2102: How Hard Do I Actually Work by Tynan on Work Habits

[00:00:00] This episode is brought to you by Google Chrome. You think you know a browser, but Gemini and Chrome? That's new. It can help you with practically anything on the web, like restoring a vintage motorcycle from a 50-page restoration block, or finally break down that long article you've had open for weeks. Gemini and Chrome is here for it. Ready to make anything online make sense? There's no place like Chrome. Check responses set up required, compatibility and availability varies 18+.

[00:00:26] Heat up your 4th of July at the Home Depot with our wide variety of grills under $300 and make every gathering one to remember. Give your outdoor space a glow up. Whatever your budget is, the savings on seasonal plants starting at $5. With the grill fired up and your backyard set to perfection, you'll be able to invite friends and family over to kick off the party. Start celebrating with low prices guaranteed at the Home Depot. Prices may vary by store. Exclusions apply. See Home Depot.com.

[00:00:54] This is Optimal Work Daily. How hard do I actually work? By Tynan of Tynan.com. Once in a while, people who meet me give me the feedback that they're surprised that I'm actually a real person who doesn't just work 24-7. A challenge of being a public writer is balancing giving useful information versus giving an accurate picture. I think a lot of the confusion comes from a post I wrote six years ago called Love Work.

[00:01:22] I just re-read the post and it brings me right back to that time in my life. I really was working about 12 hours a day and loving it. In some ways, I miss those days. I remember being in my RV almost all day, eating the same food every day and making huge progress on set. That period of time was very important for me because before then, I didn't know if I could work hard or not.

[00:01:44] I thought that I could, but I had no proof. And I felt that in some key ways, I was lagging behind my peers whom I admired. I also had a tremendous amount of work that needed to be done, so it felt great to cut right through it. By the time we wound down set, I was burned out. Not from hard work, but from working on something that I didn't feel would succeed. I forced myself to do it for a while because I knew that it was important to cultivate the ability to work hard.

[00:02:09] And if I quit early, I wouldn't be able to know whether I quit because I couldn't work hard or because I had made the right decision to stop working on something that was unlikely to succeed. I often talk about things that are suboptimal in the short term, but optimal in the long term. Realistically, I probably worked on set for almost a year longer than I should have. But by doing so, I gained incontrovertible evidence that I could work at maximum output for an extended period of time on something. And that was very valuable to me.

[00:02:36] The lasting effect of those years is that now when it's time to work, I just work. I don't procrastinate, get distracted, quit early, or even negotiate with myself in my head. I just get things done. In the past, when I would evaluate an idea, there would be a big question mark next to my ability to execute. Now, I don't even think about that part as I know with certainty that I can perform at my best as much as is necessary. After set wound down, my next focus was efficiency.

[00:03:04] I spent a long time automating nearly everything in my life, including most of my next business, Cruise Sheet, building routines and eliminating unnecessary obligations and responsibilities. And while many of those things, especially Cruise Sheet, required weeks or months of extreme work, nothing has packed my schedule like set did. My life situation has changed a lot in the six years since I wrote that post too. At this point, due to businesses and investments doing well and fixing my life costs by investing in a condo,

[00:03:33] I don't have to work anymore. Even if I stopped coaching and putting on live events, I could live a comfortable middle-class life with a few upper-class oddities like the island forever. As a result, my motivation has changed a bit. Before, I really wanted to make it. Now I just want to make sure my time is being spent well. Of course, I still love work, so I'm always hungry to get things done. My challenges now are pushing my comfort zone and making sure I'm working on the right things.

[00:04:01] I was nervous to take on a large batch of coaching clients a year ago and was also nervous to throw my first event earlier this month. I intentionally restrict myself from taking on new projects because I want to give myself space to throw myself at the right project next. At this point, constant work for work's sake would serve primarily as a distraction. So how hard do I work these days? I'm certainly not putting in 12-hour days anymore, at least not regularly.

[00:04:27] Every morning I make a list of stuff that needs to get done and I do it, generally first thing. My favorite days are days where I have a lot to do, especially if it's programming. I think a lot about the output I want to produce and make sure I do what it takes to get it done. My next priority after those necessary things is spending time with my friends. I just did an amazing week-long tea trip with my friend Leo Babauta and we probably averaged 2-3 hours of work per day, but both got tons of stuff done.

[00:04:55] If I'm by myself, I tend to spend my free time working on things that aren't so important, like random optimizations or house projects. I also spend a lot of time brainstorming on what I'll do next. I have a few ideas and I explore them a bit on most days. Five years ago, it was important for me to work just for work's sake. I needed desperately to build that skill and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Now I'm so comfortable working that working for work's sake would be a convenient way for me

[00:05:20] to avoid the harder task of expanding my comfort zone and thinking long-term about what comes next. If you have important work that needs to be done, my advice from many years past still applies. If you want to be a high performer, it's critical to be able to comfortably work crazy hours without stress. If you're already able to do that, your most important work may be on how to determine where to focus that energy. So hopefully that all paints a clearer picture. Most days I have a few hours of very important work, which I always do quickly and efficiently.

[00:05:50] I then spend as much time as possible with people I'm close to. Most of the remainder of my time is spent on non-critical work. I also waste a little time reading Reddit and Hacker News and doing crosswords, but I feel like that's a luxury I can afford now. What's right for me may not be right for you. I'd be surprised if anyone's ideal life path didn't include a period of intense work, but I'd also be surprised if it was right for anyone to do that forever.

[00:06:15] As always, the key is to evaluate one's life with a critical eye and to do what's right for you at the right time. You just listened to the post titled, How Hard Do I Actually Work? by Tynan of Tynan.com. And thank you to Tynan who is an author, a coach, and a speaker who uses his unique set of experiences and skills to help people build habits and systems to reach their goals.

[00:06:43] And when I say unique, I really mean unique. He sold everything he owned to go on an extended world trip. He started a cruise agency and lived in an RV for 10 years. His blog has a wide range of topics and stories, as you might guess, so that is very much worth checking out. And as you can imagine, he likes to learn new things, build habits, explore the world, connect with awesome people, and create good work. His books are bestsellers on Amazon, and he was even named a top blogger by Time Magazine in 2013.

[00:07:12] You can check out his work and experiences at Tynan.com. That's T-Y-N-A-N dot com, and I have that linked in this episode's description. Okay, that's going to do it for me today. I thank you so much for joining, as always, and be sure to tune in tomorrow for another article, and that is where your optimal life awaits. See you guys in the next episode. I hope you guys will appreciate it. I'll see you in the next episode. Use this episode.