They say that when you’re your own boss, you’ve got the worst boss in the world. It’s true. To myself, I am like the Attila the Hun of bosses. (To others…well, I won’t put words in their mouths. But I imagine Attila the Hun wouldn’t be the one they’d compare me to. I’m probably more of an Annie Oakley.)
The culture is the easiest thing to blame. We say that we value slowing down and appreciating life, but our actions indicate otherwise. Exhaustion is modern-day martyrdom. We puff our chests as we admit that we worked 62 hours last week with nothing but a camelbak of coffee and a good attitude. That’s responsibility. That’s work ethic. Hiyah!
After six years of owning my own business and marveling at my own vast production capacity, I became aware of the onset of a strange disease. Not workaholism, though that could have been the cause. No, this was much worse. Suddenly, I was unable to do anything required of me. Once I committed to a project…once I was obligated to do it, I could no longer muster the energy. And it did not go away.
It’s like the motivation part of my brain became a rebellious teenager. This wouldn’t have been too much of a problem since I have a good amount of control over my days, but suddenly my brain started tricking me into thinking that everything was an obligation. Excited about my website re-design? Oh, well as soon as I start planning for it, now I have to do it. Want to re-invent my digital program? Well, forget it. The minute it comes out of my mouth, I feel obligated. I couldn’t even plan on baking cookies with my kids…I’d always just say “we’ll see”, and hope that the motivation part of my brain wouldn’t freak out on me and make it seem like an unalterable chore.
Instead of completely shutting down (which I’ve tried before…it doesn’t help), I embarked on a workflow soul-searching mission. I put aside my culturally engrained definitions of productivity and responsibility in an attempt to find true freedom in my work life. And this is what I’ve come up with.
Type Z
All my life, I’ve identified with the Type A personality. I’m a doer. I feel good when I get things done. It’s exhilarating. I don’t understand people like my husband who can sit and watch TV for hours. An hour a week is pretty much my limit, and it better be Tivoed, because I have no patience for commercials. (Wow, I must be a total thrill ride to be around.)
But it’s not just doing “stuff”. It’s using my time for things that matter. I will spend hours whiling away an afternoon with a friend, because I see the value in meaningful relationships. Spending time on that counts as “doing” for me because at the end of the day, relationships matter more than anything else. I read a ton, which is also not technically “doing”, but I value being a well-read person. And also, I love it. So it’s productive for me.
So I never questioned my Type A-ness. (A-ness…haha…I’m also five years old.) But one day, I started thinking about my natural gifts and abilities, and I realized that with all the enjoyment productivity brings me, it is really really hard for me to be a responsible person. I’ve always had trouble forcing myself to do things like wake up in the morning and go to work (when I did the 8 to 5 thing). Or go to church on the weekend, which I resist interminably (even though my faith is important to me, church apparently isn’t, or I bet I would go more often).
I heard someone say once that “I guess I’m just not one of those job people you hear so much about,” and I knew that was me. As much as I love the idea of schedules and task lists and action steps, I have never been good at putting them into practice. I do it for maybe two days, and then I feel like a caged monkey. But I do love projects. I love to dream something up and then bring it to life. I even love big, giant, toothy projects (digital nation-building, anyone?). I do not get overwhelmed. I get inspired and I can conquer the world.
So then it occurred to me. Maybe I’m not a Type A after all. And I’m definitely not a Type B (whatever that is, but I’m guessing it’s the opposite of Type A). I’m going to make up my own type. I am a Type Z. And maybe I’m the only person in the world who’s a Type Z, but that’s okay. Now that I know that I’m a Type Z, I will never go back to my old ways of scheduling and task mastering and whip wielding, because I know it will backfire (even if it takes six years of self-flagellation to do so).
But I needed something to replace the whip. So I did what any self-respecting former Type A would do. I made a list.
I am happiest in my work when…
- I have loads of freedom to do whatever I want to do.
- I am not avoiding or procrastinating on anything.
- I have a time limit for things that feel like an obligation.
- I know everything that is on my plate, and I know it is all digestible.
- I get to dive deep into the projects I choose to take on.
- I know what the very next thing I need to do is.
- My goal is to maintain enthusiasm and momentum, rather than put unnecessary pressure and deadlines on myself.
- I don’t spend much time in meetings, but I do spend time building real relationships.
- I’m not worried about keeping up with my email inbox or my social media accounts.
- I’m not doing things because other people want me to; I’m doing them because I want to do them.
- I know when I’m “done” and can stop work for the day without feeling guilty.
- “Done” is easily attainable.
For kicks, I took a look at how my current Attila the Hun style of self-management was attempting to get me to that place of work bliss.
Attila likes me to…
- Schedule meetings within a day or two of when people want to have them, with a maximum of 3 meetings a day. (I was spending like 2-3 hours a day in meetings. And I’m an introvert!)
- Respond to all email right away.
- Schedule milestones within an inch of my life, because Attila hates when people have to wait on me for stuff that she feels “should” take less time.
- Schedule blocks of time for specific projects, so that it is immediately apparent to me that I have no free time whatsoever.
- Schedule my fun time and my social media time and my reading time and my family time, so my life feels like one big giant chore (but at least I’ll get to have fun time…).
- Cram all of my work into normal work hours so that I can have a clear separation between work life and home life (which sounds like a good thing, except for all the unnecessary pressure and long monotonous stretches of work)
- Work 8 hours a day. At least. Because if I’m not, then Attila’s pet guilt monster is going to chew me up and spit me out.
It was suddenly very clear why the motivation section of my brain was rebelling. I sucked as my own boss. I needed to fire Attila.
Enter Glenda the Good Fairy
Glenda is my new boss. She’s a lot prettier, which you think wouldn’t matter. But remember when you were a kid and you got the ugly Attila the Hun teacher? It matters. A lot.
Glenda is very flexible. She lets me try things, and when something loses its effectiveness, I can figure out why, and then try something else.
First things first: Getting everything out of my head
The first thing Glenda instructed me to do was to write down every project that I was currently committed to, both in work and life. (I imagine Glenda learned this from David Allen.) It really is the most blissful feeling in the world to be able to see every single project written down, and to know…these are the things I am committed to. I do not have to commit to anything else. I will think long and hard before I add anything to this list. And if I start feeling guilty about not committing to something, I will look at my project list and say, “I am doing enough.”
I use Things for iPad to keep track of all of my projects. It’s fun, and it works well for my kind of system. But I imagine anything would work, even just a plain notebook with one sheet of paper for each project.
The main (and pretty much only) principle: Getting to “done” as quickly as possible
The system I developed is very, very simple. The object of the game is to get the “work” (i.e. the stuff that I have to do) finished as quickly as possible. And then I’m free to do whatever I want.
The first thing I do every day is spend one hour on my projects that have time-sensitive expectations. Namely, projects that I’m committed to with other people. I came to the one hour number because a long time ago, I discovered that you can get a lot done in 15 focused minutes. I had four time-sensitive projects going on at the time. 4 projects times 15 minutes…voila, that’s where the hour came from.
Usually, it goes like this. I set my timer for 15 minutes, and I start working on the project that is farthest away from me (meaning: I haven’t worked on it in the longest amount of time). When the timer goes off, I’m free to move on to the project that’s the next farthest away. OR (and this is what usually happens), I’m free to keep working on the first project if I’m feeling in the flow. I keep doing that until I’ve done four 15 minute sessions. And then I’m done with my time-sensitive projects for the day.
After that, I spend 30 minutes on my non-time-sensitive projects. I set my timer and start the one that’s farthest away from me. When it goes off, I set it one more time and either keep working on that project (if I’m feeling good and excited about it), or move on to the next one.
And then I’m done. DONE.
It is the best feeling in the world. In an hour and a half, I give myself permission to completely stop working if I want to. And I am more productive than I’ve ever been in my entire life.
But wait, how do you actually get anything done that way?
You’d be surprised at how much I get done in that hour and a half. I usually beat all of my deadlines (although I’ve stopped setting deadlines…now that I trust myself to fulfill my commitments without them, I don’t need them anymore). If I do happen to have something that needs to get done that very day, then I already have momentum on it, so it’s not stressful to get it finished. And usually, by that time I have most of it done already.
It took a little time for my brain to de-compress from its hyper-stressed, hyper-whip-cracking state. For a week and a half, I only worked for 90 minutes a day. When I was done for the day, I didn’t want to do anything else even remotely resembling work.
Then something magical happened. I got my mojo back. I started loving my job again. Since I don’t treat it like work, it doesn’t feel like work. Side bonus: I no longer waste time obsessively checking email or social media. Since I’m not resisting my work, there’s no reason to procrastinate. Hence, I’m more productive, and I feel like the luckiest person in the world, because I only work 90 minutes a day. (When all’s said and done, I’m usually working on projects for 6-9 hours a day, but that’s because I am so excited about what I’m doing.)
Other principles that I try to remember
First, I have to follow my own rules. When I’m done, I’m really done. I’m not just tricking myself into thinking I’m done. I get to truly do whatever I want. A lot of times, I will want to work on a project that I got juiced up about during my “work” time. Other times, I’ll just want to read or watch some interesting video or maybe even wash dishes or make cupcakes. Whatever it is, I do it. Glenda says it’s good for my future creative/productive self, and I believe her.
During my free time (which is most of the time now), sometimes I get so juiced up about a project that I’ll work too long on it. I’ll start to drift and not be as focused. I know this is happening when I start checking Facebook or Twitter or email while I’m working. At this point, it’s time to stop, even if I don’t want to stop. Otherwise, I’ll get burned out, which is possible even when you’re thrilled to be working on something.
At the end of each day, I try to update my project list and write down the very next step that needs to happen on each one. That way, it’s even easier for me to start my 15-minute sessions the next day. But if I don’t, it’s no big deal. My system’s easy enough that it doesn’t rely on me keeping my project list perfectly up-to-date.
I try to limit email checking to once or twice a day, but I’m not a Nazi about it. I find that when I’ve got the stuff I have to do out of the way, email checking (and everything else for that matter) comes naturally. I don’t have to schedule it in (or out). But if checking too often becomes a habit, then I just notice it and put limits on myself to twice a day at the most.
Social media is another thing that comes naturally when I’m “done” so quickly each day. I only do it when I really want to, and only after I’m done with the “work”. Which is surprisingly more frequent when I’m not trying to fit it into an already crammed schedule.
I have admittedly completely changed my business model in order to accommodate doing fewer projects more deeply; and that was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I imagine that if you have more projects with tighter deadlines, then you may need to make room for more time every day for “work”. But if you’re interested in trying this out, don’t automatically assume that that’s the case. Just try it and adjust as necessary. (You may not even need that extra half hour to work on your personal, non-deadline-driven projects…it’s really only necessary if you’re avoiding the work).
All hail, the Type Z! (Z’s?)
Now, this may not work for anyone else in the world. Like I said, it is very possible that I am the only Type Z on the entire planet. I think the reason it works for me is that I really do love my work, and I have a lot of control over when and how it happens. But that control didn’t just happen. I created it. And it was hard. But I did it. So can anyone.
If you have any questions, I’d love to hear them in the comments. I’m also interested in hearing about your workflow…if you feel inspired to write or make something out of what works for you, please share or link to it in the comments. Maybe you’re a Type Q? Or Y?
Posted on December 20, 2011 at 9:00 pm 
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Sarah, it’s like you’ve been a fly on the wall at my house because you just explained me… except I hadn’t figured out a solution yet. My workflow is crazy (partly due to running a graphic design business, a photography business and homeschooling my 8 and 10 year olds). Needless to say, I’m going to be seriously thinking over your ideas…
Thank you for writing this!!
I totally get the crazy workload. It took a lot of trust and guts to re-frame what I was doing so that that wasn’t happening. But yes…homeschooling! We’re actually going to attempt it next year. Glenda came around just in time.
What a great read! I’m firing my boss as we speak. Now I’m going to go for a walk and interview some new candidates. Also I’m implementing an annual follow-up regarding how their leadership style is working out.
Thanks
Haha…let me know how it goes! Our bosses definitely need some accountability.
So, is Glenda available for other projects?
The tricky part, I find, is stopping one project from encroaching on another. So easy to let the Fun Project be a naughty Time Stealer – sneaking up on the Dull Project and grabbing 10 minutes here … a half hour there. But then, I guess, weeding out the Dull Projects is part of it to.
… home schooling, huh? I have complete admiration for anyone doing this without any other commitments … running a business too? Sheesh – that’s amazing. I’m imagining Glenda to be a cross between Mrs. Doubtfire and Tina Fey – which sounds like quite good fun.
Yes, weeding out the dull projects is definitely part of it. I’m currently watching Andy Rutledge’s Design Pro Show episode on client selection. I’ve definitely gotten more clear over the years about the types of projects I take on. And it feels so much better to know that I have a choice in the matter — I don’t take the projects that just show up on my doorstep. I define what those are going to be.
yeah – it’s a great step to make. And empowering too … you start out nervous because maybe dull projects account for a significant enough % of income, but the idea that you’re in control and that you don’t have to take these on if you don’t want is really powerful. It’s odd that it takes this long to creep into our professional lives … you’d never consider a similar approach to friendship or dating. Well, I say never …
Wow, so I’m not the only one. For a minute there I thought you’ve been following me around! This describes me to the letter and I’d have to say I’m a type-Z too. I appreciate what you did to get a grip on things and get Glenda to help you out, it’s something I need to do too. I’m going to try to putting together a system like what you’ve talked about here. I’ve heard that short stints of focused time can actually help you get more stuff done, and I’ve thought about different things like the “pomodoro technique” but but have yet to implement it. I guess it’s time. And I already use Wunderlist which I wrote about on my blog which is an awesome way to keep track of projects and lists. Great stuff!
I’d never heard of the Pomodoro technique…I’ll definitely check that out. I used to use Don’t Forget the Milk, which is kind of like Wunderlist. Now that the iPhone’s native to-do app syncs on the cloud, I don’t use either of them. (BTW, if anyone wants to read Rob’s post about Wunderlist, it’s here. Good stuff.)
Thanks for the link Sarah – most appreciated! If you end up using the pomodoro technique, I’d love to hear what you think about it.
Hello, Glenda, I’d like you to meet my manager, Jean-luc Picard. I think you’d get on well
Hahaha…I wish I knew Star Trek well enough to come up with an intelligent response to that. As it turns out, I had to look up quotes, and I have no idea of the context. So I’m going to say, “Shut up, Wesley” and hope that means something. lol
All hail the Type Zs!
I had to reply here because, like Nathan, my boss is a Starship Captain (Kirk, Picard, or Sisko, depending on the situation).
I laughed out loud when I read “I love projects” because that is EXACTLY how I’ve been describing my work life (and really, my sanity), ever since I took up knitting. (I have been known to wail and gnash my teeth and say “I just don’t have a PROJECT! If I had ONE PROJECT instead of all these to-dos, I could face the day!”)
If I don’t have a project (defined as having: momentum, an end point, and steps to do), I don’t have happiness. I can’t have continuous (monotonous!) to-dos, I have to have a big overarching project (at least one, but ideally 2) going at all the time.
But I never thought through how that can apply to my productivity (I’ve been approaching my business-planning that way, but not my days) and this post is a spot-on description for what I’ve fallen into (along with some ideas for tweaking and experimentation).
And now it’s time to get back to my next 25 minute block for my project!
Projects are awesome. And really, if something’s not part of a project, it’s probably not worth all that much of your time.
Is Glenda like a fae? LoL! You made an interesting work plan and I definitely want to try it out. I think a lot can be done in less time when you’re focused and turn off that email and social media. But you cannot achieve results unless, like you said, you really love your work. And I love mine. Thank you for sharing.
Yes, Glenda is like Super Fae. And you’re welcome.
Ohhhh yes I’m Type Z alright. No idea how you figured out how to conquer that rebellious teen, but I’m DEFINITELY going to give it a try. Hooray! Thank you for this.
Yay! Another Type Z! Who knew there were so many? Let me know how it works out for you…I’m interested to see if this works for people besides myself.
Wow. Just wow. That is the first email i have received from you and it exactly describes me. I LOVE your “I’m happiest in my work when…” i forget those things when i get so involved— i love how perfectly you described everything— i feel i can go and make REAL changes today. One thing that seems to keep me grounded is to write in my 10 year journal every night– just 4 lines. Enough for the highlights, and see what i did last year at this time. http://www.journal10.com not the prettiest thing, but just wonderful. Good luck with your new vision!! Thank you so much for sharing.
I love that idea! Much less daunting than committing to writing an entire journal entry every day. And I wish you the best with your changes…it’s amazing when you can say, “Oh guess what? The way we work is invented. And I can invent something different.” And then it just happens to work better than anything else you’ve ever done.
That was so awesome. This is so similar to what I have been trying to do in my life with trying to do more of the work that I love to do as opposed to just the work that brings in the money. It’s been a hard transition but I really think it will all be worth it once I get to where I need to be for me, my family and for my business. I am really going to try allowing myself to work shorter periods of time and not feel the need to push myself to the breaking point if I’m not feeling a project at the time. Thanks so much for this amazing post! : )
You are so welcome, Sara. Yes, it is definitely hard to start only taking on projects that fit the vision of what you want to be doing. And it takes quite a bit of faith. And if you don’t have faith, then chutzpa. But it’s worth it…so worth it. And I’ve yet to resort to eating cat food.
Great article. I see a lot of Type Z in myself as well!
Thanks! Solidarity for the win!
Brilliant post/email thanks Sarah! I totally relate to your description of Type Z as well! I’ve also had that feeling of burn-out earlier this year trying to juggle too many projects.
Have to admit I did shut down for a while there, and I had to be more compassionate with myself and let myself take it easy for a while. Am now getting back up to full speed but am obviously wary of getting in the same situation again, so will definitely try this technique to ease myself in when I go full-time freelance in the New Year
I’m glad it’s helpful for you, Milo. You’re going all in in the new year? Good luck! I’ve got some pom poms here with Milo written all over them.
Thanks Sarah! Great to know you’re rooting for me
Yes finally took the plunge after ten years of juggling day job and writing, can’t wait.
My calendar for today looks a lot different now than it did 15 minutes ago, thanks to this post. Outlook: very optimistic! Will report back!
Optimism for the win! I can’t wait to hear how it goes.
Hi my name is Beryl and I am a recovering Type A-er who is trying deparately to reach Type Z. My gosh Sarah, you pulled the words out of my brain. Right now I work the 9-5 (or 7-3 in my world), mother a busy 15 month old, and am trying to build my passion during my ‘free time’. I know that point of exhaustion and motivation colapse. Many evenings my intention is work on projects, but my brain is too fried so I get sucked in by social media, email, and online shopping instead. I think I need to get a timer ap for my phone and give that method a whirl.
I don’t know what it is, but the timer is essential to keeping me on track. Otherwise, the time sifts through my fingers.
Wow, are you in my head?! I just had the realization this weekend that being an entrepreneur means I get to set my own hours and don’t have to log “desk-time” just for the sake of working 40 hours/week. What an enlightening realization!
And then this came along, and you put into words exactly what I have been feeling! I love the way you use social media and email rambling as a key that you’ve lost your motivation and flame and as a sign that you have to stop working.
Thank you for this. I am so ready to start exploring this for myself. Type Z’s unite!!
It really is enlightening, right? I always laugh when I hear someone promoting the “Be your own boss!” message. When I start getting jealous of my team because they have a better boss than me, I know something’s wrong!
Like many other commenters, I love that the email/Facebook/Twitter checking is your tip-off for when you need to stop working. My boss (who, I’m guessing, is a not-too-distant relative of Attila’s) sees those distractions as I sign that I need to be knocked around a little and then chained to my desk until I learn how to focus. Seeing those, instead, as a sign that I’m done for the day? What a brilliant idea, and one that I’m looking forward to implementing.
I’m really into the “write everything down so that I’m not storing it in my head” thing; there’s so much about work and life that instantly improves when you’re trusting in your stuff storage systems and not mentally juggling 823 balls all the time. Like you, my projects and tasks all live in Things because of the simplicity of it. And when I start to feel myself carrying around too many things in my head again, I’ll just sit down with a piece of paper and write down every single thing. Then I can start figuring out where to store all of it — Things, Evernote, whatever — rather than just circling ’round it in my head.
I’m also really into the short, focused bits of work thing. Like you, I’m super productive and surprise myself with how much I get done in those 15 or 30 minutes. (Oh, and the momentum it creates — suddenly I’ve spent two solid hours in total work bliss and didn’t even realize it!) What I’m still trying to get past is (and I hate to even use this word) the guilt. There are a lot of shoulds in my head, and one of the big ones is that I should be working 8-10 hour days. That’s what real professionals do. That’s the only way I’m going to accelerate my business. I’m an achiever personality and that’s what achievers do. And on and on it goes. It’s a huge encouragement to read this post and see someone like myself rejecting the shoulds, because that’s something I’m always struggling to do. Thanks for showing that it’s possible and giving a concrete example of what it can look like!
Oy, the guilt. Yeah, it’s a killer. But I try to remember that it’s all invented. Our culture invented the modern day work week. And since we have a completely different context with different needs, it
Ames sense that we’d need to invent something else.
How did you know what I was struggling with? Ha! You wrote this just for me! You are an angel because you affirmed my thoughts and feelings about what to “do” (or not do) – next. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
You’re welcome, Norma! Let me know how it goes!
Hooray for all the Zeople!
I am so excited and relieved to have found this treasure in my inbox! (not that i was procrastinating a project or anything… ahem. ok well. yep.) This will be such a huge help in creating a solid system for work & giving myself permission to just be. I allowed un-merry projects to hijack my holidays- never again! Off to find a timer!!!!!
This gives me hope for better balance in the New Year!!!
Thank you so much Sarah!
xoxo
Wahoo! Worked my 90 min for the past few days- some of the most productive guilt free days evah!!! Thank you so much SJB!
Awesome!!! Thanks for coming back and sharing your experience — that is so fantastic! I’m smiling ear to ear for you.
Oh, Sarah! Thanks so much for the post! I’m going to have to print and re-read several more times to assimilate. With all the changes in the past two years, I never quite made the time to process all this goodness. It’s like all the things I’ve come to understand about myself put together in one gracious package. Love ya, girl!
You’re welcome, Rhonda! Wow…I had no idea you were a Type Z, too.
Love you!
1. I need to re-read this many times to work out my response and incorporate the ideas into my “workflow” (ha! like I wish I had one).
2. But right now I’m mainly concerned as to why you posted this 2 days ago, and it’s only just now turned up in my Bloglovin’ reader.
And what type does that make me??
mj.x
I’m still trying to work out the productivity angle on walking around staring at my shoes, getting lost in the Spotify wormhole, sleeping at noon, and watching Top Gear marathons. My boss is way too lenient. Whenever I confront him about this, he mutters something about, “allowing genius to blossom.” Between you and me, I think he sniffs glue.
I hope “90-Minute Workday” is the title of your book, eat your heart out Tim Ferriss.
Hahaha…thanks Scott. Maybe it will be…I think I could write forever about this.
[...] Z? Check out Sarh J. Bray’s blog that shares some amazing insights into how she sets up My 90-Minute Workday. Creative entrepreneurs, you’ll definitely want to read this one for tips on being [...]
Dear Sarah,
what a great article! Juicy stuff that is… I have been self-employed for 2 months and I find myself maeandering between land A and land Z : )) I am a listmaker for everything and I enjoy getting things jotted down and out of my head. At the same time it can feel like overwhelmingly much to do.
Like your personification of your bosses and reading your blog just made me think maybe I haven’t yet made the clear decision on firing boss A, huh! Doing that right now. My Glenda would encourage me to take baby steps an take time to learn.
What has worked for me is having a ‘connection practice’ which is my kind of practical meditation every morning before I start work. Just to see what’s there, how I feel and what is important for me for this day.
Keep on writing inspring stuff!
Thanks and warm wishes, Franziska
Wow! What a killer post Sarah j! You should def. write a book! Workflow is something that requires soul searching and i love the way you lay it out here! I wonder if there is a workflow workshop in the future! I believe it is one of those things worth finding, while I get a lot done in short amounts of time, my workday is a mess of insecurity, procrastination and distraction. I have finally managed to wrangle it in a little with trello.com I am still working on it! Social media and email are huge time suck for me! This was great!
[...] focus on one new, positive habit per month, and in January I’m going to follow the advice of Sarah J. Bray’s 90 Minute Workday post. If I have that habit in place for when I go full-time freelance on Feb 3rd I think it’ll be [...]
Oh my goodness, I’m a type Z and I finally fit into the world again! This is brilliant. I am so happy about this. I need to go hire me a new boss.
Can I just say thank you? For identifying this, and for explaining why I get grumpy looking at my todo list but actually really do love what I do? I think my boss (she might be a dominatrix) is one of the toughest out there.
I’m definitely a Type Z too. Maybe those of us who are attracted to working for ourselves have this trait. You’ve definitely done an amazing job at recreating your work environment.
Love you!
Hey Sarah, I just finished reading this article and I can say that I love your system, so I am going to try it tomorrow.
Excellent post!
Let me know how it goes, Eugen!
Yes yes yes! I’m Z too! I’ve been getting closer to this model intuitively lately – but I wasn’t brave enough to try it every day. I used to just plant a “Whatever I want Only” day in my schedule whenever mojo wasn’t around. I just knew there’s no point in forcing myself into work, cause nothing good would come out of me anyway.
Funnily enough, those days were most productive!
Love it, and say hi to Glenda
I could have written this post word for word! I allow myself to “work” for just 1-2 hours a day. Even though I typically do a lot more than that, it doesn’t feel like work. I havent tried the timer idea though. I think it might help because some days those two hours are just gone and I have no idea what I did with them. Thank you for writing this.
wow, i am totally 100 million percent a Type Z. i loved this article! i haven’t identified with anything like this in a while. Sarah, you rock.
“Schedule my fun time and my social media time and my reading time and my family time, so my life feels like one big giant chore (but at least I’ll get to have fun time…).”
Such a great point! I always feel like I “should” do what all those productivity experts recommend about scheduling every last minute of the day, but as someone who resents ANYTHING on her calendar, this makes no sense at all. Thanks for articulating it so well.
Here’s a toast to fellow type Z’s.
[...] David Seah’s practically-focused introspection floats my boat high. His goal to “create a system for self-sustaining life balance” is exactly what I’ve been trying to do with my 90-minute workday. [...]
http://www.amazon.com/Type-Z-Guide-Success-Manifesto-Fulfillment/dp/1577315405
Marc Allan invented Type Z a few years back – the other letters aren’t taken though