Foto door David Dibert op  Unsplash

Je vier magische uren

We hebben vaak het gevoel dat onze 24 uur niet genoeg waren. De waarheid is dat we alleen echt elke dag 4 uur nodig hebben.

Bij onze cultuur draait alles om tijdoptimalisatie.

We voelen ons alsof we door andere mensen gaan werken als we niet voortdurend blijven pushen.

We proberen constant om ...

... pak onze agenda's zo strak mogelijk in.

... zo veel mogelijk uit elk moment persen.

... maximaliseren wat we op elk moment gedaan krijgen.

Het resultaat is dat we altijd aan het werk zijn.

Maar we werken nooit echt.

We lopen rond als halfwaakte zombies. We doen alsof we bezig zijn, terwijl we bezig zijn met een zinloze activiteit.

Niemand kan zich meer dan 8 uur per dag concentreren.

As research has shown, the human brain can not even focus on highly intensive work for more than 4 hours every single day.

Being at work vs. doing meaningful work

Photo by Joshua Rawson-Harris on Unsplash

Of course, all of us are at work for more than four hours.

But most of that time is wasted.

Once we reach the limit of our concentration, we can’t focus to the degree that truly meaningful work requires.

We do simple activities like sending e-mails, holding meetings, or any other kind of repetitive activity.

That’s what we call work.

But what kind of real, tangible outcome does this produce?

There is a massive difference between being at work, and being deeply concentrated on work that matters.

Meaningful work is the kind of work where you focus on creating real value by producing something that other people need.

Doing meaningful work, means to be focused on the process of creation.

There’s only one thing to optimise.

Photo by Kyle Sudu on Unsplash

The only thing that you have to optimise is how you spend the first four hours of your work day.

These are your four magical hours.

It’s the time when all your important work gets done.

There’s only one thing that you should be focusing on during these four magical hours. And that is the process of creation.

During these four hours…

… coders should do nothing but creating the best code possible.

… engineers should do nothing but focus on creating the best product as possible.

… salesmen should do nothing but creating the most valuable business opportunities.

The activity of what people do might be different.

But in the end, every single person should spend their four magical hours on creating the most meaningful work they possibly can.

Protect these four hours.

Photo by Tanaphong Toochinda on Unsplash

People think that they get more done by making their calendars as full as possible and trying to do as many different things done as possible.

Truth is, they get less done.

Why?

Because they schedule unimportant work during the time that should be focused on the process of creation.

Because their concentration is already at its limit by the time they get to sit down in a quiet space and focus on their craft.

Because they get distracted by all kinds of things, which are not related to the process of creation.

What should they do instead?

They should choose one single project to work on. One project, whose completion would be incredibly valuable.

All of their attention should flow into this one single thing.

Every morning, they should spend their four magical hours working on this thing alone.

Make an appointment with yourself every single morning. An appointment to work on this single most important project for at least four hours.

Protect this appointment time like a mother protecs her child.

Regardless of what it is, everything else will have to wait until later.

Build your life around these four hours.

Photo by Brannon Naito on Unsplash

The reason why most people fail at being really productive during their four magical hours, is because they haven’t made the sacrifice that is necessary in order to do so.

That sacrifice needed to do your best work during your four magical hours is nothing less than building your whole life around protecting this time.

Say you are getting invited by your friends to go clubbing.

Going clubbing would make it impossible for you to get to your usual work routine at 8am in the morning.

Unless it is the day before one of your off days, you are going to have to kindly refuse the offer of your friends.

Why?

Because it will disturb your habit of protecting your four magical hours. Your habit of making your creation time the first priority of your life.

The same principle holds true for all other aspects of life.

They must be designed in such a way that they are allowing you to be as productive as possible during your working time.

Let’s take the other kind of work as an example. The kind of work that you do after the completion of your four magical hours.

Meetings, e-mails, networking events.

Whatever it is, you must finish this kind of work early enough to give yourself the time and space to rest and refuel your energy.

You need to be ready for the next morning.

Some final words:

Make space in your life so that you are at 100% concentration during the first four hours of your work day. If you do this consistently, every single work day of your life, you will succeed eventually.

This principle requires you to make some sacrifices.

It requires you to…

… design your life in such a way that you are consistently showing up for work at the same time.

… make sure that your energy is fully charged when your work day begins.

… say no to opportunities that would distract you from making this creation time a priority.

And yet, the benefits completely outweigh the costs.

You will have to work significantly less hours, while creating significantly more powerful output.

You will cut the crap of engaging in all sorts of pointless busy-work, and only focus on the things that truly matter.

You will be able to reclaim control over your life again, bringing private life and work life into alignment.

Claiming these these benefits is not an easy process.

The goal is to reach the point where you can predictably enter the flow state within half an hour of starting your work day.

You then work (with short breaks) until you feel that you are no longer able to concentrate at 100% of your capability.

Pushing yourself beyond this point doesn’t make any sense.

If you keep pushing yourself beyond the point where you are becoming exhausted, then you are only damaging your capability to perform at your best the next morning.

Do your most important work during these four hours.

After that, focus on fulfilling all your other needs.

Your heart and mind will thank you for it.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• •If I only had these four hours available every single day, what single project would I focus on to create the strongest impact on my business?
• •What am I currently doing that is distracting me from performing at my best during my four magical hours?
• •How I need to restructure my life in order to be able to maximise my ability to concentrate during my four magical hours?

Als je dit artikel nuttig hebt gevonden, doe dat dan 👏 en deel het met je vrienden. Vergeet niet dat je tot 50 keer kunt klappen - het maakt echt een groot verschil voor mij.

U kunt zich ook abonneren op mijn gratis nieuwsbrief door hier te klikken .

Dit verhaal is gepubliceerd in The Startup , Medium's grootste publicatie over ondernemerschap, gevolgd door 310.538 mensen.

Abonneer u om onze topverhalen hier te ontvangen .