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Ben Halpern
Ben Halpern

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What time of day do you get your best work done?

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Chris Achard

Often it's right before bed πŸ€¦β€β™‚οΈ It's kind of a bad habit - I procrastinate during the day, and then smush in a bunch of work late at night. Anyone else do that? Any tips for not doing that? ... I probably just need to say, "no computer after 8" or something :)

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engmms

true

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Franco Donati • Edited

For the timebeing I was able to overcome some procrastination though it comes and goes depending on the time of year, also I think some procrastination may be good. Mind you I suck at self control but this is what worked for me so far:

1) I blocked out all social media. I generated random passwords on all social media accounts and I did not save them. In this way I am not tempted to just have constant quick looks on useless posts. The steps to recover the passwords would make me snap out of it.

2) I like to read the news during the day. So I try to only do it for ~30 minutes when I get to the office and then at lunch time (sometimes I slip though).

3) I try to not think about the things I still have to do and I try to dedicate some time during the day to acknowledge the work I have done instead.

4) At the cost of boredom, I try to avoid having my laptop on most of the evenings in the working week. I know I suck at self control so sometimes I just leave my laptop in my office so I don't even have the option to cheat.

5) My phone is always on silent.Though I have the luxury of not having to work with clients.

6) But the most important thing of all, I stopped guilt-tripping myself for procrastinating. If I am procrastinating systematically there is a reason... I should solve that first if I want to stop doing it. Maybe I don't like a specific task I have to do, or maybe there are too many unknowns or skills I have to learn that it overwhelms me. Either way, if it happens - after the first moment of frustration - I try to stop what I am doing and reason on why I am procrastinating. Often identifying the cause is sufficient to make me stop procrastinate.

This is working pretty ok for me right now also because I throw some flexibility to the rules here and there.

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Chris Achard

I stopped guilt-tripping myself for procrastinating

That's a great point - when I'm procrastinating, it's because I'm avoiding something... what am I avoiding? Answer that question to really increase productivity :)

Thanks for your tips - good things to think about!

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Mik Seljamaa πŸ‡ͺπŸ‡ͺ

yeah, guilt tripping aparently works against actually getting to stop what one is guilty about

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Ben Lovy

If I am procrastinating systematically there is a reason... I should solve that first if I want to stop doing it.

It sounds so simple when stated like this :)

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Chris Achard

Haha... absolutely - easier said than done... (ugh) :)

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Hmmam Babe khuoja

Your self-control strategies are awesome man,
I remember that day when I left my phone on purpose silent at home and went out, but my father tried to call me to ask me to buy him something, and when I didn't answer couple of times he thought there might be something bad did happen the end of the story he went down the streets looking for me πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

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Duc Nguyen

Totally relate to this. I usually have to force myself to work sooner and when I have a break I can do things that I would normally do at the beginning of the evening.

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Saurabh Daware 🌻

2 o'clock in the night 😭🌻

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Gift Egwuenu

Depends for me I am more productive in the early hours of the day. Just after getting out of bed.

I spend most of the day moving around the web without doing much work and then going back into default productive mood at night. Pretty bad routine :(

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Ben Lovy

5:00a, which is frustrating because I rarely want to get up that early, usually pushing it to 5:30 or 6. When I do, though, it's clear-headed, focused productive time. Once the day gets rolling that focus starts getting muddled, and I usually find I can't think as effectively by bed.

I guess that's what introversion is all about - going about my day and interacting with people is a clear energy expenditure, no matter how positive the interactions are.

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Mustafa Anas

Usually my peak I would say is 10PM to 3AM.
Im basically a batman :] but I try to keep my routine healthier so I work during the day as much as I can (still, not productive enough when there;s sun light)

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Jenna King

Oh absolutely in the morning. I get to work at 6:30a and am able to get in the zone easily (well, most days). But the afternoons are a completely different story. I still code, but I try to focus on less complicated stuff or shift to emails/project tracking updates and so on.

It's funny cuz I never was a morning person until I hit my thirties.

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Matthew Daly

It's funny cuz I never was a morning person until I hit my thirties.

As I understand it, this is common. Apparently teenager's body clocks are primed to wake up late and go to bed late, while as we get older they slowly move forward.

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Mike Lockhart

In my (cough 40s) and now I'm definitely a morning person. If I can get a good start by 6 I'll be in the zone about 7 and come up for air and breakfast about 9. I peak between 10-11. When I was in my teens and early twenties I would regularly pull all-nighters though. I think having kids changes your sleep habits a lot too

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Jess Lee

It really really really depends on my mood!

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Robin Kretzschmar

I can totally relate!
Sometimes I am a total night owl and get a ton of work done at night but on other days I'm in the mood the get up early and get things done before everyone else is waking up / comes online.

Also connected to the weather sometimes... sounds crazy but I love to watch thunderstorms and the rain outside and this is the best weather to stay in and take a night shift :)

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Dani Meier

from 5 AM to 7 AM
from 10 PM to 1 AM

... which is a very unhealthy combination πŸ˜‰

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Stefan Dorresteijn

I get most of my work done "Tomorrow" or "Later"

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Donald Feury

Whenever our cats are asleep is my most productive time. It is noticably harder to work with a 15 pound Maine Coon on your lap.

cat

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Holy-Elie ScaΓ―de

Either between 1pm and 4pm or 7pm-midnight

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Dzhavat Ushev

Most days I'm more productive in the morning when my mind is still fresh and sharp. But it depends a lot on the task and the progress made during the first fifteen minutes.

I usually start my tasks with a lot of enthusiasm and motivation. But if for some reason I get stuck on something right from the beginning and need to spend a lot of time researching how to solve it, then the initial enthusiasm kind of wares out and things start to get boring.

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Brad

Whenever I get to work on my own project at the time. Could be early, late, on my lunch break. If what I'm working on is what I want to be working on the sky is the limit :D

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bobbilee

I definitely work best in the morning or after I exercise. Or I guess when my dog is not bothering me to play which is typically from 7-10am and then again from 1-4pm.

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Rachel Soderberg

I am also very productive in the morning. 2-5am seems to be the sweet spot for me, but I rarely ever work during those hours unless I can't sleep. On days I work from home I get up at 4:30 and get straight to work, and it feels wonderful! Perhaps one day I can do that everyday :)