
Jason Fried: The pleasure of an open schedule  - mawhidby
http://37signals.com/svn/posts/2391-the-pleasure-of-an-open-schedule
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dpcan
I can't believe I'm saying this, but I totally agree with Jason on this one.
(I'm usually their devil's advocate)

I had a week vacation in May, and then a long weekend in June where I went out
of town. For the last 2 months, everything I've been doing has been clouded by
a "I'll start on that when I'm back" mindset. I don't know why, I just
couldn't focus on anything new until those vacations were over.

I wish I knew what was happening here on a deeper level. I need to keep this
in mind next time I find myself doing this so I can out-think it and just move
on anyway.

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mburney
I thought that 37 Signals argued that constraints are good because they force
you to be efficient. Can't a busy schedule with a lot of traveling be
considered the same way?

~~~
RyanMcGreal
Constraints != interruptions.

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bvanevery
Perhaps it is not so much the case of traveling, but the case of high level
context switching. What does "productive" mean to you? If you don't regard
public engagements as productive, then I would agree that traveling for them
is very unproductive! Otherwise, doing so could be viewed in the same way as a
person who runs two types of businesses (e.g. a restaurant and a software
shop) in which case switching between those responsibilities takes a lot of
start-up time. I'd therefore agree with mburney's comment above that being
aware of those constraints should force you to be more efficient.

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kadavy
I don't do near as much traveling as Jason Fried; but I personally find travel
to be a refreshing interruption that is usually followed by a new perspective
toward my work.

I'm always full of ideas after SXSW, for example.

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antidaily
summary: traveling every week makes you less productive.

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tjmaxal
What about the biggest and most regular productivity killer of all? Weekends.

Should we get rid of them?

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jamii
When I was doing freelance work I worked for ~4 hours every day of the week. I
got much more work done that way than doing 9-5 Mon-Fri even though I was
working less hours in total. Its a much easier rhythm to get into and you get
to skip those unproductive hours spent just waiting for the clock.

~~~
billswift
This works especially well when you are doing creative work. Come in and do at
least some work every single day you possibly can. You don't have to do a lot
of work every day, but try to stop at a natural stopping point.

My theory is that by working every day you keep the work current and churning
in the back of your mind; while by working to a natural stopping point, you
avoid feeling frustrated by loose ends.

