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Budi Tanrim (buditanrim.co)
Budi Tanrim (buditanrim.co)

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I've been trying Haruki Murakami's routine (Wake up at 4 am to get 6 hours of deep work)

Hi everyone,

I quit my job last year to build my own online business. The problem is that I usually work from 9 am to 4 pm. I feel I have no life :D

Since I work for myself, I need to push myself and work hard. However, I end up feeling tired and unable to exercise and do other things.

Then I stumbled upon Haruki Murakami’s schedule.

Image description
He wakes up at 4 am and does deep work for 8 hours.

I've tried it for a week. It's been amazing. After lunch, I can stop thinking about work. If needed, I do another 2 focus hours in the evening.

My schedule looks like this:

  • 4 am: wake up
  • 4.30 am - 12 am: deep work,
  • Use Pomodoro 1 hour focus and 10 min break
  • 12 pm - 1 pm: lunch and break
  • 2 pm: exercise
  • 3 pm - 6 pm: read, walk, chill
  • 8 pm: go to bed and try to sleep

My favorite thing is that I can have life outside of my work.
I wonder if anyone has done this and wants to exchange some suggestions. Or, if you are considering this routine, feel free to ask questions.

If you're interested in building the same routine. You can join my live stream session: https://youtube.com/live/slwvDGYwXBQ?feature=share

Top comments (3)

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mistval profile image
Randall

I really like the idea of waking up super early, but haven't been able to sleep well while doing it. I've found that I need to go to bed after 9:30 or I'm much more likely to wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to fall back asleep. I tried going to bed at 9:00 for a while but never got used to it. Seems like my body likes to go to sleep at 9:45.

Ending work at noon wouldn't work for me at the moment, since that's when most of my colleagues are coming online and flooding my Slack DMs. But I might give it another try if I have more flexible work hours in the future.

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buditanrim profile image
Budi Tanrim (buditanrim.co)

I totally hear you. My body is still adjusting so far. Try to sleep at 9:00 but sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night. Keep it up @mistval

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azophy profile image
Abdurrahman Shofy Adianto

this sound really interesting. however this schedule would be really challenging for someone with family (especially if they have children), as morning is usually the time to take core of house chores or the kids. sure you could move the time into later of the day, but it may not be possible for many people.