

Ask Founders: What does your work schedule look like? - roryreiff


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brandonhsiao
From pg's _Maker 's Schedule, Manager's Schedule_:

When we were working on our own startup, back in the 90s, I evolved another
trick for partitioning the day. I used to program from dinner till about 3 am
every day, because at night no one could interrupt me. Then I'd sleep till
about 11 am, and come in and work until dinner on what I called "business
stuff."

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hashtree
I tried all sorts of schedules, time blocking, pomodoro, late, early, long
hours, short hours, seven days a week, five days a week, etc.

Seven years in, I ended up here: working each day, working ONLY when I feel
motivated, studying quite a bit, and not worrying about the hours. I instead
focus on deliverables, being happy/healthy, etc. Oddly enough, I end up
getting more done than when I forced 10/12 hour days of solid work. When I
would force 70+ hour weeks, for years at a time, it was terribly draining.
When I only work when I want, I actually still end up working roughly 60 hours
(I like it, it is fun). However, each day seems like a vacation. Want to do
some open source? Do it. Want to goof off for a while? Do it. Want to get some
work done? Do it.

Works for me at least. I'll do the same routine when I am "retired". :)

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shawnreilly
I have two alternating schedules because I work an Industry Job in addition to
my Project(s). The first half of the week (3-4 days alternating) is dedicated
to my Project(s). I work 10 Hour Days from Home, Lunch Break and all. The last
half of the week (3-4 days alternating) I work my Industry Job, 12 Hour Shifts
(Network Engineer) from 6am to 6pm. I'll usually work an additional 2 Hours on
my Project(s) when I get home. So I'm looking at around 82-86 Hours a Week.
Pretty wild schedule. I'm moving to San Jose soon so this will all change
(finding a new Industry Job and hopefully finding success with some of these
Projects)

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waivej
I try to work no more than 9 hours per day 5 days per week. I schedule blocks
of time on Google calendar and try to be super productive during those blocks
and track the results week to week. (Pomodoro technique, phone won't ring
before 11, etc.)

Usually this means 8-5 with a "go to bed" alarm set 9 hours before I want to
wake up.

It's a daily struggle, but I feel like keeping the balance of time on projects
is key. It's easy for me to fall into a rut and work on one area and neglect
others.

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johncole
For me, it is 6 days per week, starting promptly at 7, ending between 6pm and
11 pm. I found that getting in early I can get organized and drive through
priorities easier. The first two hours are golden, where I am fresh and
focused. I also found after my first startup that regular, patterned, reliable
sleep is incredibly important for your brain and mood. Mood being the biggest
surprise, it matters a lot to the people you work with and customers that
you're not a jerk. Go figure.

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johncole
Also having at least one day off has helped me keep my friends, some sanity,
my hair, and my wife.

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vincie
For me, I cannot yet quit my day job. So everything is done through Basecamp.
There are three people in the team. I am the developer. We have discussions,
work out a to-do and post it on the calendar. When I come home from work I
work on the to-do. I do this from ~6pm to ~10pm, 4 days a week. I work as a
developer at my day job up to 10 hours a day. When I get home I can barely
look at the screen I am so tired. This start-up thing is no fun.

~~~
robodale
You better hope there is a market for your app/SaaS/whatever when you finally
release...just saying.

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rpedela
I try to keep a normal 9-5 work schedule since keeping such a schedule is
overall more productive for me. Sometimes I work on the weekend but usually
just one day unless there is some big deadline. I sometimes go in early like
7am too (I am a morning person).

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argumentum
7 days a week, 12 hours a day. Every other I take a trip (but still bring
along needed tech)

