Relax Your Way To Success
Why rest is more important for work success than you think.
We keep telling ourselves a story.
The story says that the more we work, the more we achieve. It makes us believe that that if only we work hard enough, we’re going to out-work everybody else.
Well, that simply can’t be true.
At least not if you trust in current research.
Unfortunately, it is physically impossible to work that much. Human beings can only be in a state of deep concentration for roughly four hours every single day.
Once you have reached your physical limits, you can still do simple, repetitive tasks. But you can’t do any meaningful work, which would make any serious difference in regards to your work success.
The idea that you can out-work other people by putting in more hours every single day, is a myth.
Our current model of productivity
Our current model about how to be productive, is all about time maximisation. We try to cramp as many things into as little time as possible, in order to get things done.
Every single minute of our lives is supposed to be ‘optimised’.
Work is the normal state of affairs. The large majority of our day time is spent working, with only little other time for anything else.
As a result of this behaviour, most of us don’t even realise how energy-deprived we are all the time. We don’t even know what its like to be in a state of deep concentration.
We are so overworked, that we start our days already being beyond our own physical limits.
We sit in front of our laptops.
And waste our time.
A new philosophy of work
For a while now, I have been experimenting around with a different model of work and personal productivity.
This model is all about maximising my productivity in those four hours during which I can perform at the peak of my potential. Its goal is to be in a state of complete focus, until I reach my natural limitations.
During those four hours, I do my most important work.
The kind of work that actually matters.
Admittedly, this approach makes it impossible to keep tackling a million different tasks every single day. For that, there simply isn’t enough time.
But there is enough time to hyper-focus on the few tasks that make the largest difference, and get them done in the best possible way.
The question here is:
“What single thing can I do right now, that would have the largest impact on the development of my current project?”
This philosophy lives of three key elements:
- Having one clear priority at a time
- Focusing on impact, rather than quantity of output
- Maximising your productivity during the four hours that matter
What to do with the rest of your time?
Of course, we all have some other busy work to do. Any kinds of administrative stuff, any kinds of meetings, any kinds of correspondence work.
Once your four hours are over, you take care of this stuff.
The rest of your time should be devoted to bringing more fulfilment, happiness, and energy into your life. You should fill it with activities that are meaningful to you and that you enjoy.
There are a few categories of things to do:
- Any kinds of creative hobbies (e.g. writing, playing the piano, building stuff etc.)
- Actively resting (e.g. sauna, meditation)
- Low-energy activities (e.g. walking, Yoga)
- Physical exercise (e.g. Tae Kwon Do, soccer, running)
- Reconnecting with nature (e.g. going hiking, enjoying yourself by a lake)
- Socializing & spending time with family
- Taking care of yourself & daily things (cooking, house chores etc.)
All of these activities have one thing in common — they are helping you to take care of your needs. They are recharging your energy and contributing to your overall sense of satisfaction and well-being.
First of all, this makes you ready for the next work day. Secondly, these activities are also giving your subconscious mind the space to process all of those things, which you have learned today.
Your brain keeps working, while you are enjoying yourself.
You are basically outsourcing your work to your subconscious mind, which will help you process today’s problems.
As Daniel Levitin, cognitive psychologist and author of The Organized Mind, has said:
Activities that promote mind-wandering, such as reading literature, going for a walk, exercising, or listening to music, are hugely restorative.
You are doing something else, and your brain does all the work for you.
Conclusion:
It is not only possible to achieve the same results with less time investment into your work. In fact, it is very much possible to achieve significantly more powerful results in this way.
Why?
Because this philosophy of work is much more in line with the way how the human brain works.
It makes best use of the four hours of deep concentration that we have every single day, and allows us to tap into the power of our subconscious mind.
Many of history’s geniuses have already understood this power long before science has proven it. People like Charles Darwin, Ingmar Bergmann, Steven King, and Thomas Jefferson — many of the best thinkers in history have worked no more than four to five hours per day.
Here’s how to do it:
- Focus on making sure that you are in a state of 100% deep focus for roughly four hours per day
- Always choose the single most meaningful task to work on
- Spend the rest of your time doing activities that are refreshing your energy, giving you a sense of fulfillment, and providing your subconscious mind with the space to do its job.
Tim Rettig is a writer on productivity, creativity and psychology. You can also subscribe to my free newsletter by clicking here.
