The 4 Hour Workday

116 Comments

How to complete a full workday by noon? Sounds impossible, right? But on many days, by 12 o’clock, I have completed work that should normally take eight hours. And I don’t wake up at 4 a.m. to achieve this.

Actually, finishing everything by noon isn’t too difficult. If you add up all the time you spend procrastinating, distracted, or tired at work, it would probably make up half of your day. If you eliminated this wasted time, ending your day at noon wouldn’t be hard.

The problem, of course, is in the actual elimination of all that wasted time. A lot of productivity advice looks like simplistic dieting advice (“Eat less!”). Unfortunately cutting that wasted time is the tricky part. However, by making a few simple changes in your approach, you can make it far easier to cut the fat.

Don’t Pay Yourself by The Hour

If you view work as something that starts at 9 and ends at 5, you won’t be able to finish everything by noon. When you evaluate yourself for time spent working, rather than work completed, procrastination is often the result.

If you read the headline for this article and thought it was a scam, you probably suffer from this problem. Finishing by noon feels like cheating when you’re supposed to put in an eight hour workday. Unfortunately, it’s that attitude that causes you to procrastinate and stretch work out to keep you occupied until 5pm.

The solution is to stop paying yourself by the hour. Sure, you may continue to bill your clients by the hour. Or, your boss may continue to pay you a wage, and expect you to stay in the office until 5pm. But, that doesn’t mean you need to pay yourself that way. If you reward completion over input time, you will have a lean schedule.

In knowledge work, time input isn’t the point. As a writer, programmer or engineer, your value comes from your output. The end customer doesn’t care how many hours you spend behind your desk on Facebook or Twitter. Ultimately, your output will be what counts for your boss, clients or customers.

If You Work at Home, Never Work 9-5

If you are in a typical office environment (that rewards punctuality over performance), it will be harder to get your workday in before noon. Tim Ferriss – in his book, The 4-Hour Workweek – has some great suggestions for talking your boss into letting you work less, if you are more productive. If corporate policy chains you to your desk until late afternoon, I’d suggest you check out his book.

However, if you work at home, you have no excuse. Scheduling an eight-hour workday is wasting precious hours from your life. If you change how you evaluate your efforts, finishing eight hours of work in 3-4 hours is probable. You might even be able to increase your total output while reducing the amount you work.

Some people, however, don’t get it. I had a friend who owned an online business. He told me he had been working over ten hours each day on a new product. He said this without exaggeration, and I would say he honestly believed he was working at every possible moment.

However, even by judging his online activity, I knew something was wrong. He still had time to write long forum posts online and write lengthy emails. He made the mistake of judging his productivity by the amount of effort he was putting in, instead of results. Although it would have been less sympathetic, if he only worked five ultra-productive hours and rested for the rest of the day, he would have been more successful and less stressed.

How to Pay Yourself for Work Finished

I have a few productivity tricks I use to help remind myself of the “pay for completion” approach. The first I call Weekly/Daily Goals:

Weekly/Daily Goals

This is the core of my productivity system and it’s my key attack method to finish a full day’s work by noon. The idea is simple: at every point in the day, you keep two lists. The first list stores every task you need to complete that day. The second list stores every task you need to complete that week.

When you’ve finished all the tasks on your Daily Goals list, you’re done. If that happens at 11am, then congratulate yourself and go have a beer/coffee/tea/chai/nap. If that happens at 9pm, then put on another pot of coffee and keep working. Your day ends when your work ends.

This sounds obvious, but it is not how most people work. It is far more common to see someone finish at 11am, and then start working on another task. Or, after reaching 6 or 7pm in the evening, they give up and call it a day.

Instead of pay for completion, most people try to fit in eight hours. When they finish early, they add more. When they finish later than planned, they quit. Pay for completion is easy to preach, but pay for time wasted is more frequently practiced.

Keeping a list of daily goals puts only your work between you and relaxation, instead of some arbitrary amount of time for the day. Not a minimum amount of effort, just your most important tasks separate you and the finish line. This creates an incredible amount of motivation to cut distractions and keep the focus.

Why You Can’t Add More Work

If you finish early, the instinct will be to add more work. Unfortunately, you need to resist this urge strongly. The consequence of adding more work is that it defeats your system. The Weekly/Daily Goals system functions because you can’t add more work.

Imagine you are racing in a 400m race. If you pace yourself correctly, you should be completely exhausted by the end of the race. You will run as fast as you can within 400m.

Now imagine you were running a 400m race, but as you crossed the finish line, your coach yelled at you to run another 200m. If your coach did this frequently, you might start pacing your race to leave a bit of extra running energy for the end of your run, just in case you’re asked to run further.

The Weekly/Daily Goals system functions like the 400m race. If you keep adding on 200m whenever you finish quickly, you’re going to defeat the system. Instead of pacing your focus and energy to complete a particular set of tasks, you’re back to infinite to-do lists and ten-hour workdays.

Calibrating Your Weekly/Daily Goals

My productivity tripled when I started setting daily goals. But the disadvantage of this system is the irregularity. Some days will be light, because you accidentally under-scheduled. Other days will be incredibly hard, because you accidentally over-scheduled.

The solution to the irregularities isn’t to give up and go back to an unproductive pay-per-hour system. You simply need to calibrate yourself to the amount of work involved. As with anything else in life, you get better with practice and awareness.

Log Your Current Productivity

If you’re switching systems, the best way to calibrate is by keeping track of the amount of work you accomplish in a day. Quantify this into a metric you can easily use. As a writer, the best metric for me to use is the number of words I write per day, or the number of articles I finish.

Keep a daily log where you record the details of everything you’ve accomplished that day. At the end of the week, group up the different types of tasks and evaluate how much work was accomplished. This is your productivity baseline.

From there, you can set your daily goals to reflect this baseline. As a writer, I know I can typically write 3000-4000 words per day, or less if I combine this with non-writing work. By recording my current output levels, I can set my daily goals to match this amount. And I can make sure my daily goals list has at least 3000-4000 words of writing.

Why Bother Measuring?

If you know what your current productivity is in hard numbers it makes the switch to a new system more convincing. Without the hard numbers, you run the risk of feeling lazy when you finish early and take the afternoon off.

When I knew, from my old to-do lists, that I was accomplishing 2-3x more with this system than I had been previously, the choice to continue was obvious.

You can also use numbers like these to show to your boss. If I was an employer, I’d be happy if a worker could demonstrate, with numbers, how a new system had doubled their productivity, even if it meant they left the office early. And, even if you can’t convince your boss with the numbers, you can convince yourself.

Weekly Goals

The other element of my productivity system is keeping a list of weekly goals. The weekly goals list doesn’t need to remain as strict as the daily goals list. I find that the urge to procrastinate (and the motivation to work) stem mostly from the daily level, not the entire week.

The purpose of weekly goals is to ensure that everything you want to accomplish makes it to your daily goals lists. For years I’ve maintained a set of daily goals. It was only over a year ago that I decided to add a weekly goals list.

When you have just a daily goals list, some tasks are likely to be pushed off until tomorrow. That is, when you are planning your daily goals list, you may not include some tasks that you want to add into the next list. This form of meta-procrastination can be beat by having a separate list of to-do items for the entire week.

Finishing Your Entire Workday by Noon

Finishing everything by noon is just one benefit of using the Weekly/Daily Goals system. My goal isn’t to complete everything by noon. I use the system to get the maximum amount of work out of each day, so I can reach the goals I’ve set for my business. I love my work, so I use the Weekly/Daily Goals system to get more of it.

But I’ve also used the system to minimize the work I hate. If I’m doing work because I have to, not just because I want to, the Weekly/Daily Goals system works well. It allows me to finish work I would otherwise avoid or procrastinate indefinitely.

In some ways, the productivity difference is even more noticeable with work you dislike. If you enjoy work, it is easier to focus on it without distractions or procrastination. The power of the Weekly/Daily Goals system is that it forces you to get work done that you don’t want to do.

* What is your workday like? What can you do to make it more productive? Share your story and thoughts with us in the comment section. See you there!

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116 Responses (86 Comments, 30 Trackbacks ):

Comments

Jun Loayza

May 06 09, 10:14 am UTC

1
Tina,

I’m an entrepreneur, so I use to have the philosophy that work came first, and that I had to work at least 100 hours per week or else I wasn’t being a good entrepreneur. If I finished a project early, I would just stack up more things to do because there are always things to do when you’re running a startup.

Slowly but surely, I began to burn out. Even though I’m young and full of energy, I could physically and mentally feel stressed. My relationship with my girlfriend began to suffer and I was spending less and less time with my friends and family.

I soon realized that I could get everything IMPORTANT done before noon. This post is great example of how you can do it.

What I do everyday now before going to sleep is write to lists:

1. The first list has all the core, important tasks I must finish the following day
2. The second list displays all the things that I’m supposed to NOT do the next day

It’s very important for me to write down what I shouldn’t do so that I can stay focused on what’s important.

Whenever I’m off track, I now know which blog post to read so that I can make sure I’m being highly effective with my time.

Thanks and I’ll make sure to RT!

- Jun Loayza
Daniel Richard

May 06 09, 10:31 am UTC

2
I currently clock unhuman hours in my 2nd month of this new career. Think 9am to 12am (with 2 more hours to check emails, write a blog draft, and anything to do with the web).

However, the good news is that this article reminded me that I did achieve 4 hour work days even as an employee dealing with financial claims for a good 6 months – and yes, I do set all my work to begin at noon while ending right after lunch.

It’s time to get back to the 4 hour work day again.

Thanks Tina for sharing this here. :)
Roger - A Content Life

May 06 09, 10:34 am UTC

3
Scott,

Interesting ideas!

I really like the idea of paying yourself for work done. I’m an work for myself and I might try the Weekly/Daily Goals idea.
Uzma
May 06 09, 10:39 am UTC

4
Hey Tina,
I get very stuck with daily goals. I follow them for a while and then forget about the whole thing. I suppose to focus on result , rather than simply work put in, will help.
Also, as I am a writer as well, this struck me ‘you write 3000-4000 words a day!!! wow!!! How do you do this. How does creativity become regularised? Do let me know .

Loved the article. Am gonna try what you’re saying.Thanks

Uzma
Chris Lang

May 06 09, 10:57 am UTC

5
Great article, especially the “if you get done early don’t add more work” part.

I am always behind, never can catch up, but then it is a challenge doing what I do. So, at some point I have to just stop and shut the computer off and unplug for a while.

I even bought a cheap phone that I can take with me when I get away that does not get email or have a web browser. I does not even have saved addresses in it so I can only call my real friends that I remember the phone number of.

That seems to work for me.
Marc and Angel Hack Life

May 06 09, 11:03 am UTC

6
Great ideas Scott. I work from home and consistently complete a full day’s worth of work by noon.

The more effort I put in in the morning, the more freedom I have in the afternoon. And I use that freedom wisely. ;-)
Positively Present

May 06 09, 11:27 am UTC

7
Wonderful, informative post! I’ve picked up the book The 4-Hour Workweek so many times but never purchased it. Now I think I might! I’ve always believed I could get all of my work done by 12:00pm every day. Usually I space out the work I need to get done so I’m not bored by noon. Now that I’ve discovered blogging, there is a LOT to keep me busy during the day. Though I currently work in an office, 8:00am – 5:00pm, I would love to be able to work from home. I’ve been home the past two days and even though I’ve been sick, I feel like I’ve been even more productive than I would have been if I’d been in the office. It would be so interesting to see what our country would be like if we worked only 4 hours a day. It would be wonderful for me, but I feel like a lot of people would NOT be down with this idea. Not to mention, I feel like a lot of people would have to rethink the way they do things to increase their productivity (something I feel a lot of people don’t care to do). This post was great. Thanks for allowing a guest post, Tina, and, Scott, thanks for writing this!
John - Zen-Moments

May 06 09, 12:02 pm UTC

8
This assumes that you do not fully enjoy the work that you do; that it doesn’t fulfil you, otherwise why would you want to limit it?

If your work is something that detracts from, or inhibits your preferred lifestyle, then by all means limit your time involvement. But since the world as we have structured it revolves around the work that we do, it may be better to find work that you can throw yourself into; the kind of work that you can’t get enough of.
Andrea Hess|Empowered Soul

May 06 09, 12:09 pm UTC

9
I’ve been working a lot on moving away from “hourly” pay, focusing instead on the value I provide. That helps a lot when working on reducing working hours. I don’t think I work more than about 25 hours a week right now, and I intend to reduce that a little bit more!

At the same time, there are days when I WANT to work because I’m excited about a project – and then I don’t feel bad for working all day, even if it’s Sunday!

Blessings,
Andrea
Khuram Malik
May 06 09, 12:42 pm UTC

10
Hey Tina,

Great post.
Quick question: Do you note down your goals on paper, just simple paper and pen, or do you use some software?

Cos i find out run out of space on paper and i get alot of clutter on my desk, but with software the actual act of managing tasks sometimes becomes more than the goals themselves.

Your thoughts?

Also, i tried clicking the link to Re-Tweet the article for you, but it doesnt seem to work for me?
Vlad Dolezal

May 06 09, 2:11 pm UTC

11
Funnily enough, I just recently recorded a video post on a very similar topic – the difference between being busy and being productive. (And why a lot of people struggle because they focus on being busy).

I don’t know who I have to thank for this advice, whether you, Scott, or Tim Ferris, but realizing that there’s a difference between being busy and being productive was one of the most useful tips I’ve ever got about productivity.
Tehseen | RechargeYourMind

May 06 09, 2:34 pm UTC

12
Agree with John above! If you really love what you do, why limit it to 4 hours a day?
If you are a chef who loves to cook, you would never try to limit your cooking to only 4 hours a day!
Nathalie Lussier

May 06 09, 2:51 pm UTC

13
I know I’ve been guilty of stopping at a given hour of the day and leaving work for the next day. And also of working set hours. I’ve also got some of life’s little errands and things to do.

Your idea has helped me see that I shouldn’t look at those as bad detractor from my work. That it’s possible to just get the important stuff done for the day and then fulfill the other responsibilities in your life.

I usually work between my other responsibilities. Now I’m just going to set some must-finish type items, and go with that. :) I already had weekly items, but it’s easy to say “I’ll do it tomorrow”, isn’t it? ;)
Tina Su

May 06 09, 3:12 pm UTC

14
Hi Khuram Malik,

I do all my notes and goals (long term, short term and daily) on paper. I’ve tried software, but personally had a hard time keeping up.

With paper, I have folders to keep the loose paper together.
I get ideas at the most random times, and being able to quickly jot it down on paper is priceless (since I’m not always in front of the computer).

I do also keep a text file on my computer desktop to note todos, ideas, reminders. I transfer them on my paper system during planning time.

Re: Re-Tweet

Type putting this in twitter:
Reading: The 4 Hour Workday http://tr.im/4hrwd via @thinksimplenow

Warmly,
Tina
Alan @ Saving For Serenity

May 06 09, 3:46 pm UTC

15
I love the idea of a 4 hour workday.

Growing up, I was always a little more efficient, and a little quicker at accomplishing tasks than others. I would love to be able to train myself to become ultra-productive over the next few years so that I can have time to start a family.

The problem with my job is that it is a 9-5 kind of job, and even when we are all done for the day, we are forced to literally sit and watch the clock until we are allowed to go home. Its the kind of job where you can’t start on the next day’s work until the next day, so when you’re done for the day, you sit around and wait.

Frustrating to say the least.
Marcos
May 06 09, 3:49 pm UTC

16
Stop procrastinating what an excellent idea! I’ll start tomorrow :)
Rolando
May 06 09, 5:03 pm UTC

17
Hi there!
this is a great post, and i need to do some changes in my daily life.

im 21 years old, i study industrial design and work(4hrs schedule) at the same time. Ive been doing this for about 4 months. And i live bymyself. When it started, i tought it was going to be easy, but after four months, im looking at the results and im not to happy about that. Cuz my life just vanished, my social life, and my personal life. Everything was getting ready to fit my day. And doing basic things everyday. Like having breakfast sometimes… going to work(and i was late), returning home(in public transportation and walking), preparing luch, eating, going to school, and finally getting ready to sleep and start the same thing again the next day.

So in my frustration of something new, i bought a puppy, i spent sometime learning how to housetrain it.

So this is my situation. Im lucky my puppy is easy (i have a good time with it).

So the point of all this is that even im busy all day. I fell unefficient, i have lost the weight i gained when i went to the gym, i dont practice and design new things as i used to do, and i havent had any relation since then. Im not happy at all.
Aw

May 06 09, 6:17 pm UTC

18
I just quit my freelance career :(

Have to go back to 9-5 , sigh ~
pavs

May 06 09, 8:22 pm UTC

19
Hey Tina,

What do I have to do to get a smart girl like you in my life? :)

I know you are married (congrats!), but do you have a sister or a friend as talented and gracious as you? :)

And thanks Scott for a great article!
MartinHN

May 07 09, 1:17 am UTC

20
I’ve kinda used this system, without even noticing. For some years, when I felt on top of the game, wasn’t stressed or anything I would sit down and write a list of work items with a small square in front.

As I completed the tasts, I put a “check” in the square of the work item.

As I got more busy, a little stressed and so on I stopped doing so.

Thinking back, I got a hell of a lot more work done by using this system and taking it easy. When I felt busy, and skipped the system I only completed half of the work I did when using the system.

Is there any online software that supports this system by keeping track of daily and weekly goals? Maybe you can use Remember The Milk? http://www.rmilk.com
mand

May 07 09, 1:44 am UTC

21
I only have three hours on an average day, cos of disability, so this is especially relevant. Time management never came naturally but, in this situation, i’m learning! Thanx for such an apposite and well-put post.
Katie West/The Levity Coach

May 07 09, 1:52 am UTC

22
Thanks. Great article with a lot of useful information. I really like the productivity log idea!

Also, it is my first time here after hearing about it for a long time and it is a wonderful blog. I will be back!
Peace and Laughter
Katie
Cody Dream-Life-Coaching

May 07 09, 4:01 am UTC

23
Great advice, I work from home too, I wish I could do everything in 4 hours. I feel so guilty if I stop at that, I guess I’m just a bit of a workaholic.
Susan Payton, The Marketing Eggspert

May 07 09, 5:21 am UTC

24
I agree that it doesn’t take nearly as long as you’d think to get a day’s work done. My problem is that people call me throughout the 9-5 (and beyond) day. It’s hard to wrap up and not answer that phone call when I’m watching a movie!

And there’s the guilt. “If I can get so much done in 4 hours, what could I get done in 8??”

Mostly I fill the day with social media. (and Bejeweled Blitz on Facebook!).
Hamid
May 07 09, 5:24 am UTC

25
Its a great post. I am going to apply it to my reading schedule. Since I am a writer, I have to read a lot. And often my readings tasks outgo the time and I have to extend the reading stuff on one day to the next day. This post resovled the issue as it never exisited.
simplystephen

May 07 09, 5:35 am UTC

26
I work on a similar premise but not quite as rigid. If I have other things to do on a certain day, I double up. When one works in a creative way, life isn’t always perfect and doing certain activities can spawn a moment of excessive productivity. I go with this and let the work flow…it makes me feel very good and very productive.

As a regular routine this system is perfect and I’m going to adapt it over my weekly “to do” list which targets my long term visions.

For those of you that have mentioned a “Love for Work” and wanting to do it all the time, that is one formula that works well for the workaholic mind. I love my parents but don’t want to spend all my time with them, in fact very little. BUT…Life is a balance. Having more than one interest is good. Focus spare time on family, friends and other creative pursuits. Do one thing well is good for some but some of us have varied interests. When I finish writing and web stuff…I want to be playing guitar, watching hockey, cooking or enjoying nature (maybe even all of them at once – not following my work passion.
DJ Nelson

May 07 09, 5:37 am UTC

27
I used to be one of those 13+ hour a day people but then I realized that I valued family time over work time. Now I have a list and I fly right through it each day. It’s just not necessary to spend all of that time working, and a lot of the time it’s not working anyway because you get distracted and start doing something else. That’s why I am a big fan of the checklist to measure productivity.
Matt
May 07 09, 6:11 am UTC

28
Great post. But I think it could be easily misinterpreted, causing people to try to rush through their work, trying to meet that goal, and stressing themselves out even more if they fail to achieve it. I’m sure that rushing is not what you have in mind when you’re talking about being “super productive,” but I think that is probably what many people would end up doing when trying to follow this system.

I think the habit of rushing through everything is actually a huge problem, especially in America, and ironically, it often means we get less done in the long term. A book that really addresses this well is “The Practicing Mind” by Thomas M. Sterner. This is a truly incredible book that has changed my whole concept of productivity, and what living in the moment really means. I agree wholeheartedly that we should measure what we accomplish and set clear goals for the day and the week, but this should not become all we are concerned about. If we are not deeply involved in what we are doing, and are only concerned with “getting through” the work we have to do, then much of life becomes only a means to an end. Process and product are both important, but the primary emphasis should be on process.

I would guess that while you are in the midst of working, you are focusing more on how efficiently you are working (with an eye toward the goal of course) than on the end result of being done for the day. Perhaps that is why you are so productive. But others could easily think, “oh great, I can get all this work done, I’m really looking forward to that” and they try to work really fast to get it over with, which is not an effective strategy in the long term. So, as a favor to people like me who have a history of rushing toward deadlines (and as a result end up procrastinating due to burnout) I think it would be great if you could emphasize that *rushing* through that 4 hours of work for the “prize” you get at the end is NOT a good work strategy.
Agreed!
May 07 09, 6:20 am UTC

29
Great post and I totally agree that this is possible. However, I work in a consulting environment with a boss who believes that you are only successful if you work way more than 40+ hours a week (and sleep way less than 8 hours p/night), regardless of how productive or efficient you are. I find this completely frustrating and the wrong way to approach this business…but not sure how to deal with that. any suggestions?! In the meantime, I will continue to think about how I can move on and begin my own business… :)
hiddenson

May 07 09, 6:28 am UTC

30
Good article. Like many here, I use a similar concept too, but apply it more to 5-6 hours instead. Whatever makes you happy…

In reply to those claiming that if you love your job, there should be no reason to limit the time put in it: I do love my job, but I love my chosen field (graphic design) even more. Therefore, my passion does not stop when I leave the office, there are still countless posts to read, magazines to peruse, sketches to do for the simple joy of drawing…

ITC and the graphic industry is one where learning never stops. If your job tasks sucks up all your time, there is none left for continuous learning, or you end up burned out. Believe me, I’ve tried… So, long story short, I don’t consider myself lazy or depressed with my career because I allow it less time, I’d like to think of it as time better used for inspiration and keeping my resume on track with (at least) today’s standards.

I still have way too long days, but that’s because I value quality time with my wife… Limiting time for love is another story ;)
Jeffrey @ Eating In The Now Teacher

May 07 09, 6:31 am UTC

31
I always keep in mind that the 1 thing I’m doing right now is the best thing I could be doing. For me, I know there are tasks that I don’t want to do so I find a million other things to do that waste time and avoid that task. But when I kept the One Thing mindset, it wasn’t so bad.

I’m surprised to see there isn’t anything about timers here! I absolutely love them for making those daily goals fly by. It’s all about maximizing your energy. 15 minute bursts of absolute concentration have done wonders for me.

Great post! Thanks for this. I’m going to start making more daily goals.
Vincent

May 07 09, 7:42 am UTC

32
Hi Scott,

I always plan my week and schedule at least 1 – 4 important tasks that I must complete my the end of my day. Once I get the important tasks done, I knew I did my part and just go on to do other things. I love your 400m example. It is a great reminder to tell us not to overwork.

Cheers,
Vincent
EntireStore

May 07 09, 8:29 am UTC

33
Great ideas! I totally agree. I can’t stop myself from working for long hours with my electronics shop site. I should listen your advices.
MamaZen

May 07 09, 9:30 am UTC

34
Love this! I read the 4 Hour Work Week and it changed my life. I have a full time job in an organization that is very traditional and very “face time” oriented. Thankfully, on my mat leave with baby #2, I decided to do thinks differently upon my return to my job. My boss is pretty cool so that helped. So we have a “flexible” arrangement just between the two of us. I “work” from home whenever I want, as long as I can get some out of office meetings during that day. So now, I work from home 2 days a week, and I’m super motivated to get the work done so that i never let my boss down. he’s getting great results, and I”m not wasting time driving to work, and get to spend oodles of time with the kids Mondays and Fridays.
Traingolfguy

May 07 09, 9:47 am UTC

35
Scott,

Ironically, I read your article while avoiding doing the work I had to do yesterday! I decided to give your method a try today. First thing into the office, I started at the top of my daily goal list. Then I moved on to email. I didn’t open a non-work web page or engage in chit-chat until everything was done. By avoiding the time sinks, my work got done in no time. I’ve seen similar recommendations before, but I really like how you put it in your article.
Josh

May 07 09, 11:56 am UTC

36
Seriously, I Totally agree Vincent.

I like to really focus on my most important tasks first, Like my Life Coach Rob Scott says “work on your highest leveraged activities”.
I also find that Remember the Milk helps me stay on time with my highest priority tasks.
I find the 4 hour work day to be effective but have learned some very interesting psychology behind why we procrastinate from Rob. You should definitely look him up.

Be Well All,

Josh
Lovelyn

May 07 09, 12:51 pm UTC

37
The advice about not adding more to your workday if you finish early is so right. Managing my time working at home has always been difficult for me. I dream of shorter hours, but for some reason feel like working more and doing extra proves how hard of a worker I am. I so have to get over that.
IsItFive

May 07 09, 1:06 pm UTC

38
I have to agree with nearly everything in this article. I am currently a software developer at a small company. One thing that I have grown to despise as of late is the fact that, when you work for someone else, you tend to be measured by how many hours you work first, and what you finished second. I have been thinking about this more and more lately.

I feel like it is so inefficient that if I get to work by 9 and finish all my work by 12, I still have to sit here for 5 hours and waste time just so that I can get paid my salary. I whole heartedly believe that I should be paid my salary regardless of how many hours I work, it should be paid based on whether or not I actually finish my work and finish it well.

Now I tend to either finish my work early and spend all day thinking about how there is so much stuff I could be working on at home or elsewhere; or I procrastinate heavily, just so that I can stretch out the work I have for 8 hours and pray that I don’t look like a slacker. I definitely need to take a look at the Four Hour Work Week. *Sigh*, O well, back to reading more of this blog and trying to stay awake for the next 57 mins. Thanks for a great post.
Fiscal Student

May 07 09, 1:41 pm UTC

39
Nice article, I have read the 4 hour workweek and am a big fan.

Ever wonder how you always manage to make a deadline regardless of how unlikely you might think it is?? http://bit.ly/1461In
Christine

May 07 09, 2:31 pm UTC

40
This was one of my major frustrations with corp employment. If I could finish my work by 2, it seemed cruel and unusual to require me to stay at my desk and “look busy” until 5 instead of getting to spend time with my family or getting my errands done. I think this is why long lunches are de rigueur these days. I was certainly not the only one.
Pedro Mota

May 07 09, 5:01 pm UTC

41
You got some really simple ideas and very well explained. I’m 23 years old and I’m barely starting to walk my path towards ‘something’. To achieve a goal one must recognize and apply methods (right or wrong we can only be sure after we try). I was never sure about how to put this theory to work. But this ideas could be a good start.

I’m truly appreciated.
Annching

May 07 09, 8:38 pm UTC

42
I actually have been trying to use this method and now am more inspired to keep it. I find that waking up early and getting it done early makes me more focused so that I can have the rest of the day “off”. I am usually unproductive in the afternoon anyway (took me long enough to figure that one out) so take the liberty to nap. In the evening I do more work if I haven’t finished my goals, and before I sleep, try to get a list of daily goals for the next day written down. I only have 2-3 days to work like this though, as I am working part time and going to school too.

This method has been helping me blog more regularly (that’s part of the work I try to get done in the morning), but I haven’t been doing it long enough to see tangible results yet, though I’m optimistic it’ll happen.

I’m trying to get a good habitual system in place before I graduate so that I can lead a productive and creative life.

Thanks for the article!
mand

May 08 09, 2:15 am UTC

43
Following this comment thread, it’s striking how many people are working efficiently and then wasting their afternoons ‘looking busy’ in the office. For employers there’s a lesson here: USE OR LOSE those good workers, or remodel what you call ‘normal’ working hours. (This is part of the reason businesses are missing out on the contribution of many potentially productive, creative, conscientious workers: mothers.)
Tom
May 08 09, 3:56 am UTC

44
Have you people ever heard about “competition”? And have you ever worked in a team? Or are you just sitting at home alone layouting menu cards for restaurants?

In any case – good luck.
Tom
May 08 09, 4:17 am UTC

45
Another thing I do not understand:
A lot of people commented they were “done by 2″ – well I have to ask you something: Did it ever, ever cross your mind there might be something else for you to do? Your employer pays you good money after all (though I am afraid this will end soon for many of you unless you forget about this – seriously – harebrained idea).

Wasting time at work sucks, yes. Spending too much hours in the workplace sucks, yes. But this happens when you work in a team of specialists. And your company has to be better and more efficient than the competition. Suck it up. Your wages don’t grow on trees.
Gideon K
May 08 09, 5:20 am UTC

46
Hey T,

Great Blog!!! Like your perspective on work.

-G
Anne Easterling

May 08 09, 5:37 am UTC

47
Scott, you’ve given us so much to ponder… but really, it’s all about putting these concepts into action, isn’t it? I’ve worked in a home office for more than five years and am still mastering these techniques. Been working on better daily scheduling for the last month; will tweak my schedule today using your Weekly/Daily Goals. Thanks!

Happy day,
Anne
Kashif

May 08 09, 5:50 am UTC

48
I guess Google got this pretty early when they implemented the 20% time plan, keeping the employees busy in “constructive” things who finish their tasks-for-the-day well before the day ends.
judy

May 08 09, 6:29 am UTC

49
Great article! I intend to practice myself (I can be an over-doer) and will for sure share the concept with clients. Its healthy and I can really see the value. Thanks!

Judy
Kishore

May 08 09, 7:49 pm UTC

50
I liked your first post – finding beauty in life and this was much more interesting….. :) …..Very nice one ..Tina

Though I’m lazy enough to put the goals (daily/weekly) on a paper, infact I work in a similar way.I work to make sure I close all my tasks on time. At times, at the end of the week, if I have something pending and feel like relaxing a bit, I push it to next week and complete it first in the following week.

But, I do have a question – if I consider myself as an exampe or problem….please read below.What will be your solution?

I work (a techie :) ) in an environment where issues keep coming up continously. When I think I’m done by around 12 pm on a day and begin to do something with my career development, My client walks by – “Hey something came up just now….can you take a look?”. I can’t say no. How do you think you can handle this situation?

My solution (or may be something to get around this) – I started my work right from the start of the day from home so that I will be able to able to accomodate such “unanticipated urgencies at work” :). Though this is helping this way, it is affecting in another way. When I don’t have anything such, I relax again. Here I feel I’m wasting all my resources. And also this solution may last long as long as I’m single and I’m away from family.

Will check out the book you mentioned. Will give the “jotting down the goals on a paper” a try and see if I would notice a change.

Thanks
Kishore
Kishore

May 08 09, 7:51 pm UTC

51
sorry a small correction in the above – in the first sentence read it as – your first post “I read”

Kishore
BC ReGenesis2x2

May 08 09, 10:53 pm UTC

52
This is great content. It’s not how hard you work, but how smart you work. Have your goals and stick with them :)
Tim
May 09 09, 12:14 am UTC

53
Hmmm – OK lets get something straight here. Sure, if you are a lucky minority, you might be able to justify working 4 hours a day. But for the majority of people on this earth, work is something that they have to do to live, to put food on the table for them and their family.

Are you seriously suggesting that people in the 3rd world countries dont get up at 5am, walk the many miles to get the water they need, spend the day working in fields, whilst you sit in your comfortable home writing a few words and being paid in comparison a disgustingly huge amount of money?

OK – maybe I am taking it too far. Lets look at your normal 1st world Average Joe or Jessie. They will have a 9 to 5 job and most will likely get in a bit earlier than that and leave a bit later. Their employer pays them for the hours they work. When I did that type of work, just because I was young and able to touch type, did not mean I thought after 3 hrs I should be able to pack up for the day whilst the 55yo lady next to me was punching away with 2 fingers. If a company pays you per hour, you should work per those hours. If that means you do more than person X next to you, dont even think about it. That is the contract you have signed.

Then we get on to likes of you. People that have the sort of privelidged jobs that pay excessively more than they should. And oh how easy you find it to write tripe like you have above. So, because you are a writer, you feel that you can work 4 hrs a day. OK fine. If your employer pays you to produce X articles, and you can do this in 4 hrs a day, good for you. But dont write the above rubbish that suggests for the majority of people they can do the same. For the majority, we work damn hard, long hours. If the people/companies we work for paid us the same they pay the likes of you, the economy would not work.

So – sit happy in your smug self centered world thinking you are something special. You are. The thing is though, being a special kind of idiot isnt something to be proud of.

And as for you lazy students that read this and think this is something to aim for, try going out, getting a job and WORKING for a bit and giving back to the society that has likely subsidised your education. In the country I live in (UK), every person other than those that get up, work, pay their taxes and seem to get nothing back, seem to get hand outs. Then the scum breeds with other scum and we end paying for these little junior chavs through yet more benefits. When will the world recognise that you should only ever get a ‘benefit’ if you contribute. Human Rights should only come with Human Responcibilities.
Pedro Mota

May 10 09, 1:16 pm UTC

54
I’ve been following new comments on this post and it’s not hard to find some folks that disagree (not really sure about what) with this whole idea. It’s not a bad thing to disagree, but try to understand the true meaning of it, before judging it. I mean, this might not be possible to the great majority but maybe that’s something we might want to change and don’t just accept it. I heard someone saying it would be impossible to a 3rd World citizen to put this to practice… well, maybe there shouldn’t be a 3rd and a 1st World. It seems to me that some folks just accept that fact as something one cannot change.

This whole idea, besides practical, requires a profound change on hour society. We should care more about quality.

I hope everyone take a deep breath, read the post, question the world around and most important, yourself. Then you might be able to see beyond the words.
hiddenson

May 11 09, 5:27 am UTC

55
It seems to me that some of the counter arguments here stem from a confusion about the industry areas where this concept can apply.

There is of course a huge difference between task oriented work, and service oriented work. In task oriented jobs, you can actually hit 5pm and call it a day if you have completed your goals: this happens with a project, an event preparation, a business meeting. Service oriented jobs do not offer this predictability: a phone can always ring in a call center, a trouble ticket can always be recorded in an IT operations room.

That said, all jobs, ALL, have daily maintenance, as well as long-term planning. Leaving some space, whether 15 minutes or 4 hours to work on your long-term tasks is desirable. Use the rest of your time as you see fit.
Beth
May 11 09, 8:12 am UTC

56
This is really interesting, and it’s a completely different mindset from corporate America. This is really the way of the future.
Kristi

May 11 09, 10:17 am UTC

57
This article is so accurate. I can now do so much more in just a few hours than when I was working full-time. People ask me if I plan on going back to full-time when the kids are older and I ask, “Why would I?” I’m making just as much working only a few hours a week. Thanks for a great post!
Jackie R.

May 11 09, 12:20 pm UTC

58
I want to say thanks for this article. I have been working this way for years and I felt like the only one. It always seems (seemed) like everyone is so busy, but then I also think about how they go out on smoke breaks or stand chit-chatting at each others offices/cubicles. I wonder how they are doing those things if they are so busy. Maybe it turns out that they are just procrastinating. I can’t know for sure, I suppose.

However, I have this routine I keep to, and until the beginning of this year when my employer demanded I be in the office “during normal business hours”, I would work 4 hours a day and get everything done quickly and efficiently.

This is my routine:
- Arrive at work. Turn on office equipment/lights.
- Check email and file those things that need to be done under the category “today”.
- Reply to immediate needs or things that can be answered/taken care of right now and get those off my plate.
- Add things that need to be done on a more long-term basis to my to-do list (structured as a spreadsheet with multiple blocks – one for each project).
- Add things that need to be done today to a separate to-do list (in a pen and paper notebook I keep on my desk).
- As those things get done, cross them off.

This works so well for me and it’s easy to know what I still need to do that day. I work in a deadline oriented environment so I’m able to schedule my time pretty well. I have also set myself up to be able to access everything from home if I have to have an unexpected absence (I have an 8 year old son, so this sometimes happens). My co-workers also now how to reach me via cell, which is always on me, so my time out of the office rarely ever results in missed work or lack of information.

It’s very frustrating to have to sit in the office after you are done working and not be able to, say, go to the grocery store or run other errands. I would also appreciate the ability to have a snack ready for my son when he comes home from school (3:30) and/or to have dinner ready and be able to prepare it in a more leisurely fashion. I believe these are the important things in life – not the “face time” that the corporate world demands.

For those who think that people like me are not earning our salaries, I call rubbish. I am doing the work assigned to me, and if I were to ask anyone in the office if they needed help with something, I’d surely lose my job due to lack of work. It’s a catch-22! You say to “do more work”, but for people in jobs like mine, we can only do our own work because each project is very specialized.

I am always offering people to come to me if they ever need help or advice with anything on the job. I’m usually the person that offers the most help to a new hire when they look confused or scared, and I try to be friendly to encourage this. That doesn’t mean I get any more work from doing that. Sometimes there just isn’t more work. Also, if I were to clear out all of the work I had to do for the week in 1 day, I’d be VERY bored all week. I have also been the one to do certain things outside of my usual work, such as taking home and scanning all of our tax exempt certificates for my team to use without having to fax them, implementing new templates for certain paperwork that was unorganized, and passing my to-do list and methods on to other team members.

In any case, thanks very much for this article – I really don’t feel so alone and awkward anymore after reading it and the comments.
Liara Covert

May 11 09, 2:52 pm UTC

59
The philosophy of finishing your workday before noon resonates with me. One of my businesses functions in a location 13hours ahead of me. This means I am always done by 2am, and always before noon.

My view of what is possible has recently been redefined by what I convince myself works. When you have a family member who needs you far away, and you are willing to reorganize your life, it is amazing what is possible. You develop a “can-do” mentality.
Nick
May 11 09, 7:37 pm UTC

60
I love this idea. I mean, what’s not to love, right? I think some of the critical comments come from a position of misunderstanding. After all, you are essentially compressing a work ‘day’ into a few hours. It’s not like anyone’s suggesting that you don’t perform what is expected of you. Did they even read the bit about the 400m sprint?

Put it this way- you are still doing the same important tasks, but without the filler. So, essentially, you are missing out checking your e-mail 100 times a day, random surfing, long lunches and water cooler chat, etc. Plus, if you were to work with the intensity of the 4 hour workday, but try to sustain it over 8 hours, all you would end up is burnt out.

BTW, this principle crosses over into education as well. I’m going to home school my daughter when she’s old enough. Between us, we’ll cover many times more than the pathetic schools curriculum (UK) offers, in a third to half of the time.

My moto- “Every problem has a solution”

Good luck to everyone in their personal goals. Kind regards, Nick.
Tom
May 12 09, 6:56 am UTC

61
I just think the whole concept exemplifies how lazy and spoilt we, as a culture, have become. Never willing to go that extra mile, always being satisfied with doing the bare minimum.

This is the reason why the West is being overtaken by former developing countries like China, India, Korea – societies with an almost suicidal work ethic (for the record, I would HATE working from early morning until midnight. But this is our competition) and a hunger for success.
hiddenson

May 12 09, 8:33 am UTC

62
@Tom: again, I do not understand this argument that you yourself do not defend so well… Since when is “less than suicidal work” downright “lazy and spoilt”? Aren’t there some degrees in between where some of this could fit?

The quest for being the best is inherently flawed, as in this case economy is in opposition with quality time.

Anyway, I think I will blog my long point of view at my own space, I need to restate the assumptions.

Interesting article with a nice debate!
Nick
May 12 09, 9:02 am UTC

63
Tom. I don’t think you are grasping the concept of the 4 hour work day at all. You ARE doing 8 hours work- but in 4 hours. It’s not realistic to do two ‘lots’ of intense 4 hour sessions. If you have to do an 8 hour day, then you would have to work at an easier pace.

There is also such thing as balance in life. Working the best part of the day, for the best part of your life is not balanced. Having the afternoon to engage in your interests, family/ friends, etc, is a fantastic improvement to your quality of life. If anyone is in a position to shorten their day, but chooses not to, then I hope you love what you do, because the alternatives are not good- stupidity, fear, closed mindedness, etc.

It’s not realistic to compare the work ethic of China to America. There are so many differences in culture, social development, etc. Comparing apples to oranges.
Tom
May 12 09, 9:16 am UTC

64
@hiddenson: You are right about the shades of grey. But that’s my point: This “shade of grey” is actually an eight hour workday (often I even work 10 to 11 hours a day – but there is little to none time wasted, I can assure you. At least I get to work creatively and make money with something I enjoy).

That the quest to be better than your competition is flawed, well that is your opinion, and I can see where you are coming from. But explain that to someone who is willing to give you money for services or goods you offer – a client. Of course you are free to tell him “Sorry guys, I am not available to take your money after noon on a workday”, this is your choice. I can guarantee you, they won’t bother you again. I can’t blame them.

In general, I enjoy pushing myself to offer better, more competent services to my client. I like the feeling of getting paid a lot because I deserve it. This is my career, and I had the incredible privilege of picking a career I enjoy. Working at least 8 hours a day is not unreasonable.

For the record, I am all for big companies streamlining their operations and working more efficiently. And by all means, if you are done with your task and there’s really, really nothing else to do – go home, enjoy your day.
Tom
May 12 09, 10:09 am UTC

65
@nick
No, I understand it perfectly. It is just completely unrealistic, unless you work in a bubble that is seperated from the outside world.

The way I see it (sorry if this example is cynical, but I hope you will understand the point I make), the 4 hour workday would be perfect for a prison inmate who has to pick a certain amount of oakum on each workday. It’s a menial task, nobody really cares how much he actually works (he has no competition – he doesn’t even need to earn any money, the taxpayer pays for his meals. The money he makes goes into an extra pack of cigarettes). He (or she) concentrates and works like crazy, finishes the task in 4 hours and goes back to the cell to slack off – great for him (well, except sitting in a cell is arguably worse than being in fresh air, but nevermind that for the sake of the example ;). This example works because he has a set amount of work he can do and he doesn’t need to worry about competition.

My reallife situation: I am working in a medium sized ad and design agency with some big clients. We are lucky to have them. Times are tough. They phone in constantly with things we have to do for them (most of the time it’s little stuff, editing a video, making a brochure). It is NOT like we know exactly what we will have to do on a given day in advance. On baaaad days it’s nothing it all (which sucks – but we still stay in office. Why? A client might call us to give us something to do. Or we are invited to a pitch – yay! This means we will be able to feed ourselves and our families for another week). We have to acquire clients – and keep them. How? By being cheaper, better, more available than other agencies. It’s a constant struggle. And THIS is the situation EVERY single company, corporation or entrepreneur worldwide is in.
This is why a lot of firms will laugh in your face if you tell them “Hey, I am just going to finish up my work for today and head home”. They will argue (and they do have a point) – “Well if you really can finish up your entire work within 4 hours obviously it’s possible to lay you off and give the workload to someone else. Bye!”

It’s called capitalism.
mand

May 12 09, 10:21 am UTC

66
Nick – love your thinking. I’m only going to pick up one minor point: ‘going to home school my daughter when she’s old enough’. She’s old enough now! from the first eye contact and lullabies, that’s home ed. You’ll notice this isn’t really a disagreement… ;0)
Nick
May 12 09, 10:39 am UTC

67
mand- I agree. I did think that, but just didn’t say it. I wanted to teach myself when I was 14, but my Mum wouldn’t back me. Since then, It’s been at the back of my mind to do it. This is part of the reason for looking to work less- so I’ll have time to do it. I want to travel too, taking her with us. That’s the way to learn a foreign language- live there for months at a time.

Do you homeschool your kids? Any thoughts or opinions on it? Anyone, I’d welcome e-mails on this subject (n.steddy@sky.com)
Nick
May 12 09, 11:01 am UTC

68
Tom- I do this already in my job. I’m contracted to do 40 hours, but usually finish in under 30. Today I went home before 11. I appreciate that in your line of work, this isn’t going to be possible. Some careers lend themselves to shorter working hours, for others 70+ is the norm. It depends what’s important to you. I personally, would rather work 15-20 hours for $50, 000, than 50-60 hours for $100, 000.

I know 2 people who didn’t want to work their lives away. One had a very specialist job in computers. He worked hard, but walked away when he was 35 (he planned this) and lived off of property investments. The other is in his early 40′s and just invested well in the stock market and as a private investor in numerous companies.

If you can’t work less, or don’t want to- then I wouldn’t dream of criticising you for that. Only if you can and would like to- but don’t.
Tom Atkins

May 12 09, 11:55 am UTC

69
A perfect post, and it follows thoughts and patterns I’ve used for years, but never really articulated. Lest any of your readers say this is not a realistic post, I will say, without reservation that it absolutely IS realistic.
mand

May 12 09, 12:05 pm UTC

70
@Nick – replying by email (but not until tomorrow), since this will be a bit off topic. ;0)
Kristi

May 12 09, 12:51 pm UTC

71
Seeing the split in responses reminds me of a favorite quote…”Whether you think you can or you think you cannot, you are right.” – Henry Ford
Lisa

May 15 09, 4:31 am UTC

72
You’ve made me rethink how I work on a daily basis, and your system sounds great. I’ll definitely try it next week to see how it goes. :)
Denise

May 16 09, 2:29 am UTC

73
Hi……….i really like your ideas and way of writing….nice and simple yet helpful.

Just a thought though….what about Bio rhythms and natural energies? Have you come across the Awakener/Builder/Container/Completer concept? Some people seem naturally more suited to working at different times of the day. I’ve now stopped giving myself a hard time for not completing things by 12pm and now work more productively at times that suit my energy better ;-)

Still…..would be nice to finish by 12pm ;-)
Denise
Celes | EmbraceLiving.Net

May 21 09, 8:08 am UTC

74
Hi Tina! I love the idea of weekly goals. It definitely helps prevent the daily goals from sliding over to the next week. (I’m currently using a daily goals and monthly goals system, and will incorporate the weekly goals now that I have read this post.) I once read before that if you allocate X amount of time for work, it will automatically fill up to take up X amount of time, even if it really needs lesser. So I love the idea of allocating a certain fixed time and sticking to it – that’s what I strive to do for myself as well. Thanks for such an informative post!
Jorge Guzman

May 22 09, 8:23 am UTC

75
Scott, great post. I think you hit the nail when you mentioned most of us are knowledge workers, and that means that our value is created by our output, not our hours (this is not just a mind shift, it is at the core of the work we do).

I am going to focus on making sure I work in this output centric mode. I’ll also shoot for the idea of doing everything before noon, I think I can get to it.
Celes | EmbraceLiving.Net

May 23 09, 9:29 am UTC

76
I didn’t realize the post was written by Scott until I hit submit. Sorry Scott! My comment above was addressed to you.
the foreigner
May 25 09, 8:55 am UTC

77
4 hours of productive work = great!
8 hours of productive work = even better!

My most productive hours are between 8am and noon. In the afternoon I try to do stuff that are not so important but still needs to be done. Just to make it easier to find flow the next day.

Maybe I should rethink? =)

Thanks for a great post Scott!
Lisa

May 27 09, 3:04 am UTC

78
Excellent article. Well written, to the point and exactly what people need in today’s competitive market. In Hong Kong where I work, it seems that people put in long hours just for the sake of putting in long hours. It must be a culture thing to stay just as long as your boss (if not longer) and portray that you have that many things to do. I say screw that culture and produce high quality work efficiently. The rule of working smart vs working hard holds true and effectively gives me work-life balance. Thank you for this article.
Srinivas Rao

May 28 09, 7:36 am UTC

79
These are great ideas. I was just doing this yesterday, breaking my blog activities up into things I do daily, weekly, and monthly. Really cool stuff :)
Andreas

Jun 02 09, 8:57 am UTC

80
Excellent blog post and all the scotty stuff is fantastic. Very impressive at how you manage your time and I have adopted some of the tips immediately and have started using a weekly goals list to keep my mind focused on the goals
Scott Dinsmore

Jun 03 09, 12:34 pm UTC

81
What a valuable article for someone running their own business. I have felt so efficient in planning each of my days out in 8 hr day increments each week. I figure since I’m running a business, I should be spending that much time on it. So true that time spent has nothing to do with it. It’s all about outcomes. Thanks for the reminder Tina!

-Scott
Kirk@simple-motivation.com

Jun 16 09, 9:44 am UTC

82
Scott,

Outstanding Article. As a website publisher working on my own time it is definitely helpful to hear about your thoughts on measured results on a daily/weekly basis vs. hours spent being busy but accomplishing little.
I will be implementing some of your ideas and testing them for myself.

Thanks again for the great article.

kirk@simple-motivation.com
jonathanfigaro

Aug 02 09, 2:11 pm UTC

83
Working hard is a good thing, but it should never be to the point where your burnt out. Success come from a balance. Having the ability to do get a full balance out of life, with out jeopardizing your life.
Great post
Adam C.

Oct 18 09, 9:03 pm UTC

84
Really great article. This is my second time reading this because I needed a refresher. I was doing the system for a while (at least the daily goals) and it was definitely working. I was able to get more done than I normally do.

I really agree with the idea that it is not about getting it done in 4-hours but it is the idea of getting more done than you normally would. Recently I have noticed I have been starting one thing and then thinking of 5 other things that need to be done. This system helps me focus on the task at hand so I can cross it off my daily goals list. This time around I am going to combine the daily with the weekly goals and see how it goes.

Thanks for putting this together!
Horace

Mar 12 10, 8:49 am UTC

85
This was a great article. So good, that I’m going to click on all of your ads. Value for value ;)
Markus

May 10 10, 6:04 am UTC

86
Great post. One of the hardest things (for non writers) in implementing your approach is finding a reasonable metric for one’s type of work. As an IT consultant, I do a wide range of very different activities. Most of them come only with very soft metrics, such as meeting results or slides per hours ;-). Still even subjective numbers help to assess one’s productivity and get a glimpse of the 4-hour work day.

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Think Simple Now. A Blog on Creativity, Productivity, and Happiness.

The 4 Hour Workday

116 Comments

Don’t Pay Yourself by The Hour

If You Work at Home, Never Work 9-5

How to Pay Yourself for Work Finished

Weekly/Daily Goals

Why You Can’t Add More Work

Calibrating Your Weekly/Daily Goals

Log Your Current Productivity

Why Bother Measuring?

Weekly Goals

Finishing Your Entire Workday by Noon

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