how many hours of focused work can I optimally accomplish in a day?
Sources:
According to , the optimal number of hours for focused work in a day greatly depends on one's ability to concentrate and the overall rest and nourishment. Generally, he suggests performing one to three 90-minute sessions of highly concentrated work per day.
Here are the key points:
- Start with one 90-minute focused work session per day and increase gradually if you can maintain concentration. Two sessions are common, and three might be the upper limit for most people 1.
- These focus bouts should be mentally challenging and require undisturbed attention. They are akin to intense workouts, meaning the more skilled you become at focusing, the more decompression and recovery you'll need 1.
- For maintaining overall productivity and health, maintaining a consistent schedule with proper sleep and balanced workload is crucial 2.
In essence, aiming for around three hours of deep work spread throughout the day in 90-minute intervals, with sufficient breaks in between, is considered optimal for most people.
RELATED QUESTIONS