In search of the limit. 6 myths of efficiency, which I dispelled, working 14 hours a day for a month

I always liked the idea - work less, do more. But there was a time in my life when I acted differently. Several activities interested me so much that I could not decide on what to focus on. It would be more logical to use the rule of 20% and cut off everything else, but I did not do this and understood something.

What for?

At that time I wrote articles for the men's magazine JORNL, earned good money on freelancing and was actively involved in sports. All this was interesting to me, and in everything I saw a perspective. At the same time, it is difficult to achieve anything meaningful in the chosen case without plunging into it headlong. I realized this, but decided to immerse myself in development for several weeks and achieved quite good results:
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- 20-40% of the articles in each issue of the magazine were mine;
- Physical indicators grew;
- Earnings on design sometimes reached 6 thousand rubles per hour.

Those weeks taught me a lot. I understood how to work more efficiently and achieve more. Initially, I collected this collection for myself, but later decided that it could be useful to you.

So, 6 myths of efficiency, which I dispelled, working 14 hours a day for a month.

How to drink coffee to get enough sleep and feel cheerful

Experts of creative specialties cultivate coffee. There is really something in it. Coffee - part of the culture, a reason to work, the opportunity to cheer up. But he has a downside. By improperly consuming coffee, we deprive ourselves of its benefits. Productivity decreases, drowsiness appears and sleep quality worsens. I felt it on myself and I'm tired.

I did an experiment.

I sleep no more than 7 hours a day, so measuring the amount of energy is very simple - you need to monitor the level of vitality. At first, I completely abandoned coffee, and the energy level dropped dramatically. Later, I added the morning cup, and everything changed dramatically. I used to drink coffee in the morning, and after a couple of hours at work. It was illogical, so I removed the morning caffeine intake. Now I received the necessary energy at the most appropriate moment - at the beginning of the working day.

I began to feel better. The productivity drops practically disappeared and I managed to maintain approximately the same level of vigor throughout the day. Besides, I started getting better sleep, even having slept for 6 hours.

A week later, I added another cup of coffee an hour after the workout. Productivity from this only improved, and the quality of sleep was not affected.

Conclusions :
1. The optimal dose of coffee 2-3 cups a day. I drink at 8:30 and at 13-14 o'clock for several weeks and am pleased with the state of health.
2. Coffee, drunk in the afternoon, imperceptibly reduces the quality of sleep. In the end, we sleep badly and feel overwhelmed the next morning.

What productivity tools work

Our community is not very fond of talking about productivity, since a lot of “water” has been written on this topic. But no one will deny that there are tools with which we do our job better. Working at the limit, I paid attention to how to plan time more effectively, how I deal with procrastination and motivate myself to work. The main factor of efficiency is the focus on the current task. I broke the focus into three parts:

1. The importance of goals

The goal is important as a guide. I used Todoist for a long time, but still returned to Moleskine . If the task is large-scale, I start it in the service of achieving the goals of SmartProgress . The online community motivates and turns goal achievement into a game.

My algorithm for achieving goals:

1. Write 100 goals for life. I did not dial 100, but I keep the list in plain sight and periodically review and replenish.
2. From this list, I choose 3-5 for the next year.
3. Focusing on the selected goals and professional tasks I set goals for the week
* I do not set goals for the day. Just take on the top priorities of the week.

2. Timer performance

The timer is a great tool. I often forget about him or lazy, but I know for sure that I work with him more efficiently and get tired less. After a 25-minute sprint, I give my eyes and thoughts a break. It happens that during a break I realize that I am working on an unimportant task and after that I change priorities.

3. The power of control

Concentrated work is possible only if nothing distracts you. Soc. Networks and media are the main enemies of concentration.

Conclusions :
1. A standard paper notebook is more suitable for maintaining lists. Yes, it can not be installed on the phone and computer. But it is great for planning articles, projects.
2. Large-scale targets are conveniently set up in the SmartProgress service. A public promise and thousands of like-minded people help when motivation ends.
3. The timer splits the work time into sprints instead of one long marathon. As a result, productivity and work pleasure increase.
4. Focus is one of the main weapons of the computerization century.

Do I have to get up early

Indeed, it does not matter what time you wake up, because everyone has 24 hours a day. Getting up early we do not get more time. We get more opportunity to concentrate, which, as we found out, is very important. At night, you can also feel free, but now rarely anyone will go to bed before 23 o'clock, so many people choose the morning.

You need to be well motivated to rise earlier than 6 hours. Only thanks to significant goals, I managed to adhere to the following schedule:

5:20. Rise;
5:30 Interval running on the street;
6:00 Shower and tp;
6:20. Breakfast;
6:40. Reading a book ;
7:00 Collecting things;
8: 30-19-20. Work in the office;
- 11: 00-12: 00. Training;
20-21. Arriving home (rest, dinner, reading, sometimes work);
23-23: 30. Departure for sleep.

I managed to develop in several directions and I felt great about it.

Conclusions :
1. Getting up early is effective when you have a lot of work and you need time for concentrated work.
2. Waking up early is not necessary if you are able to protect yourself from distractions during the day.
3. Early recovery is possible only if you have a strong motivation. Otherwise, it is better to sleep a little longer. It will be more useful.

The impact of strong physical exertion on the quality of work

Training is stress. Muscles are destroyed, energy is consumed. Fatigue will immediately overtake you if you do not make up for the loss. There was a time when I could sleep 12 hours a day due to the inconsistency of nutrition intensity of training. At the same time, training increases stamina. Richard Branson to the question "How do you increase productivity?" Replied "I train."

Where to get energy?

We get energy from carbohydrates, i.e. cereals, fruit. Building material from protein (meat, eggs, fish).

Conclusions :
1. Training increases productivity in work.
2. Exercising a lot, watch the diet carefully (crush meals during the day to maintain the same level of energy), otherwise you will be overwhelmed by fatigue.
3. Training increases confidence, which is transferred to professional activities.

Are Habits Important?

I already wrote about the habits in the article: " Success on autopilot. 9 habits that changed my life ." An excerpt from this article:

“Habits change people. They can revive and kill, throw and lower to the bottom. All the daily activities that we perform on the machine are habits. They control us: affect mood, development and health. Making a good habit, as an investment in a profitable project, brings dividends, day after day, with little or no participation. You just have to eliminate bad habits, select useful ones and see how the world around you is changing. ”

I like to “cling” habits to certain things. All this is done unconsciously when they get used to waking up to brush their teeth or take a shower. In the same way you need to approach the formation of their own habits.

Having set a goal to write a draft of a book, I set a timer for 20 minutes every morning after breakfast and wrote throughout the month. A week later, I could not imagine the morning without this action. This is the meaning of the title "Success on autopilot".

The flip side of habits - laziness. By setting the alarm for 10 minutes or skipping a workout, we develop bad habits that extend to all walks of life.

Conclusions :
1. Good habits are important. They shape our personality almost unconsciously.
2. Weakness in one, weakness in everything. Follow the plan.
3. Plan your time to rest, otherwise you will color it during working hours.

Internet - rest or hindrance №1

Both.

I found a working way to use the internet cleverly. Before opening another article or site, I ask myself the question: “Why am I doing this?”, “Why do I need to read this article?”, “Why do I need to open this site?”. Since then, I got rid of unpleasant addiction. Internet and social. the networks have ceased to be part of life, which is pretty darn nice. After all, life is limited by the laptop display is boring. Even if this display is the Retina of the new MacBook.

Conclusions :
1. Close access to distracting sites while working with SelfControl .
2. Ask yourself one of these questions before using the Internet.
3. Do not limit your life to a laptop screen.

Instead of conclusion

Dramatically change life is difficult. But that is what develops us as a person. Such experiments reveal things in us that we had no idea.

“Do what others do not want today — and tomorrow you will do what others cannot.” Duane Johnson.

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