
The problems I am facing with being able to work whenever I want - tosbourn
http://tosbourn.com/2013/12/productivity/the-problems-i-am-facing-with-being-able-to-work-whenever-i-want/
======
martin-adams
I've been working full time for myself for 18 months now and can see some
similarities (and I have been working this weekend despite just moving house
and should be unpacking).

My tips would be the following, but ultimately everyone is different:

\- Don't be afraid of doing a 9-5. If you find that a struggle, it's generally
suggesting that the work isn't engaging enough.

\- Don't work weekends, or at least every weekend. You'll soon start to resent
the personal time lost if ever you felt the need for a career change.

\- Make sure you can get out the house. I rent a desk in a converted chapel in
a cemetery and absolutely love going to work.

\- If you spent time on weekends coding, then it suggests coding is a hobby as
well as a job. You may have side projects or just want to learn something new.
Don't sacrifice this time for your day job. It's probably one of the rare
qualities that actually makes you good at what you do.

\- An hour of work outside of 9-5 is usually preceded with an hour of "I must
sit down and do some work" followed by an hour of "what was it I should do now
that I stopped working" \- so expect a 3 hour mental drain for work during
your time off.

\- Do you want to be doing this in 5 to 10 years time? If not, what do you
want to do instead, then do that.

Your schedule may work for you, but just keep a look out for other areas of
your life being affected and recognise the source. You'll find your fiancee
will probably be the to give you signals.

~~~
tosbourn
Hey Martin, cheers for taking the time to write your thoughts.

Right now I am certainly finding the work more than engaging in fact I kind of
have to force myself to stop working in the evenings at the moment!

The converted chapel sounds pretty cool, do you have any pictures or links?
(Just being nosy!)

I have always considered my work as one big hobby that I am lucky enough to
get paid for.

I love your last line, this is certainly something I want to look out for, and
you are right, my fiancee will certainly give me plenty of signals!!

~~~
martin-adams
That's great you're loving your work. I've had some really good jobs in the
past (IBM, Ericsson), but got a bit bored because it became repetitive or
unchallenging. That I find very tough, but thankfully I now have more than
enough to keep me engaged! We are the lucky few.

As for the Chapel where I work, sure. I don't have any images to hand, but
there are a few already online. Here is painting of the front from one of our
resident artists at the Chapel: [http://pjarvis.co.uk/gallery/128/chapel-
southampton-cemetery...](http://pjarvis.co.uk/gallery/128/chapel-southampton-
cemetery/)

There's only small images of the interior online sadly:
[http://www.londonclancy.com/listing/sao101012-the-chapel-
sou...](http://www.londonclancy.com/listing/sao101012-the-chapel-
southampton/#)
[http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?sa=X&espv=210&es_sm=122&biw=1...](http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?sa=X&espv=210&es_sm=122&biw=1920&bih=954&tbm=isch&tbnid=Is57ftuz3XteeM:&imgrefurl=http://www.ichapel.co.uk/general/calling-
all-creatives/&docid=6vzL2_FvtdhkkM&imgurl=http://www.ichapel.co.uk/wp-
content/uploads/2010/01/chapel.jpg&w=580&h=377&ei=mcuuUvHCLbSM7AafuIGYDw&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:0,s:0,i:83&iact=rc&page=1&tbnh=165&tbnw=270&start=0&ndsp=38&tx=202&ty=89)

~~~
tosbourn
That Chapel looks cool :-D

------
traveller15
Just my 2 cents...

As somebody that spent the past 1.5 year traveling around the world while
working on a bleeding edge software that requires deep mathematical research
and non-trivial integration, I came to the following:

\- dedicate time during the day when you focus solely on the task you need to
solve. Don't allow anything else to interrupt you nor do any interleaving with
other activities. For example, you decide to focus between 7-11am, then do
something else and come back between 3pm-7pm or any other time suitable to
you. Don't slack off when you have to think, manage your weaknesses.

I found that this does wonders to my productivity. Often during the
breaks/sleep I get excellent ideas and have enough power to carry them out. I
also suddenly have a plenty of time when I can focus on my hobbies (a lot of
them), persons I like to be with and on running my own business on the side.

There was some research in Germany comparing the lives of virtuoso pianists
with average ones - the only difference was the virtuosos got completely
immersed in their practice twice a day, whereas the average ones interleaved
all kinds of activities with their practice.

This is coming from a person that prepared some of the most challenging and
business-differentiating algorithms for a start up in the computer graphics
area (mostly advanced geometry, SIGGRAPH Pioneer member), and still manages to
dedicate time to fashion photography, making hyperlapse movies, composing
electronic music, playing piano, fiddling with interesting technology like
drones, writing training materials and e-books, place at the top 1% of
multiple pilot MOOC courses and loves to socialize.

If you need to ask anything, let me know, I would be more than happy explain
to you my recent nomad lifestyle! This is a throwaway account as I don't want
to be easily identifiable ;-)

~~~
tosbourn
Hey anon! Thanks so much for writing this.

I love that research - I think I had heard of it or something similar before,
certainly something I should take on board.

My hope is that a 2 hour time frame should focus me to work on one task, and
if the task is bigger than can be completed in two hours, it probably needs to
be split up anyway.

This comment is a huge inspiration, cheers!

~~~
traveller15
Good luck! 8-)

It's doable - have fun and a superb quality of life! ;-)

------
joshuaellinger
As a person who has employed remote workers both successfully and
unsuccessfully, I'd say that it is really important to have a good
understanding of deliverables and time estimates.

I was really pissed when one guy would blow 5-10 hours on something that he
should have called me about... again and again. I couldn't get it through his
head that remote != uncommunicative.

Basically, my requirements today for remote workers are (1) daily scrums and
(2) bite-size deliverables. Keeps everyone on the same page. The guys that are
good at it deliver x2-3 what I expect so that I am never concerned about hours
worked.

~~~
tosbourn
Hi Joshua, thanks so much for your comment.

I like the idea of bite-size deliverables and I make sure to try and
communicate to the point of almost over communication.

------
ricardobeat
This is not unlike what every freelancer faces. From my own experience,
interleaving work and time off is hard, so don't bet too much on that. It's
way more productive to work 4-6 hours in a row instead of eight hours on and
off.

Most importantly, _do not work on sundays_ as a norm! It will completely wreck
any vestige of being 'off work', and you'll catch yourself on a monday evening
wondering how long has passed since last weekend.

YMMV, I'm sure there are plenty other people here who can give you good
advice. Good luck and congratulations! :)

~~~
tosbourn
Hi Ricardo!

Thanks so much for taking the time to comment.

Very interesting about working Sundays, I guess the reason why I had included
Sunday was because I normally spend at least a few hours coding at the weekend
so it wouldn't be a big transition for me.

------
chrishynes
I've been working remotely with flexible hours for several years now, and I've
come up with a couple things that help maximize productivity:

\- Work in blocks, and don't let email/browsing/meetings interrupt that

\- If you can at all help it, don't check email or have meetings until your
first block of work is done. Getting up and right into work is very productive
and minimizes impulses to procrastinate. If you check email, you get in a
different mind space and can easily start following rabbit trails until you
suddenly realize most of the morning is gone and you haven't done any real
work.

\- I work best early in the morning or late at night

\- Having a specific item in mind is key when starting a block of work. Either
one item that will take the entire period, or a list of smaller things to
knock out.

\- Figuring out what to do should be done at a separate time from actually
doing the work. If you start to work, and then have to figure out tasks, you
tend to procrastinate. If you know what you need to do, you can get in the
zone and just do it. Spending a block on planning also allows you to get in
the zone with that. If you try and context switch back and forth between
planning and doing, you end up being far less productive.

\- A mid-day nap gives my brain time to rejuvenate and get ready for more
work. It also lets me get up early and stay up late (to hit my most productive
times) while still getting enough sleep.

Based on that, my typical schedule has become:

\- Get up early (say 6am) and work until noon in a solid block. That 6 hours
is more productive than an 8 or 10 hour day when you have to go in the office,
since its uninterrupted undistracted work.

\- At noon, take a break, hit the gym, grab lunch, and take a nap

\- After the nap, spend the afternoon catching up on email, integrating with
the team, and polishing off any loose ends from the morning block

\- If I feel I didn't get enough done in the morning block, I've got another
uninterrupted stretch from 8 or 9 until midnight I can spend on work,
research, or hobby coding. At that point, its easy to keep coding -- in fact,
I'll usually have to make an effort to stop myself at 11 or 1130 so I can have
time to relax and read a book, so my brain can calm down and stop coming up
with ideas while I'm trying to sleep.

~~~
twobits
How long is your nap?

~~~
chrishynes
Usually half an hour to an hour. Enough to feel refreshed, but not so much it
goes into the next sleep cycle. Typical siesta:
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siesta](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siesta)

------
andrewcooke
there is an advantage to the traditional approach of fixed times - you are not
giving _everything they can get_ to your employer. and i think that is, simply
because it is how things have always happened, considered fair.

instead, what you seem to be doing is giving as much as possible to your
employer. now it's difficult to separate american / startup culture from
everything else, but it seems to me that is not fair.

you are entitled to a life outside work. and _it doesn 't have to be a second
rate life_. your time isn't yours only when you are exhausted. your time isn't
yours only when you are useless to your employer. it's just, and fair, and
right that sometimes, in your time, you feel smart, and useful. that you have
time to learn, to explore new ideas. and, flip side, it's fair if some of the
time you're paid isn't top time. people are not always at their peak and there
never was any "agreement" that they should be.

so i think, quite seriously, that you're wrong here.

[i work from home, and i start at 9am, take an hour off at lunch and finish at
5 or 5.30, weekdays.]

[edit: ah, ok, sorry i misunderstood.]

~~~
tosbourn
Hey Andrew, thanks so much for commenting.

I actually agree with what you are saying, which may seem at odds to what I
have written, but the idea of big breaks in my day was essentially so that I
could have this 'useful' time to myself throughout the day.

This is something I am going to be tweaking and changing with time so I am
really glad for your input, thanks!

------
damon_c
I have had a long freelance relationship developing for a company that works
9-5.

I usually start the day around when they do, and engage in back and forth
communication throughout the day.

I often find it helpful to disengage around 1-2pm and either go outside, go
the gym, or work on some other project, and I don't come back until after they
have all gone home for the day. Then I get a few more hours of work in before
dinner.

Those uninterrupted hours after 5 are usually the most productive.

~~~
tosbourn
Thanks for taking time out to comment on this, it is very much appreciated!

I love the idea of making yourself available for 9-5 team mates but not
sticking rigidly to their structure.

------
jonathanjaeger
I think a set schedule/routine forces you to get "in the zone." You can veer
off sometimes based on what else is going on in your life, but I feel like a
schedule is still good.

If you take a day or two off from a diet, you're more likely to quit the diet
altogether. If you don't practice your instrument for a day or two, you're
more likely to get rusty as you continue to rationalize skipping days.
Weekends are normal in most work environments, but I wouldn't get too creative
with your schedule.

I like the idea of two hour bursts followed by a break, as many have a hard
time concentrating for more than a couple hours at a time. For coding
specifically, this seems to make sense. With my job, I have to continue to
keep tabs on certain ad campaigns all day long, so this schedule wouldn't make
sense. I think it could be ideal for you. Try it out and adjust as necessary!

~~~
tosbourn
Hey Jonathan, thanks so much for taking the time to comment!

Setting a routine certainly makes sense, I just hope I can stick to it!

------
clarky07
This is a tough one. I quit several years ago to work for myself so I know
what a struggle this can be. I personally can't just sit and code for 8 hours
every day. I'd go nuts. Some days I end up working much more than 8 hours if I
have a lot to do and things are flowing, most I work less though.

Working from X to Y seems silly to me now. I try to set a goal of what I want
to get done that day, and when it's done I'm done. The switching costs are so
high when changing tasks, it rarely makes sense to start something new at the
end of the day. Sometimes I work 2 hours, sometimes 10 hours, most of the time
though it is between 4-6.

All that being said, I'm not accountable to a boss and a paycheck. I didn't do
any work today and yet my stuff is still selling itself.

~~~
tosbourn
Thanks so much for commenting - I think you are right, it should be goal
based, but the reason I have mentioned times in the article is because it is
hard to say to a family member - oh I can do that after I finish x, when they
have no idea what x is or how long it could take.

------
RougeFemme
I think it's best to incorporate your own natural rhythms, to the extent that
you can and still complete your work. You said you can do 6 hours of
concentrated work, so after that, why not take a break for as long as it takes
to refresh and then go back and do anothe hour or two work, on the less
demanding, "administrative" tasks.

By the end of the week, you may find that you don't "need" to work additional
hours on the weekend. . .at least not _every_ weekend.

Also, experiment with the times of day that you are most productive. You may
find that at different times of the day. And remember that you may not always
_need_ 40 hours in a week to feel productive. Other weeks, you may have the
energy, desire and drive to work for 60 hours.

~~~
tosbourn
Hi there, thanks for the comment.

I love the idea about working out my own natural rhythm, this is certainly
something I want to experiment and tweak over time.

------
paul_f
The problem with working at home is not that you never leave home. The problem
is that you never leave the office. Work will consume you, and take over your
life. Take it from someone who knows.

~~~
tosbourn
Thanks so much for the comment Paul, this isn't something I have experienced
yet but I had a feeling that it might be an issue so I have already researched
co-working spaces I could invest in should this become an issue.

------
knodi
Discipline is not something a person is born with it is learned. You my friend
are in the learning phase (which i'm not sure ever stops).

~~~
tosbourn
Thanks for the comment!

I never want to leave the learning phase, it is way too much fun! :-)

------
VLM
My suggestion is four tens or four thirteens or whatever and three day
weekends every weekend. Zero commute time has its privileges. Hard to burn out
with zero commute and three days off. Heck, four sixteens and three days off.

(Follow up edit... I think I would personally drift into something like one
day on, one day off)

~~~
tosbourn
Thanks for the comment!

I have worked 10-16 hour days before and I can say for myself anyway plenty of
time during those days is not as productive as it should be - I don't think
many people could be productive for that length of time with any regularity.

Have you tried this yourself? Would be interested to hear if this works well
for some folk!

~~~
VLM
Well, I agree working doesn't necessarily equal productive for some
definitions of "working" and "productive". I would agree that its tough on a
daily basis to sit down and smash out one task for 16 continuous hours.
However most of my "work" involves the occasional scheduled phone conference
call, unscheduled conferences (aka brainstorming meeting), fire fighting,
administrivia, talking to people, etc. While my coworker smokes approx one
pack per day I'll post on HN for a break, or I'll go on a walk around the
block... Also I cannot code for 11 hours straight, but I can profitably
intersperse unit and performance testing, design and planning work, not to
mention working multiple projects more or less in parallel.

Its sort of like housework or yardwork. Could I dig irrigation ditches /
swales in the garden all day every day? No, that's nuts. But doing a variety
of productive "stuff" for a full day is no big deal at all.

------
Robin_Message
I think a lot of the comments here could be summed with the realisation that a
9-5 job does not provide the employer with anywhere near 40 hours of focused
coding time, so structuring your week to include 36 hours of focused coding
time is beyond what could be reasonably expected.

------
gotwilly
I've found that I am a morning person and that I (thankfully) can remain
engaged and productive for long hours of programming. I usually work from 6am
to 5pm four days a week. This gives me long, relaxing weekends to recharge for
the next week.

~~~
tosbourn
Thanks so much for commenting 6-5 would be too long for me but kudos that you
can do it! :-D

------
tosbourn
I am the author of the blog post, would genuinely love to hear any thoughts or
feedback :-)

~~~
PeterisP
My suggestion would be to try the pomodoro technique [1] and simply try to
complete a budget of X focused 'pomodori' per day/week.

[1]
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pomodoro_Technique)

