[EvanMiller]

I have to challenge the premise that most of the responders have taken, which is that working on a daily schedule is "better".

On the contrary, I find that my work habits are a lot like yours -- and I think that's a good thing! Sometimes I will be possessed by a coding demon and crank out work for days (weeks?) on end. Other times I will putter around watching TV or brainstorming ideas.

For me the whole point of being self-employed was to NOT have to show up to an office (or home office) and work 9-5 every single day. A creative human brain is a rare and marvelous creature, and we understand very little about how it works. I think the best thing to do is to let it run around and work when it feels like working, or read a book when it feels like reading a book. I personally find my creativity withers away under a strict work regimen.

If your work is not creative and you're just grinding it out for money every day, then by all means, follow the advice in the other posts. But if your work requires imagination and making unexpected mental connections, then don't worry too much about "efficiency". As long as you're thinking about something related to work most of the time, over the long run your real productivity will exceed that of all those poor saps who measure output as a function of mindless hours in front of a computer.

Embracing your "lazy" side requires a certain amount of courage, but if you can make ends meet while doing it, you'll be happier and end up doing better creative work. In any event, don't worry too much about how most people say they do things. Do what feels right to you. Good luck!

[ISeemToBeAVerb]

Obviously, every person is different and I applaud the fact that you've found a method that works for you, but I vehemently disagree that routine is the enemy of imagination and insight.

I worked in the ad game a long time and I never once knew a designer or illustrator that relied on inspiration to get the job done. It's all process.

Our society seems to romanticize the lives of artists and treat them as somehow "blessed". However, I think science is coming more and more to show that creativity is far from an inspired activity. It's mostly the result of a lot of hard work and problem solving. Both of which require a person to show up and work.

Reading a book like Mason Currey's "Daily Rituals: How Artists Work" is very enlightening because it illustrates just how shockingly routine and boring the lives of many famous artists really are/were.

[jnhuynh]

I agree with you and I want to add your point with a video I found on HN (I guess it crops up at random times). http://vimeo.com/58918963

John Cleese talks about creativity and how you need to create a space and time for it.

[yawz]

This would probably work best if you enjoy every part of your work. However, I assume most of us have to do things that we don't particularly enjoy. Or, even more dangerously, we have lower-priority more-enjoyable things to do. Then a little bit of self-discipling and planning is necessary.

[shubhamjain]

Although the personal freedom is enjoyable but a certain amount of self discipline seems necessary, otherwise, you start putting off more and more work in an inevitable way when you are not in the mood, or you want to watch the latest TV show episode, perhaps.

With my first remote job, I was often distracted by lots of stuff, procrastinated a lot because of no schedule and the result was I had to work even on weekends, full time to make the ends meet.

[dreamfactory]

It may not be for all but as far as I'm aware most productive creative people are rigorous in their schedules. For example, I've read a number of artists and writers talking about the importance of developing the habit of creating output every day regardless of quality.

[ghaff]

I sorta keep a daily schedule but I'm not rigid about it; some days are certainly more about focusing on tasks than others. For me, it's at least as important to keep a short-term and mid-term todo list.