Why I work 6am to 1pm

Let's rethink the way we work.

Time to read: 2 mins & 39 seconds — 597 words. Written by Joseph Pack.

In July, I started a new experiment. 

What are the optimum work hours for me to do my best work?

Granted, this is a luxury of being self-employed. 

But, nevertheless, I felt it important to write about because it’s further evidence that we don’t fit into a predefined box of 9 til 5, 40-hour weeks.

How it started: I noticed that I’m useless past 2pm. 

2pm to 5pm = one long procrastination session.

I spent it devising new ways to pass the time without being ratted out. 

Working from client offices, as a consultant, was excruciating. By lunchtime, I’d already completed a full day of work.

The traditional 9 to 5 workday is barbaric — we spend all morning getting ready for work.

Then we commute, with all the added stress and anxiety that brings. 

Next, we suffer an 8-hour workday, when surely fewer hours would suit us all. 

Then we crawl home, often arriving back sometime between 6pm and 7pm. Meaning we only get a minuscule drop of personal time after eating dinner, showering, exercising, and whatever else we must do. 

They say work takes up one third of our lives. Yet, in reality, and without the luxury of additional pay it destroys another third. 

And you know what the final third is supposed to be for? Sleep! 

Barbaric. 

As I said, I can’t work past 2pm.

But working 9am to 2pm, isn’t enough time to get done what I need to.

I love working. But having burned out in the past, I want to avoid that at all costs. One way to do that is to not work when my energy is low.

So I paid close attention to when my energy is high.

Turns out, it’s early in the morning. At 6am, my mind is quiet. My creativity is high. My energy is high. And I can get a lot done with a fraction of the effort it takes in the afternoon.

So I started working from 6am to see how it felt.

It felt good.

Perhaps 6am to 2pm is my perfect working day?

So I tried it. But it just felt too long. Waking up before 6am means I’m ready to rest by 2pm. So I shortened my work day by one hour to finish at 1pm.

So far, aside from a few hiccups with Ronnie waking up at 1am (as I explained last week) it’s going very well.

I get a full day of work in before 1pm. Leaving the afternoon free to spend with family, read, exercise, etc.

Feels like I’m taking half my life back without sacrificing any productivity. In fact, I’m A LOT more productive.

• Is your working schedule working for you?

• If not, how could it be improved?

• Are you stuck in a traditional working structure without a way out?

How about experimenting with other ways of working and then proving to your boss (or yourself) that you can be more effective working differently?

There are many options.

If you work a 9 to 5 but want out. Perhaps that’s your plan. It might take 2 years. But at least you have something to aim for.

Personally, I’d rather take less money and work the way I work best, than sacrifice my life in return for a larger pay check to buy stuff I don’t want to impress people I don’t like.

But that’s my personal choice.

You do you.