Working 9 to 5!

Sometimes I hear similar things from a number of clients in quick succession. Lately, many of them tell me they want more time - time for an initiative that would move their business in a new direction, to explore a creative project, or for family, fun, relaxation, or ALL of those things. I want more time, too.

I think we're all longing for spaciousness.

So I devoured Cal Newport's new book Slow Productivity, The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout. I loved his last two books, Deep Work and Digital Minimalism and think Slow Productivity is his best yet. In it, he delivers a manifesto of three core principles - do fewer things, work at a natural pace, and obsess over quality. He provides examples - both current and historical of those who have worked this way and created important work on their terms.

I'll have what they're having.

The book also serves as a guidebook of specific ways to bring these slow productivity principles into your own work. He shares what works for him and others and these examples serve as potential experiments for the reader. They're relevant whether you work in the corporate world or run your own business.

I'm reluctant to dumb down a dense and inspiring book into a couple of bullet points in a newsletter. I'm asking all of my clients to read this book and do experiments in their lives and I hope you do, too!

If you haven't already, why not experiment with setting working hours, like 9-5 and making a firm commitment to when you will start and stop working every day? Resolve to sign off and walk away from the computer or easel or printing press, etc., when quitting time occurs.

Many of us struggle to stop working at a certain time, thinking we can't always get it all done in the time allotted so we'll just have to work longer. And we've learned the hard way that this pace isn't sustainable long-term. Newport reminds us that time constraints lead to innovation, and that feels true to me. Let's find out if it's true for you.

After listening to the book Slow Productivity and Cal Newport's interview on the Rich Roll Podcast, I watched an even deeper-dive conversation between Newport and Andrew Huberman on the Huberman Lab on Youtube. Clocking in at nearly three hours, this one is full of things to experiment with in your work. Let me know what you think, and while you're at it—is it just me, or does Newport look and sound like he could be Jason Bateman's younger brother?

Here's to just being ourselves!