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How many work hours are too many to call it a productive day?
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@victoria_sk I guess we all love chat over coffee. How do you measure the quality of your work in those 4-5 hours?
@kali_curated Agreed, I think it happens will all of us.
How do you measure your quality of work?
@gamifykaran For me, it's best to have a list of goals/action items in short, medium, and long timeframes. If I check off a few items from each of those sections, it feels like some good quality work has been completed that day - regardless of how long they took me.
A short timeframe item could be as simple as finishing some reports/code/immediately pressing items. On longer timeframes, it could be finalizing a major milestone or roadmap item - which feels amazing since it's "cleared" from my mind!
@kali_curated I tried to do the same with the to do list for day today or weekly goals.
But the list kept on growing, and I barely complete 30-35% of the tasks.
@gamifykaran Try splitting the list up a bit more between short, medium, and longer term goals - make sure you're reasonable with your own abilities and time too ;)
I mean, it depends how you do it. I think most people can only do 2-4 hours productively before seeing dimensioning returns. At that point, you need some sort of break, even if it's just 10 to 15 minutes, eat something, have some water, walk around, etc. I think assuming you have proper rest, eat right, and use your time effectively, you can be productive for most of the day.
@rmarlow Agreed 2-4 deep work can change the game in long term.
But being productive all day with so many distractions seems quite challenging 🙊
@gamifykaran It really comes down to time management. Setting specific time for certain things (even if its distractions) and making sure you aren't getting distracted by something else during that time. Do this for everything from checking emails, building, marketing, meals, workouts, and family time. People may find it annoying but its extremely effective.
@ixord Absolutely! I'm just curious to know what works for founders like you to call a day productive
@gamifykaran For me, a productive day means when I have accomplished my planned goals. I rely on the result.
@xeno1 Agreed. Completing 1-2 tasks a day feels accomplished.
But sometimes, I get lost in so many things, spending so many hours, and end up hardly ticking off important tasks in a day.
Does it happen with you?
@gamifykaran of course smth it happens (even a whole week could be so unproductive).. though it's a pity to lose time but thinking through is a part of developer's process
@sarvpriy_arya Agreed.
Do you get the urge to check social media, or emails during focused hours? If yes, how do manage those!
Honestly, I don't measure my productivity based on the hours I worked but by the things and tasks that I've done in a single day. I have a task list and if I've managed to touch them all and provide updates or complete a couple of them, if not all, even more, if I've created some initiatives or improvements in other stuff which aren't necessarily my task -- that's when I know it's a productive day :))
@k_onrade I tried to-do list to track my progress but the list kept on growing.
This year, I decided to switch to Google Calendar for 3 reasons:
1. To plan tasks better.
2. To see how well I'm using time.
3. To plan smarter, for example- if 10 slides take an hour, I'll set 2 more hours for the remaining 20 slides.
I think you have to monitor yourself for a couple weeks to figure out when you feel you become distracted or not working effectively.
You should also expirement with multiple mini breaks and longer breaks, then tailor a schedule accordingly.
1 hour of deep effective work for important tasks that drives growth for your business is worth more than 4 hours of work that didnt get your full focus..
Stylar