tldr; I realized I am more productive when not interrupted during tasks that require thinking (specifically, ignoring phone calls and emails while working).
I thought this was going to be about an actual 26 hour day, which is entirely possible (and a very interesting subject).. but don't even think about maintaining a 26 hour schedule in 24 hours of time.
"I thought this was going to be about an actual 26 hour day, which is entirely possible (and a very interesting subject).."
Do you mean sleeping 'x' amount of time every '26-x' hours? That is a very interesting notion. It creates an illusion of having more hours in a day. Of course, this comes at cost. If you were to sleep at 12.00am one day, you will have to sleep at 2am the next, and 4am the day after that and so on.
I also get sceptical when I read lifestyle-changing formula posts such as this because there's usually never any indication of time/duration.
How long as he been maintaining this new schedule for? If he only started this a week ago, what's to say that this won't change the next week with an ever more optimised formula?
> it can take up to 23 minutes and 15 seconds to get back on task after an interruption.
At first I thought that that is a ridiculously precise time, but it turns out to be a mis-quote. The source [1] claims that that is the average time to get back on task.
As a new dad, I can attest that you can survive (and be productive) on a lot less sleep then you think. The trick is that you have to be a lot more active in the day, so you are actually tired at night and can fall asleep fast. And, you have to avoid stuff like alcohol as it really messes up your sleep cycle.
I find that small amounts of alcohol (like a glass of red wine) actually help me sleep well. Anything more than that however causes me to wake up continuously throughout the night and have a headache in the morning.
There's also a trick I learned a couple of years ago that helps you fall asleep when you're lying in bed drunk with your eyes closed and, as the saying goes, "the world keeps turning." That trick is to put one foot on the floor. That will stabilize your sense of balance and you'll be able to fall asleep very quickly. (Also works if you're queasy with things like food poisoning.)
if you're going to work out, I would really suggest going first thing in the morning. It has such a dramatically different effect on your day versus working out at night. I'm not a morning person either but I'll never work out at night again.
I usually work out at night but have always heard that working out in the morning is better.. thinking about making the switch. I'm not a morning person either.
What are the benefits? More energy/zest during the day?
Note that the post says "context switching is the issue". That's probably true.
I and probably many others too, developed some natural defense against it. I just keep thinking about my task while half-listening to whatever comes up and unless its really that important, just keep it in a corner of my head (or if its a phone conversation, just give basic preplanned replies which take no thinking and make the opposite party happy. I just can't help it, it's automatic).
That's probably because i'm passionate about my tasks and rather introverted, tho. But I though it's interesting to think about it that way too.
As others have pointed out, this post is not about a 26 hour day, but rather a more efficient 24 hour day.
A find that I get productivity boost by actually leaving the 24 hour day, and sleeping when I get tired (which works out to be about 25.5 hour days). This does lead to jet-lag like effects when I need to work around schedules, but avoids alot of time idling awake in bed.
The wild misuse of "26-Hour Day" here would make me question doing business with this person. So many startup folk who have made a good first impression on me have blogs full of clangers like this, which should have been a clue as to problems of comprehension and honesty I would experience with them down the line.
Like I said in the 3rd paragraph of the post. "Of course, I'm not speaking literally."
I titled this post in this way because it really does make you feel like the day is extended by two more hours. Not literally, I'm taking about psychologically, which is often just as valuable.
Damn... I was expecting something along the lines of timecube2013 or something revolutionary. Something that most scientists wouldn't understand. Something only Andrew Dumont would understand. :/
Not always an option but many employers support them.. If you can get a high quality 20 minute nap in the middle of the day, you could cut some time from your overnight sleep.
If you use a 2 week schedule, you can make it a 26 hour day. Arranging a nice schedule is harder, but it is possible.
I experimented a lot with sleep when I was younger. 26 hour days, 28 hour days, uberman. Now that I'm middle aged, I have no problems with sleep. I attribute this to several changes I made:
1) stopping my caffeine habit
2) no screen time before bed. reading fiction on a phone is OK, but no more than that.
3) getting old made waking up early a lot easier
4) My uberman experimentation gave me the ability of an infantry man to fall asleep quickly whenever and wherever I want
I've tried going with and without food before the gym, but settled on without. I feel more alert and less sluggish when I don't eat before working out.
If you're strength training, you may run into issues though.
I haven't heard anything that suggests that. In fact, most medical professionals suggest a morning workout for increased energy and better sleep patterns.
I've hacked this productivity schedule bit quite a lot, for me the biggest time sink has always been commute time. While I'm working from home, that is when I'm most productive.
Needless to say the author's advice is correct. Waking up early helps. And sometimes helps a lot. If you absolutely want to work like a machine. Then there is a schedule that has worked for me.
3 AM - Wake up, tend to hygiene. Excercise etc
4 AM - Start Work.
9 AM - Break fast/Newspaper/News
10 AM - Continue Work.
2 PM - Lunch
3 PM - Continue Work.
8 PM - Dinner.
8:45 PM - Review current days work, plan for tomorrow.
9 PM - Sleep.
Note: This schedule works because there is no time spent traveling, I'm not married and I don't have other errands to run during the day.
If you notice an another thing there is no such a term like meetings in the whole schedule.
Some more tweaks/extensions to this exercise. Every Saturday I sit down to review how the past week went. I also put down clearly defined measurable goals which I want to achieve by next Saturday. These tasks are generally aligned to help me achieve monthly and yearly goals.
The 5 years goals, and decade goals are something of a different thing. Generally mine are financial goals. And are easy to keep a track of.
Now given I absolutely must have to travel many times in the week to office. And inevitable meetings creep in, this schedule doable only once or twice a week.
Using the word hacked to describe this irks me. A hack implies some visceral and ingrained knowledge that shouldn't be discernable from magic to the uninitiated.
This is a timetable. It's shiny and all, but it's not as though I'm staring blankly at it trying to work out how you achieved such perfection.
A 3am wake up time is crazy impressive, puts my 5am wake up to shame. Really like the recommendation of the review in the evenings.
I too have found that when I don't review and clearly lay out what I'd like to accomplish that day (or week), I tend to work just to work -- another post in and of itself. :)
Or you could wake up at the same time and not answer emails in the morning to achieve the same effect (since it's context switching that you're trying to avoid).
Also, I fail to see how this makes it a 26-Hour Day.
[+] [-] guynamedloren|13 years ago|reply
tldr; I realized I am more productive when not interrupted during tasks that require thinking (specifically, ignoring phone calls and emails while working).
I thought this was going to be about an actual 26 hour day, which is entirely possible (and a very interesting subject).. but don't even think about maintaining a 26 hour schedule in 24 hours of time.
[+] [-] abhpdk|13 years ago|reply
Do you mean sleeping 'x' amount of time every '26-x' hours? That is a very interesting notion. It creates an illusion of having more hours in a day. Of course, this comes at cost. If you were to sleep at 12.00am one day, you will have to sleep at 2am the next, and 4am the day after that and so on.
[+] [-] kentosi|13 years ago|reply
How long as he been maintaining this new schedule for? If he only started this a week ago, what's to say that this won't change the next week with an ever more optimised formula?
[+] [-] eCa|13 years ago|reply
At first I thought that that is a ridiculously precise time, but it turns out to be a mis-quote. The source [1] claims that that is the average time to get back on task.
[1] http://www.fastcompany.com/944128/worker-interrupted-cost-ta...
[+] [-] andrewdumont|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] madoublet|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] enraged_camel|13 years ago|reply
There's also a trick I learned a couple of years ago that helps you fall asleep when you're lying in bed drunk with your eyes closed and, as the saying goes, "the world keeps turning." That trick is to put one foot on the floor. That will stabilize your sense of balance and you'll be able to fall asleep very quickly. (Also works if you're queasy with things like food poisoning.)
[+] [-] seanalltogether|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] guynamedloren|13 years ago|reply
What are the benefits? More energy/zest during the day?
[+] [-] zobzu|13 years ago|reply
I and probably many others too, developed some natural defense against it. I just keep thinking about my task while half-listening to whatever comes up and unless its really that important, just keep it in a corner of my head (or if its a phone conversation, just give basic preplanned replies which take no thinking and make the opposite party happy. I just can't help it, it's automatic).
That's probably because i'm passionate about my tasks and rather introverted, tho. But I though it's interesting to think about it that way too.
[+] [-] g2e|13 years ago|reply
1) Minimal lying in bed. If you're in your bed, you should be sleeping. If you can't fall asleep find out why and fix it.
2) Don't get distracted. Of course, easier said than done but you can definitely minimize any possibilites.
3) Experimentation with sleep. Try sleeping a little bit less and less until you find the minimal amount required for you to be refreshed.
4) Continuously reflect and ask yourself if there's a better or more efficient way of doing something.
[+] [-] gizmo686|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] CKKim|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] andrewdumont|13 years ago|reply
I titled this post in this way because it really does make you feel like the day is extended by two more hours. Not literally, I'm taking about psychologically, which is often just as valuable.
[+] [-] mgkimsal|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] andrewdumont|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] petercooper|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] qwerta|13 years ago|reply
http://www.limedaring.com/hacking-your-week-the-28-hour-day/
[+] [-] bryanlarsen|13 years ago|reply
I experimented a lot with sleep when I was younger. 26 hour days, 28 hour days, uberman. Now that I'm middle aged, I have no problems with sleep. I attribute this to several changes I made:
1) stopping my caffeine habit
2) no screen time before bed. reading fiction on a phone is OK, but no more than that.
3) getting old made waking up early a lot easier
4) My uberman experimentation gave me the ability of an infantry man to fall asleep quickly whenever and wherever I want
[+] [-] solox3|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] eertami|13 years ago|reply
He has only 1 hour a day of "free time"? Surely that can't be in anyway normal.
[+] [-] Kiro|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] andrewdumont|13 years ago|reply
If you're strength training, you may run into issues though.
[+] [-] seanliuxx|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ramblerman|13 years ago|reply
But the generalisation that therefore 5:15 am workouts are detrimental to health is ludicrous.
[+] [-] andrewdumont|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] g2e|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] kamaal|13 years ago|reply
Needless to say the author's advice is correct. Waking up early helps. And sometimes helps a lot. If you absolutely want to work like a machine. Then there is a schedule that has worked for me.
Note: This schedule works because there is no time spent traveling, I'm not married and I don't have other errands to run during the day.If you notice an another thing there is no such a term like meetings in the whole schedule.
Some more tweaks/extensions to this exercise. Every Saturday I sit down to review how the past week went. I also put down clearly defined measurable goals which I want to achieve by next Saturday. These tasks are generally aligned to help me achieve monthly and yearly goals.
The 5 years goals, and decade goals are something of a different thing. Generally mine are financial goals. And are easy to keep a track of.
Now given I absolutely must have to travel many times in the week to office. And inevitable meetings creep in, this schedule doable only once or twice a week.
[+] [-] richo|13 years ago|reply
This is a timetable. It's shiny and all, but it's not as though I'm staring blankly at it trying to work out how you achieved such perfection.
[+] [-] andrewdumont|13 years ago|reply
I too have found that when I don't review and clearly lay out what I'd like to accomplish that day (or week), I tend to work just to work -- another post in and of itself. :)
[+] [-] thewarrior|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] lucian303|13 years ago|reply
Also, I fail to see how this makes it a 26-Hour Day.