To set yourself against your own clock.

Forget a.m. and p.m. and update your clock to i.m. Who invented a.m. and p.m? Not you. It’s time to set your clock to i.m.

Client: I would like to be able to go home on time, but I keep working even though I am running out of energy because I have to do it and my productivity is also decreasing. I don’t know when to rest.

Me: What are you doing?

C: Too obsessive? It’s like I’m trying to do a lot of things, or I’m building up a lot of things that I can handle if I try hard enough.

Me: Do you work overtime every day?

C: Yes, I do. I’m doing some kind of overtime. But now that I’m working remotely, I might not be able to finish more smoothly. I spend a lot of time thinking about what I’m going to do after I’ve eaten, but I might not feel like doing it. When I’m with other people, I can pull myself away from work due to outside factors, but when I’m alone, I think about work while I’m eating, or I want to read a book but can’t because I haven’t finished my work.

Me: Does it mean that because you are alone, your time is used more roughly?

C: Well… If I don’t have a forced end, like an appointment with someone, I just keep going. I should be able to do more. I just have to give up on time but I get into a groove at about 7 pm and feel like I can make it a bit further, so I try in vain.

Me: Ah I see. Maybe you have fixed working hours at the office. You’re stuck there. I don’t have that, so for example, if I come home from the gym and I haven’t finished by 11 pm, I’ll write a blog, and I don’t say it’s not good because I didn’t finish by a certain time.

C: I see. So there is no interruption?

Me: Yes, I do. So if I’m working a shift, I’ve done three hours of overtime… but if I’m working for myself, I’m never not working.

C: Sure, maybe I don’t think it’s OK to do that.

Me: I don’t have a start time and an end time, so I’m always working. There is no concept of doing overtime… I am working because I just want to. I mean, the captivity of working hours is causing you extra stress. If you’re in the groove, why not just do it?

C: I’m allowed to work, aren’t I?

Me: I do it when I’m in the groove. If I’m not in the mood, I stop doing it.

C: I see. So if I follow my intuition, the problem goes away. But a part of me thinks that if I take a break somewhere, I will take a break forever.

Me: Ah. I think that’s also because you work for a company. If you don’t work for a company, it’s a matter of life and death because if I take a break, I stop getting paid. We live in an era where you can work remotely, so you can control your work time within your domain.

C: Maybe there was some self-denial in it like if I work late, I’m inefficient.

Me: Unnecessary self-denial.

C: I’m more of a night person.

Me: Creatives are night owls. If you could get rid of your time captivity, you could be a hyper-creator!

Don’t set yourself against the clock outside, set yourself against your own clock. You will perform at your best.