive work the next day. Since I’ve had a break from the programming and writing tasks of the morning, my brain is often full of ideas relating to where I left off. I spend time taking notes on any interesting ideas I have. My creative juices start flowing, though my productivity muscles aren’t as strong as they were in the morning. My energy starts to increase again around 1500-1600. Scheduling these social activities in the afternoon works well, since I am typically not programming at that time anyway. I find that most social interactions tend to put me in a mental state which is not conducive to programming. I also try to schedule most of my meetings and calls in the afternoon. Instead, I perform more “mindless” activities such as: I try to avoid writing, programming, and specification work in the afternoon. Fundamentally, I find it impossible to perform deep thinking on a problem, my programming output drops, and I tend to make more mistakes. I tend to experience an energy dip in the afternoon, most notably right after lunch. If I need to have a creative meeting which involves high levels of attention and focus, I will schedule it for the morning. I will also read specifications and other dense technical information in the morning. For instance, I review legal documents in the morning when it’s much easier for me to parse legalese. Sometimes I have non-programming work that requires intense focus and analysis. Since I run a website and a consulting company, the bulk of my creative and high-value work is completed in this four hour block. I try for 1-2 hours of writing with 2-3 hours of high-quality focused programming. My work morning typically consists of a four hour block. My creative juices are flowing, I can think clearly, I can build mental models, and I can focus deeply on one task. Evenings are reserved for planning and brainstorming.Afternoons are reserved for meetings, calls, administrative tasks, and “mindless” activities.Mornings are reserved for deep-thinking & focus.Given these general observations about my body and mind, I’ve developed a general set of guidelines: By planning the next day before I finish working, I have an easier time diving into work & following the plan.I can generate a lot of creative ideas in the evening, which gives me a quality start for the next day.Talking with people effectively shuts down my ability to do deep work for a few hours.I find it much harder to stay focused and single-task in the afternoon.Eating a greasy restaurant lunch really slows me down for the rest of the day.Checking social media / email / news can ruin my morning productivity.I can single-task without distraction in the morning.I have a much easier time holding details in my head in the morning.I have a much easier time writing in the morning. ![]() My ability to focus is best in the morning.I find the following statements to be true: I mentioned that you must listen to your body. By thinking about when you do your best work and focusing on that, you can increase your productivity and output quality without changing the total invested time. Yours may be different, which is fine – just make sure you are maximizing your effectiveness. To maximize my effectiveness, I try my best to schedule tasks according to my body’s rhythms. In the worst case, poor scheduling directly impacts the profitability of my projects and can cause them to be delivered late. Scheduling the wrong type of activity at the wrong time of day results in a massive loss in productivity. I must tackle a mix of tasks which may be highly creative (writing and programming), inter-personal (meetings, calls, and pitches), or tedious and mundane (accounting, scheduling posts, filling out forms, paying taxes). You must administer to your business, find new clients, think about your firm’s strategy, and develop IP you can leverage on future projects.īalancing these different focuses can be a challenge. If you ignore your own business too long, you will fail. Even in the best week, I can only feasibly bill a maximum of 25 hours before I start making sacrifices and ignoring my business’s needs. I only get paid when I am working on billable tasks or negotiating new contracts. Unfortunately, consulting and business ownership don’t work that way. When starting out as a consultant, many think that they will be making more money: “$205/hr times 40 hours – I’m going to be rich!” As a business owner and programmer, the way I structure my day can have a dramatic impact on my effectiveness and bottom line.įor the most part, traditional employees get a paycheck regardless how productive their day is. ![]()
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