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What I mean with focused work is only the time that you are working. Not counting the time you take a break, not counting the time you go to the bathroom, not counting the time you get up to drink water, etc. If you don't stop your time-tracker during non-work activities, please mention it.
But after that time I start to mix things up and make mistakes. So I really wish 6 hours were the actual work time... but in reality I have to work 8 hours a day.
Software developer here. I work about 6 hours concentrated on stuff before i notice a drop in cognitive abilities. That's not counting the short breaks for toilet, getting coffee etc... Then it's roundabout 5-5:20 hours. These breaks normally don't get me off the topic very much as i can continue thinking about what to do next or crunching on a solution. But after that time I start to mix things up and make mistakes.…
So, you have to put in eight hours of actual work? A usual workday is eight hours, but I'd say most employees probably do less than four hours of actual work every day.
Are you a freelancer or an employee, if you don't mind my asking?
Software developer here. I work about 6 hours concentrated on stuff before i notice a drop in cognitive abilities. That's not counting the short breaks for toilet, getting coffee etc... Then it's roundabout 5-5:20 hours. These breaks normally don't get me off the topic very much as i can continue thinking about what to do next or crunching on a solution. But after that time I start to mix things up and make mistakes.…
I think you meant "6 hours... counting the short breaks." In any case, I think six hours is a good number. So, you have to put in eight hours of actual work? A usual workday is eight hours, but I'd say most employees probably do less than four hours of actual work every day. Are you a freelancer or an employee, if you don't mind my asking?
I am an employee at a large distribution company for IT hard and software. I think there are many factors that play into how long a productive day really is:
Type of work - is your job requiring brainwork all the time or maybe you have some work in-between that just requires execution prime to thinking work?
Environment - how good are you shielded from distractions?
Communication - do you really need to be shielded? Maybe you need a steady communication to proceed with your work. I'm thinking about the guys at stock market e.g.
Type of breaks - This is a big one and up to personal preference to a degree. Are you forced to take a break? Is it a hard force or a soft force (telephone vs. mail). Do you have to respond immediately? A big problem for me e.g. is interruptions when i'm in the middle of it. It takes a fair amount of time to get back into the zone.
If this happens i often like to refer to this article: http://blog.ninlabs.com/2013/01/programmer-interrupted/ It's hard for people to understand why interruptions can be very harmful for work.
So if i say 6 hours, this is the maximum for me to work concentrated on one topic. Interruptions diminish this number, shorten my concentration timespan and often make the day not as productive (subjectively).
edit: formatting
I keep a log. If I was working and you called me, I would stop the meter, talk to you and start the meter again when I started working. If you were another client I would record my hours working for them. I have a log for every client. I did not stop the clock for bathroom breaks.
I'm getting over being sick so I'me only working occasionally and only for a few hours but I used to work 5 billable hours a day (anything after that was gravy). I probably spent 7-8 hours a day at my office. I keep a log. If I was working and you called me, I would stop the meter, talk to you and start the meter again when I started working. If you were another client I would record my hours working for them. I have…
I would say between 6 and 7 hours per day working at the office, but as I'm connecting once at home and doing more online research that could lead to action, it could be up to 8 hours a day.
- If we say you take a 10 minute break every 50 minutes, you would need almost 10 hours to work 8 hours. - Let's say lunch for 30 minutes, dinner for 30 minutes. We're at 11 hours. - If you're sleeping for eight hours, we're at 19 hours.
This is a very very strict, and probably somewhat unrealistic schedule, and you only have five hours left after this. Realistically, there would be a lot of other small things that add up to a few hours, going to the bathroom, responding to people on WhatsApp, cooking, etc.
Are you really good at managing your time and getting started, or do you only focus on work and try not to spend time on hobbies and other activities?
I'm getting over being sick so I'me only working occasionally and only for a few hours but I used to work 5 billable hours a day (anything after that was gravy). I probably spent 7-8 hours a day at my office. I keep a log. If I was working and you called me, I would stop the meter, talk to you and start the meter again when I started working. If you were another client I would record my hours working for them. I have…
This is close to my experience as well. If I want to do anything else that day, such as cook, exercise, relax for an hour, maybe practice the guitar, the maximum I can do is around five hours. For anything above that, I have to be super strict and/or give up other activities.