Productivity Ethic

I don't know too much about other people when it comes to productivity. But I do know that there are certain things that really get me productive - certain things that other people rarely appreciate or tolerate.

These are a few things that help me stay productive:

• Unrestricted Time: When I write 'unrestricted', I do not mean freedom from deadlines (see below). What I mean is that if I know I have something to do later on, it eats at my productivity. It's hard to be productive when you know you have to do something else soon. Thus, setting up schedules for such blocks of time is important.
• Deadlines: Deadlines are important; realistic deadlines doubly so. Coupled with unrestricted time (no meetings about why you're late, for example) allow for awesome amounts of productivity.
• Darkness: As odd as this may sound, it physically works best for me. The idea is less distraction. Knowing that the rest of the world around me is asleep allows me to focus completely on what I'm doing. In practical daylight terms, it means no distractions: no phone calls, no checking of email, no twittering, no Facebook, etc. Distractions, despite what some social media pundits say, is the bane of individual productivity - unless one measures one's productivity in retransmitting other people's stuff. And what a sad measure that is...
• Breaks: Break when it feels necessary - and always push the envelope on this. Where once I couldn't concentrate longer than 10 minutes at a time (as a teenager), I can go extremely long periods without a break once the above are kept in play. But sometimes, depending on the work, it is necessary to step back and walk away. Once you get into the productivity zone, it's easy to tell when you're falling out of the zone. Once fallen, recharge - if it takes 5 minutes or 5 hours, the productivity benefits of recharging typically outweigh the 'lost' time. But no time is 'lost'.

Of course, most of this doesn't fit with what most people equate to their jobs. And that's probably why after the last 10 years, I have decided to continue working for myself instead of effectively pretending to work for other people.

But then, maybe a lot of people feel that they are productive with constant distraction, planned breaks and restricted time. The Protestant Work Ethic ain't for me. For me, the The Hacker Ethic.

Nothing less works.