2 x Normal

If my compensation would be directly tied to the value I produce throughout my working day, my pay graph would look like this:

Actually, if you average my earnings across the above graph, I would earn $40/hr. See below:

I am not arguing that employees should demand more money from their employers. The above simply shows when my most valuable work happens. This is how my day may look:

8:15 am. Walk into the office and open the Notion Calendar app to check what is on my to-do from the previous day. Add tasks that are not in the list that need to be tackled today. Organize my tasks within the day to optimize efficiency.

8:30 am. I am on a roll. Knock out several tasks that take 15 min., or so, each.

9:00 am. Start tackling a bigger, more critical project. For example, this morning, my assistant and I started to tackle the books on a new company we started to manage recently.

10 am. Morning coffee with the crew.

10:20 am. Back at the above project.

11:00 am. Still at it.

12:00 am. Tackle several emails and other smaller tasks.

12:30 pm. Lunch at the office.

1:00 pm. - 5:00 pm. Complete all sorts of tasks and work on longer term projects.

My brain is the perkiest in the morning. Using peak brain performance for the most demanding and critical projects means I work on those projects in the morning. Also, mornings tend to carry fewer interruptions as small problem and technical questions tend to arise later in the day.

On a typical day, my time at 9:00 am is easily worth many times what it is at 4:00 pm. By 2:30, I can feel my focus and energy start to decrease. In my experience, focus on critical projects burns through tons of energy.

(I am starting to wonder if I should start my day at 7 am. to get an extra hour of power time, and go home an hour earlier?)

I feel like the above connection between time and work-value is more acute for people tackling complex projects, or those who manage people or operations. A truck driver who drive 13 hours per day will not experience the time/work value relationship the same way that an operations or department manager does.

I am writing this at 9:38 pm. I find that creative work flows well in the evening. Even with a head that hurts a little. But, if I work on the most neuron-intensive projects in the mornings, then, maybe... my writing isn't my brightest output. Just keep in mind that the above analysis may be worth exactly what you paid for it. 😀