Mindset
The slow grind I use daily
Sometimes running an online business feels like pushing a truck up a hill. The only thing some people can think about is what if the truck fails and runs over them?
About three months ago, I woke up, got to my desk after doing my morning routine, and by noon, I was totally tired. I'd jumped from one task to the other without a rhythm behind it. If you feel the same way in the afternoon after you've done some major work, it's not because of the amount of work you've completed, it's because of the layout of the work.
I used to always get tired in the afternoon, figuring out what happened, why I was tired. Now I stop working in the afternoon. Yeah, I'm just going to say that straight, I stop working in the afternoon. I realize that working all day doesn't really make me productive. It affects the next day. So I take breaks in the afternoon, and I work majorly in the morning.
The 888 Rule
When I split my work into two, I split my day into three. I work in the morning, I relax in the afternoon, and I sleep in the evening, 8 hours each. If you calculate that, that is 24 hours, which is what we have in a day.
Yeah, I do not really work 8 hours every day. There are some days I work within 4 hours. There are some days I work within 6 hours. At most in a day, I do 8 hours, but most days it's 6 hours. Within these hours of work, I mainly just do the same thing every day because I've split my work into 2 blocks, and the first block is what I mostly repeat. The 2nd time block is dynamic, sometimes it might be different things, but the 1st time block is mostly the same thing.
I wake up by 4:00 AM every day, and I've been doing that for more than a year now. It's been going very well. So in the morning, I just get my work done. Everything I have to do, I get it done in the morning.
A typical successful day for me is getting all my work done by 12:00 PM. It has not always been like that. A few months ago, I always worked till night, sometimes still struggling to get things done by 4 or 6:00 PM. And I'm doing almost more than I used to do then, but I get it done before noon.
In simple terms, there is no magic around this. Before, I used to wonder how people get their work done so quickly and efficiently. Now I know it's just about: first, knowing what you want to do. Second, knowing when you have to do it. Third, doing it. Those are the three steps.
Why I majorly get my work done in the morning, and as focused as I can, is because I know in the afternoon I can have peace to myself, about 6 to 8 hours to do whatever I want. Having friends over or spending time with family is one of the reasons why I get my work done in the morning. After my morning routine, the first thing I do is write my newsletter, because I know that is the most important thing I can do in the day. If I'm done with that, I'm already satisfied with the day.
The Two-Block System
I still remember when my work time used to be scattered all over the place, writing in the afternoon, going to the gym in the morning, and doing laundry at 6:00 AM. Everything was just scattered. I was used to doing the work as it came, just whenever I felt like doing it. I didn't have a rhythm in the way I worked. That is when I changed it. That is when I started getting more done.
Now I split my work into two blocks. The first block is the promotion block, and the second block is the building block.
I use the promotion block for things like writing my newsletter, writing content, reaching out to clients, managing my social media, and anything in that category. I use the building block for things like client projects and personal projects. Most of the time, I spend one to three hours on tasks in this category daily.
The tasks in block one are mostly repeatable tasks I do every day. I just wake up in the morning and get to it. I start doing it in order. When I'm done within the first four hours of work in the morning, I take my lunch, and I take a walk. That is how I come back fully recharged for the next block.
The next block mostly starts around 9:30 AM. This is when I focus on the project, client, or personal, and I make sure I get whatever I want done before 12:30 PM. If I'm not done by then, it moves to the next day. There is always a next day. That is what I've realized after years of having a one-person business.
What It Actually Means
I'm not the kind of person who enjoys working all day, every day, as my life depends on it. I've tried it before, and it's never fulfilled me. I want to have time outside work. I want to have time with friends. I want to enjoy myself outside work every day. I have 24 hours in a day, we all do, and I don't want to spend my 24 hours glued to a screen. I want to be done by the end of the day, and I appreciate the fact that I did things I enjoy outside of work.
When I started doing these splits and focused work, I thought it would slow down my work, or I wouldn't be able to get more done. But after tracking my work for the past few months, I've realized I've been getting more done every day, every week, more than I used to.
I spend 90 minutes in the morning writing my newsletter, and I write newsletters for clients as well, one newsletter per morning. Before, I used to think it was a really major task. It took me about three days to complete a newsletter. Now it takes me 90 minutes in the morning. Nothing changed that much. The only thing I notice that changed is my focus. Now, when I start working, I won't stop until I'm done with a particular task. I just focus on that task without doing anything else.
You can never outperform focused work. Right now, my 2-hour work beats my 8-hour work before. So doing less doesn't mean you are weak, on the contrary, it makes you faster. It makes you see clearly and focus.
Currently, I call my work block the slow grind because right now I'm just slowly getting things done. I wake up, and I slowly go to the bathroom without trying to rush everything. I just focus on one task, get it done, take a break, drink water, come back, and continue working. That is how I work now, and I will encourage you to incorporate any of these into your own lifestyle.
Splitting my day into three and my work into two has helped me go from not knowing what to do, just doing a lot of scattered work during the day, to focused work in the morning and having the afternoon to myself. Which is a very big thing in my life right now. If you stick to it for a year, two years, or 10 years from now, I know you would have gotten a lot done instead of working yourself to death every day, having back pains, and waking up in the morning feeling tired like you don't want to do this anymore.
- Owol
P.S. Try running your day on the 888 split for one week, work in the morning, rest in the afternoon, sleep at night, and see if you get more done than you did before.
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