⏳ The Nouns of January 3, 2025

1. NEW TIME: Time for nothing time.

2. NEW YEAR: I don’t feel any different

3. NEW BOOK: Daddy Seneca

Time for nothing time.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how to better manage my time since we just got a new ration.

There seem to be endless resources on the topic, and with a bit of digging, you can find almost every possible point of view.

Focus on what you’re passionate about. Passion is a myth. Do more. Do less. Take a break. Quit faster. Never give up. Be better. Work it. Make it. Harder. Better. Faster. Stronger.

We’ve found ourselves in a time of exceptionally high productivity expectations simply because it can be done like never before. We’re connected 24/7. Everyone has a side hustle for their side hustle. If you’re not optimizing everything, you’re already behind.

Or at least that’s how it can feel.

I’m fond of Dan Sullivan’s point of view on time management. He proposes that the 40-hour-week mentality is outdated and does not create the highest quality work.

If you’ve been in an office lately, I doubt you need convincing.

During the industrial revolution, as the modern work-week settled in, we needed a way to track the productivity of labor, and started measuring based on quantitative metrics. Namely time. 

The idea was, if you worked 40 hours every week, under strict supervision, you could be expected a certain output.

And it works. For a factory.

It doesn’t in the idea economy.

Instead, we need to think of our time like Beyonce.

Instead of waking up Monday, and singing for 8 hours every day until quitting time on Friday, Beyonce (like all high-performing people) structures her time around bursts of quality work.

For Beyonce, it’s a performance.

For Tom Brady, a game.

For a CEO, the big board presentation.

Then, for the rest of the time, they must support their ability to achieve that high-quality performance, either through rest or support days.

I have quite a few peers who subscribe to this methodology, blocking certain days for high-performance activities, specific days for admin and support activities, and a few days for intentional rest.

I’ve done it on and off and have struggled to block entire days consistently despite it sounding great on paper.

I’m trying something new this year.

Instead of blocking entire days, I have decided to split my time into three categories:

1. Something Time.

2. Anything Time.

3. Nothing Time.

Something Time is time for deep, focused work. No shorter than 90 minutes, it is specific and intentional. The phone is off. I’m not checking email.

Anything Time is for… anything. The light, admin tasks and to-dos that just need to get to-done. This is blocked as open time to batch whatever needs tackling and make sure the inbox isn’t on fire.

Nothing Time is for clarity. I deeply believe in the power of intentional rest to refresh the old noggin, and when it isn’t scheduled, it doesn’t happen.

My goal in 2025 is to find the ratio. Starting out, we are shooting for 70% ST, 20% AT, 10% NT. We’ll see where it ends up.

What do you think?

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A Daily Dose of Stoicism

You’re already late to start on page 1, but if you’d like a little more Stoicism in your 2025, I’d highly recommend The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday. If you’re a father, or any other identity of parent (we all have the same problems…) check out The Daily Dad too.

By the way, the links above go to The Painted Porch, author Ryan Holiday’s bookstore in Texas.