{"id":47213,"date":"2017-04-06T19:07:22","date_gmt":"2017-04-07T03:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/?p=47213"},"modified":"2017-05-27T08:45:39","modified_gmt":"2017-05-27T16:45:39","slug":"working-less-will-let-get-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pickthebrain.com\/blog\/working-less-will-let-get-done\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Working Less Will Let You Get More Done"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>

The key to get more done isn’t to slave away for 10 hours a day, it’s to work smarter instead of harder. Working less is one way to working smarter, and here’s why.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Simple Law That Can Revolutionize the Way You Work\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

In school I often procrastinated until the deadline was 45 minutes away. I panicked, worked like a machine and miraculously finished it in time.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I experienced Parkinson’s Law: that work expands to fill the time available for its completion<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have a deadline, you\u2019ll almost always meet it. Parkinson\u2019s Law works because<\/span>\u00a0it forces you to bring more energy, motivation and focus to your work. If you\u2019re close to a deadline, you\u2019ll become a working machine. But if you have all the time in the world, you\u2019ll constantly check Facebook, watch YouTube and do easy work.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If you wait until the last minute, it only takes a minute – Cyril Northcote Parkinson\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Limiting the time you work also<\/span> forces you to focus on your most important tasks.\u00a0<\/span>You would be able to\u00a0fill a 120 hour week with work, because there’s always an infinite amount of things you could be doing. But that doesn\u2019t mean you should.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

How Many Hours a Week Should You Work?\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Cal Newport, the author of <\/span>Deep Work<\/span><\/i>, said that if you study world-class performers in a lot of different fields, none of them practice more than 4 hours a day. The conclusion? Most people can\u2019t sustain more than 4 hours of intense concentration a day.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

All other hours of focus are much less productive. In most work the amount of focus and energy spent is just as important as the time put in.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Studies <\/span><\/a>has shown people are the most productive while working 35 hour weeks. While 60-hour weeks increase your productivity in the short run, after a few weeks you\u2019ll be too fatigued and stressed to do anything efficiently. You have to make room to recharge.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Researchers\u00a0<\/span><\/a>concluded that \u201cat approximately eight 60-hour weeks, the total work done is the same as what would have been done in eight 40-hour weeks.\u201d Another <\/span>study <\/span><\/a>found that productivity \u201cfalls off a cliff after 55 hours\u2014so much that someone who puts in 70 hours produces nothing more with those 15 extra hours.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The Key for Taking Advantage of Working Less\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n

Track how much you\u2019re working.<\/span><\/p>\n

If your goal is\u00a0to spend 35 hours a week, stop when you\u2019ve tracked 35 focused hours. The <\/span>daily <\/span><\/i>limit could be 4 hours, or to never work after noon<\/span>. The time tracking software I use is <\/span>Toggl<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That’s it. Working less makes you more productive by creating a deadline, making you focus on your most important things and letting you recharge. Start tracking your work now, and have a great day!\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Elias Edgren is a writer, productivity geek and addicted to music. Do you want to get more done? How convenient: he has written a free “Cheat Sheet for Extreme Productivity<\/a>“.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The key to get more done isn’t to slave away for 10 hours a day, it’s to work smarter instead of harder. Working less is one way to working smarter, and here’s why.\u00a0 The Simple Law That Can Revolutionize the … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11913,"featured_media":47215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[17,39],"tags":[5697,605,66,4639,4629,4647],"yoast_head":"\nWhy Working Less Will Let You Get More Done<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Working less will let you get more done. 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