📊 Daily Focus Targets

👋 Hello Friend,

How many hours of focused work are you doing per day?

In the book "Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less" by Alex Pang, the entire first chapter is on why working four hours per day is most effective.

Pang cites dozens of examples from various professions—from the greatest mathematicians to physicians and Nobel Prize winners. They all conclude that 3–5 hours is the ideal amount of focus time per day.

“I seemed to have psychic energy for only three or four hours of work, 'real work,' each day.”
— Paul Halmos, Hungarian-American mathematician

"Toulouse noted that Poincaré kept very regular hours. He did his hardest thinking between 10 a.m. and noon, and again between five and seven in the afternoon. The nineteenth century's most towering mathematical genius worked just enough to get his mind around a problem—about four hours a day."

“Four hours a day or at most five, with breaks about every hour (for walks perhaps).”
— John Edensor Littlewood

"Norman Maclean, author of A River Runs Through It, wrote every morning from nine to noon; so did Swedish director Ingmar Bergman and Icelandic novelist and Nobel laureate Halldór Laxness. W. Somerset Maugham worked 'only four hours' a day, until 1:00 p.m.—'but never less,' he added."

🤔 Back to the question: How many hours of focused work do you do per day?

I've deliberately set the bar low for myself and committed to investing three hours per day in focused work. I've realized it's better for me to lower the bar to celebrate successes. I find 180 minutes per day manageable; 300 minutes feels completely overwhelming.

🤖 I had my focus log (where I track every deepwork session) analyzed by AI.

In the months of August and September (excluding weekends), I spent the following average time per weekday doing deep work:

• Monday: 3:27h (1,658 minutes over 8 Mondays)
• Tuesday: 3:21h (1,204 minutes over 6 Tuesdays)
• ➡️ Wednesday: 2:31h (1,057 minutes over 7 Wednesdays)
• Thursday: 3:12h (1,534 minutes over 8 Thursdays)
• Friday: 1:59h (952 minutes over 8 Fridays)

What does this tell me?

It confirms my assumption that I feel least productive on Wednesdays. Friday I don't work much in the afternoon anyways. As a result, I'm now considering shifting one restday from the weekend to Wednesday.

I always remind myself that it's an experiment and won't always be this way. I'm collecting data like a scientist, and if I notice after a few weeks that it doesn't work, I'll change my strategy. 🧑‍🔬🧪🔬

How many hours per day do you spend on focused work?

What would happen if you could consistently work three hours a day in a focused manner over a longer period? How would your life change?—Write me 😄

Have a productive week! 🌞

xx Lukas