Will limiting work to 4 hours/day increase productivity?

I recently listened to the book, Rest, by Alex Soojung-Kim Pang . As promised in my earlier post about this book, here are my thoughts.?

As I mentioned my original post about the book, I’m no fan of hustle culture, which glorifies workaholism, being busy constantly, and working to exhaustion (and doing it publicly so everyone can see just how much you work).?

In hustle culture, the solution to just about any issue is to work harder. Business isn’t growing as fast as you want? Work harder. Want to hit quota? Better work around the clock. Want that promotion? Then you better show everyone that you work more hours than everyone else.?

And sleep? You know the hustle-culture tagline about sleep - I’ll sleep when I’m dead.?

Is it any wonder we’re in the midst of a burnout epidemic in this country?

Ironically, many of us are aware that working past a certain point doesn’t lead to better results. In fact, many of us work ridiculous hours knowing full well there are diminishing returns over time - productivity goes down, quality of work decreases, and mistakes increase.?

In Rest, the author examined this approach of working so many hours and compared it to working less, resting more, and incorporating play into daily life. Spoiler alert - working less and resting more leads to increased productivity and higher quality of work. A key point though is, we’re talking about deliberate rest (more on that below).?

The author relies on neuroscience to back up his claims, which I appreciate. I addition, he mixes in research findings with real world examples of well-known, highly productive people that worked 4 hours/day and incorporated rest and play into their daily lives. For me, hearing so many examples of people I’m familiar with was quite interesting. (NOTE: I’m taking the author at face value. I haven’t validated the claims)

Here are some key takeaways:

Working four hours with focus and intensity is better (more productivity, creativity, etc.) than working eight less-focused (aka, distracted) hours. Although I bet most people agree with this (at least directionally), it seems to be one of those things that’s good for everyone else, just not me.?

Incorporating walks, time in nature, and exercise into your daily life all increase productivity. Anyone that’s worked with me knows that I try to walk everyday. Whether it’s walking alone in nature or walking meetings with coworkers, I’ve experienced first-hand the benefits of incorporating walks into the workday. Walks help me get centered and recharged…especially when walking with people I really like, value, and find stimulating. :-)?

Stopping your work mid-inspiration often increases for creativity. This is one that I didn’t anticipate, but it makes sense. Your brain continues to work actively even while resting. By stopping your work mid-inspiration and engaging in deliberate rest, a walk, or deep play, your brain has the freedom to continue processing the task subconsciously and often comes up with unique answers you don’t get while focusing on the task. If you’re the kind of person that feels guilty taking breaks, keep this finding in mind.?

Deep play, which is any enjoyable activity that immerses the mind and connects us to our past, can provide significant benefit. One example is Winston Churchill who not only took naps everyday during, he painted regularly, all while leading Britain during WWII. Churchill said painting came to his rescue during the darkest times. You can get the benefits of deep play in many ways (any activity that immerses you) such as meditating, running, writing, playing games like chess, rock climbing, and more.?

I found the book enjoyable, interesting, and useful. If you’re a workaholic, feeling overworked, engage in hustle culture, are burned out, or just want to explore new ways to increase your productivity without increasing your work hours, you should give this book a read/listen.?

If you struggle to allow yourself to reduce your work hours - whether because of guilt, social norms, fear, etc - I hope this book gives you a bit of air cover to at least experiment with incorporating rest into your daily life. I already started modifying my work day to improve my focus during work, and increase my deliberate rest/play. I’m hopeful it leads to increased productivity and greater joy.?