2023-09-07 18:58:34
The idea is to draw inspiration from the workaholic that was Teddy Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States. (Photo: Library of Congress for Unsplash)
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Q. – “My week is not enough to accomplish all that I have to do. Is there a great trick to maximizing every hour of work?” – Antoine
A. – Dear Antoine, have you ever heard of Theodore Roosevelt, this workaholic who, following having exercised professions as varied as museum curator, writer, historian, soldier and naturalist, became the 26th President of the United States? United? Let me tell you a few words regarding it, I’m sure it will interest you.
If you had attended Harvard in the 1876-1877 academic year, you would probably have noticed a haughty, high-energy freshman who multiplied his interests, each seemingly further removed from his studies than others. This student was Theodore Roosevelt, a skinny guy with a sideburned face, who seemed to spend most of his time practicing boxing, wrestling, bodybuilding, dancing, poetry, or even naturalism ( the true passion of his life). In a sign that he was giving his all in his hobbies, he published a book, “The Summer Birds of the Adirondacks,” the summer following finishing his freshman year at Harvard; and this enabled him to be considered by the Bulletin of the Nuttall Ornithological Club as “one of the most savvy young naturalists in the United States”.
Did all these passions seriously harm his studies? Not at all. Admittedly, he was not the best student in his class, but in his first year, he obtained grades with honors in five of the seven subjects.
How might he achieve such a feat? The explanation is simple, and explained by Cal Newport in his book “Deep Work”: Theodore Roosevelt had concocted a working method as original as it was effective.
According to the author and computer science professor at Georgetown University, the Harvard student planned each of his days, with work occupying the time slot from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. lessons, the time needed to do homework, one hour of sport (a necessity for, among other things, getting the brain to breathe!) and time for lunch. This niche was the one dedicated to work, only work. In no way was it stretchable, so he was free to pursue his hobbies as he wished before 8:30 a.m. and following 4:30 p.m.
Good. Antoine, you have surely noticed that doing all the work required between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. when studying at Harvard leaves, in truth, very little time to revise your lessons and do the required exercises. by teachers. A ridiculously short time.
SO? How was he doing? Well, Cal Newport notes that Teddy Roosevelt necessarily performed his duties with “lightning intensity.” He then gave not his 110%, but rather his 150%. And the best thing is that each of us is capable of it, provided we are methodical, says the American professor.
– Take on a task that requires you to perform at your best.
– Accurately estimate the time you need to complete it, in normal times.
– Now set yourself a deadline “significantly shorter” than your estimate. It’s up to you to see if it’s a decrease of 10%, 20% or 30%, for example. The idea is for you to be convinced that “it’s doable, even if it’s hot.”
– Get started following programming a timer on your cell phone.
– And stop everything when the bell rings.
Did you succeed? Did you just fail? That’s not the most important. In fact, Cal Newport recommends doing this high-intensity work exercise once a week to get your brain used to focusing maximally for a predetermined amount of time. You will thus gain in efficiency in an almost hallucinatory way, in the sense that you will yourself be surprised at what you are really capable of doing.
Once you get a taste for it, you’ll start working hard on your own for short periods of time, doing the exercise no longer once a week, but once every two days, then once per day, etc. As a result, Antoine, you will finally be able to carry out all your weekly tasks, and better still, find free time to breathe and, for example, chat a little more often with your colleagues.
One last point. Cal Newport strongly recommends cutting yourself off from all possible distractions when working at high intensity. Cellphone off, notifications deleted, no social media windows open. Otherwise, you run the risk of being cut off in your tracks, and of no longer being able to give back your 150% within the time limit.
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#super #efficient #work
