In the era where everything goes fast, sometimes we get stuck in work – writing, recording or finishing a presentation, for instance. We start juggling many things, sometimes get lost in the process, and end up doing less than what we expected.
The pressure to meet deadlines and the self-expectation to give our best end result make things even worse. With each second, we feel trapped.
The moment we realize that there might be some peaceful time and focus, boom – there comes something urgent, personal or unexpected.
We switch to thinking about it, and then spend the next 2 hours getting it done without realizing. And in middle of this chaos, we’ve left our passion project behind – the thing we wanted to get done in the first place. Be it designing, learning a new craft or just helping our parents.
You may change the world with your work. But before that, you need to find the peace and the rhythm to do the work with efficiency.
24 hours is all we get. Sometimes you can take a leave from work and hope that stuff will pan out for you. And then, it doesn’t.
It isn’t because you are lacking focus or clarity. It is because we love to let time pass. Second by second – we fail to realize what works for us and stick to strategies which are proven, sadly, for others.
The Success Effect
Day in and day out we find ourselves struggling to complete something we love. Then, we see others championing their work every day. They seem to be perfect.
Some recommend to wake up early and do the work. Others vouch that the work can be done better at night.
You sit there confused, trying a bunch of different techniques. Such as drinking coffee, trying a new location, or a different tool.
It doesn’t work that way.
There is something about successful people that we are attracted to.
There are many people who wake up in the morning without focus or any desire to get things done, and still succeed in life over time. So the tactics aren’t same for everyone.
We see that working hard brings awesome results, by reading about real-life examples. At the same time, there are plenty of people who invested the same amount of hard work but couldn’t reach their goals.
The simple point I am trying to make is this – you won’t magically become better in what you do by applying all the tactics you learned from influential people.
What Works Then?
You decide. After trying, failing and then comparing what works for you.
For example, if I want to write efficiently, it doesn’t matter whether I have 4 or 10 hours. If I am busy the whole day and get 2 hours free, then I can do a good job writing a piece.
On the other hand, if I get 10 free hours in a day, I am tempted to watch cat videos for 2 of them.
So if I want to maximize my potential, I need to find only 4 hours in a day, while for the rest of the time I have to be busy. Otherwise, I would simply procrastinate.
Also, I write better after I’ve just woken up. So that works for me and it helps me complete the work I’m passionate about.
Try and experiment with your schedule.
Do the work for 1 hour, then for 5 hours. Compare the 5-hour work, dividing the progress into hourly results, and see if working longer hours makes you more productive. If not, make the necessary changes to get optimum results.
Try waking up early. But also try doing your work at night, or in the afternoon.
What is your best buddy? Coffee or juice.
Slowly, while experimenting and tracking the results you get, you will find what works best for you.
About The Author
This is a guest post by Rohan Bhardwaj, a Physics graduate. He loves to observe, learn and teach.
