Success is Timing

It’s not how long you work, but WHEN you work that determines your success:

Entrepreneurs often work long hours. Work weeks of 60 hours are the rule rather than the exception. The thinking is often: the more hours, the more success.

But that’s not true.

Successful entrepreneurs have learned that many hours often means less success.

What does matter is the timing of the hours and not the number of hours.

Let me explain:

Every person has a biological clock and that clock determines when in the day you are most productive. Those top hours you need to grab, in those hours you actually need to do your most important work.

So how do you know when your top hours are?

I have these five steps for that:

1.      Are you an evening person or a morning person? Most people know what they are. Don’t know? Then think about what your day looks like in the second week of your vacation. Do you do things in the morning or prefer the evening?

2.      How old are you? or more precisely, are you older or younger than 45? As you get older your top hours shift to earlier in the day.

3.      You now have four quadrants if you take the axes: morning versus evening person and the axis: younger or older than 45. In one of these four quadrants, you are in. And each quadrant has an hour U, the start time of the day.

Morning human and over 45: hour U is 7 o’clock

Evening human and over 45: hour U is 9 o’clock

Morning human and under 45: hour U is 8 o’clock

Evening human and older than 45: hour U is 10

Can you still follow it? Then we are going to add something now:

4. Each day you are now going to divide into 4 blocks of 90 minutes each. There should be at least 30 minutes between the blocks. And block 1 starts at your hour U.

Take me: morning person and older than 45 (really!): hour U is 7 am.

Block 1 with me runs from 7:00-8:30 a.m.
Block 2 I can have it start from 9:00 am (may be later). For now: 9.00-1030
Block 3: 11.30-13 hours
Ample lunch break (love it)
Block 4: 15.16.30 hours
After that, it’s over for me: then drink time starts.

5. Now you start prioritizing your blocks. The block you know is your best block gets number A, the block you know is not your top time gets number D. And so on with B and C.
Now comes the most important factor:
You are going to match your work with the blocks. So your most important work you do in block A. In those 90 minutes, you peak and ensure success.
In the same way, you set up blocks B, C, and D.
Block D you fill with less important things like reading and answering mail, small talk conversations, etc.
Accustom yourself to working blocks of 90 minutes.
Take real breaks between blocks (at least 30 minutes and preferably outside).
Plan especially your digital work (mail, phone, social media, etc.) in block D.
And always schedule important conversations in block A.
It takes some getting used to, but it is guaranteed to make you more successful.
Work 4 times 90 minutes each day, 1 of which you get to loaf around, and everything will improve!

Enjoy 2024.