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Comment by JacobAldridge | Hacker News Reader

If I told you that every car needed 8 gallons of gas to drive 100 miles, you'd point out I was wrong - so many different makes and models, not to mention variables from tire pressure to driving style.

Yet for the potentially even more complex range that is different people, it amazes me that so much of the advice is didactic - we all need 8 hours sleep, 8 glasses of water, and 8 hours of work with breaks is optimal.

The closest I get to advice is 'learn your body and what works for you'. Thanks to the OP for sharing what works for him.

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This is one of my gripes about working in an office. More often than not I cannot work continuously from 9-5, and end up wasting time just trying to get myself back into working mode - which usually descends into browsing HN/Reddit/etc or just working half as effectively as I usually do.

When I work remotely and have freedom over my time, I can take a few hours off to go for a walk, sleep, go for a long lunch, meet friends, or even play games. Afterwards I feel recharged and can be 110% productive, and usually end up working more hours than I would in an office.

I did this for a lot of last year, as I needed to overlap with teams in India and PST, so I usually worked 10am - 10pm taking a few hours off in the afternoon. I was able to get so much more done because of that extended break.

> I usually worked 10am - 10pm taking a few hours off in the afternoon. I was able to get so much more done because of that extended break.

I did this off and on for about 6 months, pretty much by accident: When I worked from home, I wandered in and out of my responsibilities all day, so I couldn't get my work done until probably 9 or 9:30 at night. I was absolutely miserable, and I think the case would be the same if I tried it again, albeit more mindfully.

In theory, being able to take breaks helps me clear my head. In reality, though, I find my brain interprets "It's 10 pm and I just finished work" the same way whether I worked straight through from 9 am or took a 3-hour break in the afternoon. I hate it.

A friend at work prefer to stay at work incontrolably doozing rather than taking a cut, because "that's not proper", even though he will spend that time on reddit, self loathing, doubling the negative effect.

That sounds like the typical Japanese salaryman lifestyle, from what I've heard...

Joel Splosky chatting about HN/Reddit vs in the zone https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF8ZVB-v3IM&feature=youtu.be...

I agree with your point, one size certainly doesn't fit all. However, people should also be aware that they are not special snowflakes and there large groups of people who have the same tendencies and benefit from the same advice.

Therefore, even though I appreciate that this isn't a solution for everyone, I don't think it's fair to say that this boils down to just a personal experience with no external value.

I think maybe the larger lesson is to timebox work so that it's not overwhelming. This can tend to reduce procrastination and time-wasting distractions in some people, as it's less intimidating to start a three hour work session than an all-day one, and easier to stay focused with a clear ending time already known. Whether that's three hours, or four, or two sets of two hours, maybe is less important.

"and 8 hours of work with breaks is optimal."

8 hour of work is 24/3. That is a turn in a factory. It have nothing to do with 'optimal', at least that we are talking optimal for the factory.

More specifically, it was arrived at as a target for labour rights campaigners after the 10 hour day had started becoming common. Owen formulated the famous "eight hours labour, eight hours recreation, eight hours rest" slogan in 1817, but it took half a century for the 8 hours day even to become the main goal for labour organizations most places (because they were still fighting for the 10 hour day, or even the 12 hour day), and it took more than a century from Owen's slogan for the 8 hour day to become widespread.

Since then labour organizations in many countries have set goals for shorter work days, and many countries have seen the work days shortened further to various extent, but given how long the fight for the 8 hour day took, we can expect it to take a long time.

But as you say, it has absolutely nothing to do with 'optimal'.

Now it's more 10 hours work, 2 hours commute, 5 hours recreation (read: cooking, cleaning), 7 hours sleep

This reminds me of 7 minute abs:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JB2di69FmhE

I agree with what you're saying, which is also why I think the title of the blog post should really be: "I work for only 3 hours a day, but everyday". It's less of a command or suggestion and more an expression of what works for him.

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