Bits, Bursts & Bongos

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buzzandersen:

Benjamin Franklin’s Daily Schedule
(via Nick Bilton)
I’m not sure I could ever adhere to a schedule quite this rigorous, but something along these lines has been working well for me lately. In particular I’ve been trying dive into work early in the morning (working from home helps a lot of course), finish the day’s tasks early enough that I’ve still got time for exercise or other non-work diversions before dinner, and make more time for (book) reading in the course of the day.
When you’re a person who works alone, and whose fortunes are completely dependent on your own day-to-day productivity, it can be very easy to fall into the trap of working all the time (particularly when your work requires you to operate on the Maker’s Schedule). Franklin’s plan is an inspiration to me because it reminds me why I went down the tough road of being an indie developer in the first place: to live a more balanced, reflective life.

This is a fantastic blog post and just shows that the most creative and productive people in the world are not 9-5-ers. Franklin’s schedule overlaps mine somewhat as I do head up at 5am in the morning and get to bed around 10pm. Working mostly via my home office I also tend to start working at 5pm and end the day with following up on emails right before 10pm. It’s become a habit over the years.
But how I structure my day differs. Having some kind of structure is good but I prefer it being a little more fluid. Here is an idea:
I wake up at 5am, grab my first latte and attack the most urgent overnight emails from my team in Europe. I then attack the most important projects for the day as I have my yoghurt (real) with fruits. Solve the hardest problems first has always been my motto.
My most productive hours are between 5am and lunch so that’s when I try to solve the hardest problems. I usually write my 1-2 blog posts during that time as all these ideas pop into my head about pretty much everything.
Lunch is usually a longer break as I think it’s important to cook your own food in this world of processed crap. Only from the farmer’s market. People waste a lot of money on BS stuff and then try to save on quality food. What is up with that?
I get back to work around 2pm to respond to the last east coast emails for the day. Then I usually watch a show on Hulu and have a short nap. Cutting the day in half and practicing polyphasic sleep has created a more balanced day.
The rest of the afternoon I usually spend reading, catching up on online news and doing research. There is always something I need to learn. Yesterday I relearned Photoshop as I haven’t used that software since the end of the 90s.
Before dinner I try to do some exercise. Since I’m recovering from my surgery 3 weeks ago my exercise is limited to a 30-minute walk and some exercises that my physical therapist recommended to rebuild muscles.
I try to end the day reading something interesting, preferably a tactile book. Right now I’m reading The Fourth Turning.
I really think that this is the future of work for the digerati. Life is so much more than work and we need to think about ways of finding the right individual balance. Working in virtual environments is great for the environment and very human. It liberates us from the 13th century idea of *working hours*. It’s can also be very productive if done right. The challenge is to stay align and synched. It’s a matter of great communication and leadership.

Zoom

buzzandersen:

Benjamin Franklin’s Daily Schedule

(via Nick Bilton)

I’m not sure I could ever adhere to a schedule quite this rigorous, but something along these lines has been working well for me lately. In particular I’ve been trying dive into work early in the morning (working from home helps a lot of course), finish the day’s tasks early enough that I’ve still got time for exercise or other non-work diversions before dinner, and make more time for (book) reading in the course of the day.

When you’re a person who works alone, and whose fortunes are completely dependent on your own day-to-day productivity, it can be very easy to fall into the trap of working all the time (particularly when your work requires you to operate on the Maker’s Schedule). Franklin’s plan is an inspiration to me because it reminds me why I went down the tough road of being an indie developer in the first place: to live a more balanced, reflective life.

This is a fantastic blog post and just shows that the most creative and productive people in the world are not 9-5-ers. Franklin’s schedule overlaps mine somewhat as I do head up at 5am in the morning and get to bed around 10pm. Working mostly via my home office I also tend to start working at 5pm and end the day with following up on emails right before 10pm. It’s become a habit over the years.

But how I structure my day differs. Having some kind of structure is good but I prefer it being a little more fluid. Here is an idea:

I wake up at 5am, grab my first latte and attack the most urgent overnight emails from my team in Europe. I then attack the most important projects for the day as I have my yoghurt (real) with fruits. Solve the hardest problems first has always been my motto.
My most productive hours are between 5am and lunch so that’s when I try to solve the hardest problems. I usually write my 1-2 blog posts during that time as all these ideas pop into my head about pretty much everything.
Lunch is usually a longer break as I think it’s important to cook your own food in this world of processed crap. Only from the farmer’s market. People waste a lot of money on BS stuff and then try to save on quality food. What is up with that?
I get back to work around 2pm to respond to the last east coast emails for the day. Then I usually watch a show on Hulu and have a short nap. Cutting the day in half and practicing polyphasic sleep has created a more balanced day.
The rest of the afternoon I usually spend reading, catching up on online news and doing research. There is always something I need to learn. Yesterday I relearned Photoshop as I haven’t used that software since the end of the 90s.
Before dinner I try to do some exercise. Since I’m recovering from my surgery 3 weeks ago my exercise is limited to a 30-minute walk and some exercises that my physical therapist recommended to rebuild muscles.
I try to end the day reading something interesting, preferably a tactile book. Right now I’m reading The Fourth Turning.

I really think that this is the future of work for the digerati. Life is so much more than work and we need to think about ways of finding the right individual balance. Working in virtual environments is great for the environment and very human. It liberates us from the 13th century idea of *working hours*. It’s can also be very productive if done right. The challenge is to stay align and synched. It’s a matter of great communication and leadership.