Inspiring article. I need to stop eating my meals infront of the PC and get out more :P
Brett McKay
· 1 year ago
Excellent post Albert! Kant was also a big time walker. He left at the same time everyday. In fact, he was so mechanical about his daily walks, some people in the small village he lived in actually kept track of time based on what time he left for his walk.
Dave Bullock
· 1 year ago
Great tips. I've been trying many of these without even realizing many great thinkers and doers did them.
=]
Hamilton
· 1 year ago
Great post on how to focus throughout the day! It is said that the variety Churchill speaks of is what inspired many geniuses. In fact, several great inventions were the result of a fusion of ideas from two very different fields.
Brett, The old joke about Kant is that he was only late for his afternoon walk twice: once when his mother died and the the second time when he died himself!
Last night I stumbled on a description of Roald Dahl's working day. More of the same: He woke up and had breakfast and worked a morning session from 10.30 to 12 noon.
Then it would be time for lunch, a drink and a nap. And then a second round of work from 4-6pm.
ducksixty
· 1 year ago
These are great, and perhaps one can infer answers for my questions from them, but they leave me asking: where's the time for relationships and other people? Not just observing, like Hugo on his bus, but interaction. I can't get on with my own schedule unless I join my kids' worlds at least daily... And heaven knows my marriage requires that time.
What defines 'History's Greatest?' I'm not well-schooled, but might not Karl Marx say the collective working man, living man, loving man, the proletariat who break bread nightly with their loved ones the real center of our history?
You mention Nietzsche here. How about entertaining other bits of his thought: You've got a lot of Apollos here; where are the Dionysians?
Albert@Headspace (http://thou
· 1 year ago
ducksixty,
Those longs breaks and short working days are designed to leave space for other things such as family and friends.
They also leave space for the chaos that allows us to give birth to a dancing star (as Nietzsche would have it).
I take the point about the definition of "history's finest". But I do think we have a few things to learn from these people, n'est ce pas?
LivSimpl
· 1 year ago
A wonderful post! Wish I could say more, but it's time for bed so I can get up early tomorrow. :)
Kalyan Banerjee
· 1 year ago
Good points, but the key to it is implementation. I guess, 3 pm walks wont suit most of the office-goers. But yes, waking up early certainly would. Traditionally, I've been late riser but am trying to wake up early these days. Keeps me fresh. Steve Pavlina's site is really helpful in this context.
Albert@Headspace (http://thou
· 1 year ago
Kalyan,
I agree with your point about implementation.
What I wonder about is when we reach the point where we look at the office set-up and its schedules and start making some changes there?
Surely the hours of wasted time, stress and heart attacks aren't practical either?
Thank you also for the lead to Steve Pavlina. His site looks excellent.
Eva
· 1 year ago
This is a great post! And, actually, one that is very timely in my life. I have found myself trying to schedule every minute of my day and it has been driving me crazy, especially since I have been working hard on being a little more relaxed.
I hate to admit it, but at the moment I'm routinely breaking about 7 of these. The one thing I'll see is that I have a plan to change that pattern by the end of May.
Seems to me that the obvious key is being able to figure out how to make a whole lot more money in a whole lot less time.
Sara
· 1 year ago
Hi I agree to this point "8. Take time to relax". We need time to relax or we will end up some where.
Al Gore? Does he really qualify as one of History's Finest?
ringlerun
· 1 year ago
ah, all ye sheep... listen, don't question... just follow, just also remember that you will not become a leader by not applying your own brain!
i think there is a lot of merit to what is being said... the examples given are great, but anything can find a topic and then find 10 famous people who can be shown to have been following an example of that topic in a particular way.
lies, damned lies and statistics!
notice the presence of only artie-fartie people on the list... no scientists... einstein used to work through the night...
its horses for courses my friend, and when the article is portrayed as a universal truth rather than "what might work for you, or what works for me", it becomes propoganda!
Arasmus
· 1 year ago
The collective import of these observations is that these guys did very little work period, but the work they did do had great impact. This leads me to think of two reasons why maybe these rules do not apply to use today: (1) some of these guys (like Beethoven) lived at a time in which the general level of literacy (and therefore intellectual competition) was fairly low, (2) some of these guys (like Winston Churchill) got their positions in society because of the class into which they were born rather than by scaling the meritocratic heights. Perhaps basic competence was sufficient for those placed so highly by birth alone.
ringlerun
· 1 year ago
hear ye, arasmus, hear ye! well said.
Phil
· 1 year ago
They also didn't have the internet to fritter away their time nor did they have TVs on in the background. How many had telephones ringing endlessly or all that e-mail to sift through?
The Nadir
· 1 year ago
So ... Great post for someone who is independently wealthy and barely employed.
I love the comment above: "I'm a writer; this is beautiful."
Yeah. I'm sure you are; I'm sure it is.
I'm a production assistant; this is crap.
Kris
· 1 year ago
Al Gore?
Alan Greenspan?
Hmmmm...
Dean
· 1 year ago
Thomas Edison of course was known for working 20 hour days and sleeping 3 hours a night.
ben
· 1 year ago
Arasmus: are you suggesting that Winston Churchill was only basically competent? The last time I checked, Churchill was one of the most-respected (and, in my opinion, deservedly so) political leaders of the last century.
Arasmus
· 1 year ago
Ben - you may already know this but check out Churchill's handling of the Gallipoli campaign in World War One - often described as one of the greatest disasters of World War I. My vote for greatest political leader of the last century would go to Gandhi - but he too, as for most leaders in the last century, was born to comfort.
Rebecca
· 1 year ago
Nice post.
ringlerun
· 1 year ago
Arasmus, he might have been born to comfort, but he certainly did not stay in it - he did take substantial personal risks, more so than any person is willing to take today (no matter what circumstance they are in). Gandhi was a great guy and does deserve high praise, but having said that, the other side of his story is often left untold - the part where he did talk to his son till death because his son married "out of caste"!
Some of the people on the list are great... but most were born to a privilege that gave them that opportunity - money begets money type of thing!
Nothing wrong in being born into comfort i guess... i mean, not like you choose, but don't use those people as examples to those who might not have been born of high stature.
3thelement
· 1 year ago
hey, this article seem doesn't work for me as industrial slave in this 3rd development country. In this country you have to either work hard for 10 hours a day or get fired
Saleem
· 1 year ago
Do you have a link to the original Churchill quote about the mind needing variety? Was digging around and had trouble finding it.
rob
· 1 year ago
Maybe you've got this the wrong way round - perhaps all these people could afford such leisurely working habits *because* they were incredibly talented?
ringlerun
· 1 year ago
right for some people rob... but most of the ones listed were *born* into the lap of luxury
sameer gupta
· 1 year ago
I don't agree. Do you really think Churchill worked so less before he bacame Churchill?
i do not agree that you can succeed only by working 5 or may be 6 hours a day. Plus, those were different times and it is so competitive these days.
These extra-oridnary league of men who worked for so little time per day, could actually afford to do so only because they had made themselves rich & famous.
David Saliba
· 1 year ago
Great stuff.. How would employers react if these things become laws ?
I think it's a great indication of how our brain is .. when you try too hard to do something it blocks you..
Thanks ..
Cfer
· 1 year ago
I agree with some of the comments on here about this being a different era.
I would LOVE to be able to have those kinds of working hours and such, but in today's work environment I just don't see that as possible, unless you're good enough to be self-employed. Most of them were either in creative arts or were self-employed or both. And in that kind of situation you have a little more leniency with your schedule.
My job as an applications developer for a medium-sized company means I cannot employ this kind of schedule. They would just go out and find someone else if I started working on schedules like those mentioned in the article had.
It's all about productivity, profit and bottom line these days. Not about staff and employee relationships.
Bill Jones
· 1 year ago
Good story until you threw in Al Gore's name. How do you justify putting him in this group of great thinkers, artists, leaders, and scientists? Al is a liar and soon to be proved a fraud.
michael bierbaum
· 1 year ago
Is this like Aspberger's? Kind of sounds like it...
Sangesh
· 1 year ago
Excellent post! I loved it.
michael bierbaum
· 1 year ago
Al Gore is not a liar. Rosina M. Bierbaum has her doctorate in Marine Biology, worked for Al Gore for 8 years in the White House, went to Oslo for his Nobel Peace prize, and now is Dean of Natural Resources at U of M in Ann Arbor.
Ben Overmyer
· 1 year ago
I am a web developer for a large contractor to the US government. I have some of the leniency described herein.
Certainly, we are encouraged to take regular walks and the occasional extended break.
Tim Ferriss (of Four Hour Workweek fame) works four or less hours per week, and still manages to pull five figures a month. This kind of productivity scheme is certainly possible, but it requires a number of factors to be in place before it will work.
Being self-employed tends to be MORE work than a 9-5. Owning a company, on the other hand, is less work. The art of delegation and outsourcing to free up the most important currency - time - is supremely important to this concept.
Were I to venture a guess, I'd say that only some people are suited to this lifestyle. Most aren't interested in, capable of, or qualified for the occupations that allow this.
That, at least, is my observation.
grifo
· 1 year ago
leta, leta...
la chuleta
ohmygod
· 1 year ago
AL Gore!? History's finest!? Ha ha ha ha!!!
Sally J.
· 1 year ago
Many lived in a different era - did Beethoven have electric lights to work with at night - nah. That´s why he worked in the morning. (Sure, they had candles, but you ever try working by candlelight.)
And Churchill only worked in the morning? I doubt it - the man was Prime Minister of England for a while, plus worked in Parliament before that. Did all of the British govt. take off at noon?
And I surely would not include Al Gore with this group of talented intellectuals.
Dan The Man
· 1 year ago
Even on a super busy workday I take many breaks. I think most people do, although they don't like to admit it, and there is this weird sense that waking up early is somehow superior...but I've never agreed with that. It annoys me that the old school work mentality insists I spend 8 hours at my desk...no way! Once I have proven myself at a job, I'm taking walks, spending more time chatting with other employees...even sleeping under my desk. No one cares, if you keep producing great work! And I think you're more likely to produce great work if you're taking breaks and getting your quiet time...Zzzzzzzzzz... :)
G
· 1 year ago
How did Gore's name work its way into this piece? The others are generally acknowledged greats, but Gore?
JJB
· 1 year ago
I agree with G. Al Gore's name belongs along side the names of these others only in Al's own mind. Grouping him with the others is like grouping SPAM (the meat-like stuff in a can) with prime rib or filet mignon.
Ryan
· 1 year ago
I'm surprised that Thomas Jefferson hasn't been mentioned. From a productivity standpoint, many of his methods are quite remarkable. For instance, he developed a revolving stand to hold several books open at once (tabbed browsing, anyone?) and his time spent away from his desk and in his garden yielded some of his more creative solutions in agronomics. Not only did Jefferson manage to be effective, but improving his personal productivity was one of his lifetime goals.
wbrproductions
· 1 year ago
I like to get up early so I have plenty of time to rummage thru Google's dumpsters for unwanted c-notes. Then, if I find one, I get rip-roaring drunk like Beethoven did. Does this count as down-time?
Bernd
· 1 year ago
@Ryan:
I would like very much to learn more about Jefferson's productivity methods. Any pointers?
Ryan
· 1 year ago
@Bernd: Much of my [limited] knowledge on Jefferson's productivity comes from site visits to Monticello and my readings, but unfortunately, I can find very little online. I found this informative thread on 43Folders (http://www.43folders.com/2005/08/11/ye-olde-hip...) - it looks like Jefferson even carried a Hipster PDA! A post here makes a reference to his "turntable writing box". Perhaps this design is similar to the book stand? An interesting topic indeed!
John
· 1 year ago
The list of inteligent greats and their habits is quite intriguing. But how does Al Gore end up in #10? Runs in the afternoon?? - he is a fat as a house and his global warming scam certainly proves he is a non-thinker!
Ian
· 1 year ago
Arasmus, let me guess your an Aussie? You have to be to be banging on about Gallipoli..
Churchill was an insomniac thats why he did nothing between noon and 11 at night. But he was the greatest political leader of the last century alongside Rosevelt.
Pablo Barrientos
· 1 year ago
Thanks for sharing these information. They all help to organize our time and achieve the goals we have set.-
Dan
· 1 year ago
Chicken Little runs in the afternoon - remind me not to run in the afternoon anymore - I might end up believing all sorts of things...
I mean that is proof - running in the afternoon makes your brain soft - correlation = causation right?
Zeus
· 1 year ago
Wait, Leo at Zenhabits is one of "History's Finest"?
If you say so.
Mohan
· 1 year ago
Good one!
Jorge
· 1 year ago
Have you noticed that those guys lived in an era where aristocracy was more important than everything. In the 21'st Century companies are groing faster than ever. Why because there is work time in it. If we sleep our company is going to be eaten bye others. Beethoven, Nietsche, Churchil were unique people, and their products (or work in Churchil's case) were unique, that is what took them to success, after success they could take all the breaks they wanted to have. Before that Beethoven was working as a child to be "like Mozart" and he would spend hours and hours trying to be like him, "because Mozart at age 4 had compossed his first symphony", so the point is, all those guys had a privilege to rest all the time they wanted to, because they worked very hard studying and working to be recognized. I dont mind telling you all that I would like to work less than 12 hours a day, but if I do, it will be reflected on my area's productivity.
Regards
wonky donky
· 1 year ago
Gore is a Self-Important Poser Tool and will soon be having an affair with Silda Spitzer, once he finishes inventing the internet.
It is obvious from these comments that what may be right for on person may be wrong for another. I personally love my work and enjoy long hours. I am also in start-up mode on a business project and that means it is time for me to honker down. Maybe in a few years I will work less.
jack
· 1 year ago
I appreciate some of these insights, especially the inclusion of Beethoven (one of my personal heroes). However, it is interesting that the list is entirely composed of men, and all of them except two white Westerners. A rather narrow view of "history's finest," don't you think?
maldita
· 1 year ago
I refuse to work beyond what was required unless the deadline can not be postponed and the report is immediately required.
Beyond that I ask for additional compensation for overtime work.
syra
· 1 year ago
There are some other fine men who did work for long hours and didn't complain, since their work was their passion. For them going to work was going to love and they never got tired of it.
Syra
· 1 year ago
so not working for long hours can not be generalized as a fine men trait =)
Some of the points are good and real but some are not that much, and very difficult to follow.
Hustle Strategy
· 1 year ago
Very interesting advice and strategy for the work day.
Ryan
· 1 year ago
Al Gore walks? Wow I would never imagine he actually uses his body for more then propaganda. What would "they" think if he passes gas during one of his "walks". Wouldn't that add to global warming?
Koen
· 1 year ago
Really some true things in there, but you shouldn't just do things because 'the great' did it. You should do it because it makes you feel better.
Kaila
· 1 year ago
I wouldn't call Al Gore one of history's finest... but there are some good points here.
p
· 1 year ago
Interesting article. Summed up in finding that sweet zone between lazy and workaholic.
I like how it stresses having variety in ones day, which is completely counter-intuitive to a lot of peoples definitions of focus.
Heard it before, that and active mind is a productive mind.
Seduction
· 1 year ago
Very interesting points. Basically: moderation.
NI
· 1 year ago
We have a replica of the Thomas Jefferson Revolving Bookstand available. There is a video of it here:
Franklin was no early riser. He was known to sleep until noon regularly.
You should read John Adam's journals. He was infuriated by Franklin's "slovenly" habits. He described being mortified that on an average day he would have already completed an entire volume of paperwork before Franklin got up and came to sign documents in the afternoon. The whole "early to rise" bit was just what Franklin said, not what he actually did.
Chadaa
· 1 year ago
Bhais ki tang. (Buffalo's leg)
GodMode
· 1 year ago
This is a great article..
If anything increases productivity then certainly I would agree with it. And if it has a proven record then why not follow it.
All Comments
This site is interesting, could you plz advise on my site on how to write it more powerfully.
http://spiritualfacts.blogspot.com/
Maxx
=]
Thanks for the great food for thought!
http://no-effort-money.blogspot.com/
Last night I stumbled on a description of Roald Dahl's working day. More of the same:
He woke up and had breakfast and worked a morning session from 10.30 to 12 noon.
Then it would be time for lunch, a drink and a nap. And then a second round of work from 4-6pm.
What defines 'History's Greatest?' I'm not well-schooled, but might not Karl Marx say the collective working man, living man, loving man, the proletariat who break bread nightly with their loved ones the real center of our history?
You mention Nietzsche here. How about entertaining other bits of his thought: You've got a lot of Apollos here; where are the Dionysians?
Those longs breaks and short working days are designed to leave space for other things such as family and friends.
They also leave space for the chaos that allows us to give birth to a dancing star (as Nietzsche would have it).
I take the point about the definition of "history's finest". But I do think we have a few things to learn from these people, n'est ce pas?
I agree with your point about implementation.
What I wonder about is when we reach the point where we look at the office set-up and its schedules and start making some changes there?
Surely the hours of wasted time, stress and heart attacks aren't practical either?
Thank you also for the lead to Steve Pavlina. His site looks excellent.
-Eva
www.evaisawriter.com
Seems to me that the obvious key is being able to figure out how to make a whole lot more money in a whole lot less time.
I agree to this point "8. Take time to relax". We need time to relax or we will end up some where.
You can check my ideas over here..
http://spiritualfacts.blogspot.com/
-Sara
Best Wishes,
D4L
i think there is a lot of merit to what is being said... the examples given are great, but anything can find a topic and then find 10 famous people who can be shown to have been following an example of that topic in a particular way.
lies, damned lies and statistics!
notice the presence of only artie-fartie people on the list... no scientists... einstein used to work through the night...
its horses for courses my friend, and when the article is portrayed as a universal truth rather than "what might work for you, or what works for me", it becomes propoganda!
I love the comment above:
"I'm a writer; this is beautiful."
Yeah. I'm sure you are; I'm sure it is.
I'm a production assistant; this is crap.
Alan Greenspan?
Hmmmm...
Some of the people on the list are great... but most were born to a privilege that gave them that opportunity - money begets money type of thing!
Nothing wrong in being born into comfort i guess... i mean, not like you choose, but don't use those people as examples to those who might not have been born of high stature.
i do not agree that you can succeed only by working 5 or may be 6 hours a day. Plus, those were different times and it is so competitive these days.
These extra-oridnary league of men who worked for so little time per day, could actually afford to do so only because they had made themselves rich & famous.
How would employers react if these things become laws ?
I think it's a great indication of how our brain is .. when you try too hard to do something it blocks you..
Thanks ..
I would LOVE to be able to have those kinds of working hours and such, but in today's work environment I just don't see that as possible, unless you're good enough to be self-employed. Most of them were either in creative arts or were self-employed or both. And in that kind of situation you have a little more leniency with your schedule.
My job as an applications developer for a medium-sized company means I cannot employ this kind of schedule. They would just go out and find someone else if I started working on schedules like those mentioned in the article had.
It's all about productivity, profit and bottom line these days. Not about staff and employee relationships.
Certainly, we are encouraged to take regular walks and the occasional extended break.
Tim Ferriss (of Four Hour Workweek fame) works four or less hours per week, and still manages to pull five figures a month. This kind of productivity scheme is certainly possible, but it requires a number of factors to be in place before it will work.
Being self-employed tends to be MORE work than a 9-5. Owning a company, on the other hand, is less work. The art of delegation and outsourcing to free up the most important currency - time - is supremely important to this concept.
Were I to venture a guess, I'd say that only some people are suited to this lifestyle. Most aren't interested in, capable of, or qualified for the occupations that allow this.
That, at least, is my observation.
la chuleta
And Churchill only worked in the morning? I doubt it - the man was Prime Minister of England for a while, plus worked in Parliament before that. Did all of the British govt. take off at noon?
And I surely would not include Al Gore with this group of talented intellectuals.
I would like very much to learn more about Jefferson's productivity methods. Any pointers?
Much of my [limited] knowledge on Jefferson's productivity comes from site visits to Monticello and my readings, but unfortunately, I can find very little online. I found this informative thread on 43Folders (http://www.43folders.com/2005/08/11/ye-olde-hip...) - it looks like Jefferson even carried a Hipster PDA! A post here makes a reference to his "turntable writing box". Perhaps this design is similar to the book stand? An interesting topic indeed!
But how does Al Gore end up in #10?
Runs in the afternoon?? - he is a fat as a house and his global warming scam certainly proves he is a non-thinker!
Churchill was an insomniac thats why he did nothing between noon and 11 at night. But he was the greatest political leader of the last century alongside Rosevelt.
I mean that is proof - running in the afternoon makes your brain soft - correlation = causation right?
If you say so.
Regards
http://www.wonkydonky.net/archives/2008/04/chri...
Beyond that I ask for additional compensation for overtime work.
Did anyone read this
http://spiritualfacts.blogspot.com/
* Tips to SAVE MONEY....
Some of the points are good and real but some are not that much, and very difficult to follow.
I like how it stresses having variety in ones day, which is completely counter-intuitive to a lot of peoples definitions of focus.
Heard it before, that and active mind is a productive mind.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbCgFlilB7E
Thought you would enjoy
http://www.davecheong.com/2006/08/14/18-ways-to...
You should read John Adam's journals. He was infuriated by Franklin's "slovenly" habits. He described being mortified that on an average day he would have already completed an entire volume of paperwork before Franklin got up and came to sign documents in the afternoon. The whole "early to rise" bit was just what Franklin said, not what he actually did.
If anything increases productivity then certainly I would agree with it. And if it has a proven record then why not follow it.
Thanks.
Stop Dreaming Start Action
Alnect computer
I would hardly call this eco-nazi one of history's greatest.