Episode 72: The 4hr work day is a lie (or is it?)
Welcome to the SPS Podcast.
Episode 72: The 4hr work day is a lie (or is it?)
Framing quotes for the episode:
"I set a timer and lock myself out of the internet for 90 minutes."
"For every 45 minutes of focusing on a screen, take a five-minute walk to get into panoramic vision."
- Andrew Huberman
Let's talk about... the 4-hour workday...
Is it real?
Yes and No.
You see… when I hear the phrase 4-hour work day what I hear is 4 hours of deep work done each day.
Because that’s what these gUrUs mean… 4 hours of impactful work. They don’t mean 4 hours of sitting at your desk doing repetitive or dumb sh*t tasks.
The thing is… I don’t think many entrepreneurs (except for super super super successful ones with more VAs than fingers) work only 4 hours a day.
In fact, many of them, including me, talk about doing 3 and even 4 (on a good day) sets of 90-minute sprints.
I’m not the best at math but even 3 sets of 90 minutes is 4.5 hours.
Now, any honest business owner, creator, or so called expert will tell you it takes at least 5 to 6 hours to do 4 hours of deep work.
Why?
Because you take breaks. The brain needs breaks. Even those on heavy doses of Adderall still need to get up once in a while and pee.
You know… no one on this giant ball of gas works for 4 hours straight without a few mini breaks or slips in concentration.
At best It’s a catchy slogan. At worst it's a straight-up lie.
But making sure you do 4 hours of impactful high-value/dollar work is a fact I can get behind.
Every day through Monday to Friday I use a 4-hour count-down clock (I drop it to 2 hours on the weekend
I then do deep work, play with ideas, or speak with clients (speaking with people who pay you money for your support is deep work for me)
Now… I’ve been using a timer for the last year in this way and it showed me it takes me around 6 to 8 hours to get 4 hours of deep work done.
Why?
Because that's how I like to run my days.
For example… I get up around 530 am and start working around 6 am.
I break at 7 am to make coffee and talk with my wife before she goes to work. I do another 30 minutes of work before 8 am. That's my first 90-minute sprint done.
After getting up, 90 minutes of deep work took me 2 hours and 30 minutes to complete.
I can tell you right now that’s fairly efficient.
I then do another 90-minute sprint until 10 am. This sprint is my best sprint for deep work. I’m alone in the house and have one single purpose… get sh*t done.
Now, I don’t want to bore you with my daily schedule, but I finish my 3 big deep work tasks each day around 2 pm.
Between going for walks, making food, and doing social media stuff, I don't get to my last 90-minute sprint until about 12:30 pm.(or later)
So, with all that said, my 4 hours of deep work can take me, on average, 6, 7 or even 8 hours to complete after getting up.
However, by 2 pm (most days) my day is all mine. I could work a little faster, but I have no reason to and I'm tactically lazy.
Now… some performance “experts” will push back on this… but they’re full of poop.
I can hear them now: "You can do four hours straight with a mini 20-minute break in between."
So it's the 4:20 work day... you might be high bruv...
My advice... find a way to get your deep work done that works with your lifestyle and identity.
Obviously… the average business owner has a family, responsibilities, team members, and meetings to attend.
So, to accomplish 4 hours of deep impactful work and live the 4-hour work day, give yourself at least 6 hours to do it.
Remember… don’t be bamboozled by fancy slogans.
Stephen links:
Future You Matrix:
https://www.stephentimoney.com/future-you
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https://www.stephentimoney.com/
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Big love,
ST
Fan of the truth.
