Time-Restricted Work

Time-Restricted Work is the idea that imposing limitations on the time we have to work could increase productivity. In the same way that a deadline can increase your productivity by enforcing a limitation on the time you have to complete the project.

The reality is that we have limited time each day. In practice this means is that, since we cannot increase the time we have each day, we have to adjust the rate at which we get things done by optimising intensity, efficiency, and effectiveness of the work to get more work done in the same timeframe.

Intensity is, generally-speaking, working harder. Deeper, more engaged and focused work. No distractions, no multitasking. However, intensity is not itself easy to achieve because of the intangibles. When we have great periods of intense work, there is a level and quality of emotional and mental engagement that is a great deal more abstract for us to achieve. The flow and emotional intensity, is not always easy to replicate one day to the next.

In addition to pure intensity, we can also adjust the effectiveness and efficiency of the work that we do. In essence, this means a clean, optimized work process. This we can work towards, but it also comes with experience, and knowing what we are doing.

For this, oftentimes the only solution is practice, practice, and more practice. When you have done something a thousand times, you become more efficient at it. Less wasted motion. You know what to do, and you know how to move from one step to the next cleanly, and effectively.

The idea of time-restricted work is to get more work done in the same amount of time. In physics, this is the literal definition of power. Greater intensity, efficiency, effectiveness, less wasted motion, and more work done in the same amount of time is the definition of power. More powerful action, which is what we are trying to achieve.

Knowing What Has To Be Done

The first step is Knowing What Has To Be Done. You have to have a precise, specific, actionable task to d get done in order to deeply engage yourself in the way that we desire.

In my experience, the greatest killer of power in our actions — and the antithesis of time-restricted work — is not knowing what you need to do. Being too scattered. Having too many task in queue across a range of projects, like having too many tabs open in your mind.

Take it from me. It. Does. Not. Work. I have over 500 tabs open. I know.

The key to effective, powerful, time-restricted work phases is knowing exactly what you need to do in this project. Maybe working from a list of everything you need to finish this project, and checking things off one at a time.

For me working from a list is helpful. It helps keep me focused. Every task that comes to mind can be written down so that I can forget about it (so it is not bouncing around in my mind) so I can get back on task. This works for me, and I would suggest it for all with the gift of ADHD — to ensure that your ADD is a gift, and not a curse.

Knowing what you need to do is about remaining on task, narrowing your focus, and getting the work done that needs to get done to create progress. Rather than thinking about it, but never doing it. Or starting a dozen tasks at once, and finishing none. Or multitasking to such an extreme degree that your mind is cluttered, and ineffectual.

Think About The Work, Not The Time

For many years, I have timed basically every phase of my day, and keep a (semi-complete) log of my daily work. Yet for many years, my attention was also orientated in the wrong direction.

At first I needed to know the time it took to do each part each day, so that I could get a realistic understanding of exactly how many hours of work I could fit in a day. As well as to ensure that I was putting in the necessary time in each area. Enough practice of this thing, and that, and the other, all of which need to be touched on daily to ensure long term progress.

For a while, this is what is required.

Later I learned, that at a certain point, it doesn’t matter. I have put in the time to build the skills I needI still time everything, but how much time the project takes doesn’t matter. It is the project that matters.

Time-Restricted Work is simply a fact of life. You have exactly x amount of hours each day, so I must use them as effectively as possible.

From the perspective of the project, however, you don’t have a clock. You stay with the project for as many hours as it takes to complete it.

If this “project” for you is a side-hustle, school, or career There are certain areas of our lives where we don’t have the

Time-Restricted Work — The Work Fills The Space

I recently came across the idea that Work Expands To Fill The Space It Is Given. The idea that if we have 8 hours to work, we might stretch 4 hours of work to fill our allotted time. Perhaps there is truth to this for some people. Personally I dislike the mindset. But what I do know is that you can get a lot more done with a sense of urgency, and that people tend to default to a relaxed pace that is easy to sustain, but also less than they are capable of.

For me the idea of time-restricted work emerges from the reality that we do not have infinite time, so we have to make the most of what we do have. The reality of our parents getting older, of real-world deadlines, financial struggles, and competitive work environments all align to resoundingly scream at us that we do not have time. We have to get things done while we can.

This is inherently frightening, and it should be. But really all that we should take away is a realistic sense of urgency. We cannot control what happens. But we absolutely can make things happen if we engage ourselves more deeply, and choose not to waste our time spending 6 months on something we can complete in two.

What really excites me is pace. I like to get things done quickly, because it is more fun. If I have to spend a month on something, working 12 hour days, fine. No problem. Relative to the project, that amount of time is reasonable. I like to see the fruits of my actions. I like to see my projects coming to fruition, and progress excites me. The inherent urgency of life also means that, for me, the faster my progress the more excited I am, and the less stressed I am.

Ironically, this is the result not of doing more things at the same time, but more focused work with greater intensity.

In the end, many of us need to change our perspective. Our time is precious — our most important finite quantity. There are many areas where we don’t have time. Our parents don’t have infinite time, so we need to help them retire as quickly as possible. Our children grow up fast, and so we need to provide their future, because that future is coming quickly. Humanitarian and environmental issues are serious, and need our attention.

We might not have as much time as we think, so do we really have a week to waste on a project that we can actually get done in three days, and do it better? Only you can answer that for yourself, and I know my answer.

But another thing that I know, is that when we ask more of ourselves, we find more.