When I first began working from home I was extremely productive and energized. I worked 18 hours a day and dreamed about what I would work on when I awoke. I had no reason to take breaks or even eat in the dining room or take time to play video games. I was unstoppable. This went on and on, until I finally crashed.
As I looked out the window, I noticed something. I was out of ideas. I had no clue what I would work on next. I felt like I accomplished everything, yet nothing. I went weeks without working on another article or even bothering to write code for a new widget. I couldn’t stand sitting at my desk for more than 10 minutes. I finally hit the invisible wall.
After some time had passed, I said enough is enough. I need to get back to work or everything I had done will go to waste. I changed the way I acted towards work and separated it from leisure time. I decided it was time to set work hours and to stick with it, even if I had ideas that just couldn’t wait.
Soon, article after article was coming out. I was re-energized and yet, somehow I was enjoying work more than ever before. I was productive and satisfied with the way other areas of my life were going as well. I had more time to spend watching movies, playing video games, and most importantly watching baseball.
By forcing myself to stick to a schedule I became more productive. If an idea pops into my head I write it down or use a voice recorder. I just don’t work on the idea right away. I wait until the next time I go to work. I take weekends off and even holidays.
This is how it should be, at least for someone like me.
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Written: Jun 19, 2008Tags: be productive, small business
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I tend to believe one has to work hard though I theoretically know that work smarter is a lot better. Attempting to complete as many tasks as possible within short time is not wise but that’s what we always do anyway. To think “less is more” is just not convincing…
This article is more about setting hours so you won’t burn yourself out. If you work 16 hours a day, after a month or two you will tire yourself out. Instead, set work hours and finish projects at a later time. You will feel better about yourself and you will think of more ideas during your offtime.
I applaud you for finding that ever elusive balance that s many strive for!
I will be setting schedules soon I hope. I’m currently working a rather large project with big-time multitasking….schedules just aren’t practical.
I’ve hit the mini wall a few times in the past and re-energized by taking a respite from blogging for a couple of days. Thanks for writing about this.