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by pcbro141 1880 days ago
I don't want to go back, I can get my day job done in < 5 hours. I intend to start a couple of fun side businesses and it's easier to do that with no time (and emotional exhaustion) wasted on commuting and sitting at my desk trying to look busy.

Do your tasks in as little time as it takes leaving more room for leisure, this is the first time I'm feeling the benefits of that 'increased productivity per hour'[1] economists talk about.

[1] https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/exports/labor-productivit...

3 comments

I feel like I can do my daily work in 2-3 hours, but I end up spending all day procastinating between tasks.
This made me laugh. I am totally with you. I burn myself out by stretching 3 hours of work into 9, punctuated by podcasts, reading the news, doing household chores, ... basically whatever I can find that will allow me to avoid what important work I have in front of me.
That's a working-in-an-office habit, which I personally am trying to break. (as he goofs around on HN)
I agree, but even WFH, it seems many companies want you "at your desk" for the work day.
I try and stick to 25 min focused work, 5 min of whatever, repeat.
That always feel so unrealistic to me. Do you guys really feel recharged after a 5 minute break? Thats just enough to visit the toilet and get a drink. It would mean you are focused 7 hours out of 8. Seems very unrealistic to me.
The usual "pomodoro" schedule I see also includes a half-hour break every 4 or so focus sessions. The 5 minute break is more to remind you to stand up and get a few stretches - and also to give your brain the prospect of the break as a "reward" if only you start now.

When I was doing it consistently for a while, a productive day looked like a 30-45 mins of emails + standup, 4 pomodoros, lunch, 4 pomodoros, break, 2-3 pomodoros. However, there always seems to be meetings scattered around, and a more typical day would only get 6-8 pomodoros of focus time.

It doesn't work for me. Either than 5 min break comes too early or late.
> I intend to start a couple of for profit side businesses

Not saying this applies to you, but a thing a lot of people are going to find out is how little they actually accomplish with the extra time. It's so much easier (and fun!) to dream about going to the gym, having a garden, and starting a business while stuck in traffic than to actually follow through and do those things.

I don’t know about that. Start small work up from there. I started with just a small walk each day, fast forward a few months and I’ve taking up ruck marches and lost all sorts of weight. I’m exceedingly undisciplined.

I would encourage anyone to take a bit of that free time and take a step in the right direction.

> Start small

Yeah, I'm saying it's pretty clear most people won't even do this.

It’s one step closer to following through at least compared to daydreaming in traffic
Debateably better to daydream about success than fail and realize you couldn't do it. In the first option you can at least blame someone else.
I feel like most companies just give you more work when you finish early. They want your at you desk for x hours in exchange for a salary.
Correction: minimum X hours