Why Most Productivity Hacks Fail in Coding — (What You Should Do Instead)
4-Hour High-Focus: Coding Technique That Helped Me Boost My Productivity
I’ll be honest with you. I consider myself both lazy and a workaholic.
Why do I say that? — I am one of those who prefers to sit or sleep there when I am not in the mood. Also, I am easily distracted.
However, while I am in my zone, I have no regard for time; I work non-stop till I achieve my goals. I’ll miss my dinners and everything.
So, for me, having a framework or approach for managing these hyper behaviours and keeping them in check is important so that they do not harm my health or mental well-being.
That is why I have studied various productivity methods, as I have told many people. However, I noticed a problem.
Have you ever been frustrated with conventional productivity methods that don’t quite mesh with your workflow?
You are not alone.
That is why, today we’re going to talk about a rather unusual method for boosting your coding productivity — the 4-Hour Ultra High Focus Phase.
The Problem with Traditional Methods
Many productivity gurus advocate techniques like the Pomodoro Method:
25 minutes of work, followed by a 5-minute break.
While this works for some tasks, it has negative effects on others — like coding.
Here’s why:
1. Interrupts Flow:
This used to happen to me all the time.
You know, coding often requires deep concentration. Just then, when you’re making progress in understanding complex logic, the timer goes off and breaks your train of thought.
2. Restart Overhead:
And, we all know what happens after the break.
It takes time to get back into the zone, thus resetting your progress in effect.
Hence, we need some other approach for coding.
Your New Method: 4-Hour Ultra High Focus
This technique revolves around one single intense, uninterrupted 4-hour block of focus rather than frequent breaks.
Here’s how to apply it:
1. Plan Ahead
At the end of every day, plan out what you’re going to do tomorrow.
Choose 1–2 highly important tasks for your focus phase. (No more than 2; otherwise, procrastination kicks in!)
2. Optimise Your Time
Schedule your focus phase when you are most awake.
For many, this is in the morning phase — between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Be flexible — on some days it may be more productive in the afternoon from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.
3. Eliminate Distractions
Use one monitor to avoid background entertainment.
Turn off all notifications — no phone, texts, emails, or Slack.
Update your status to “busy coding” to help avoid interruptions.
4. Just Start
The biggest difficulty is often just getting started.
Start with a small, 5–15 minute task to build momentum.
Once you’re on a roll, you’ll likely keep going automatically.
How to Make It More Effective: Better Results.
While the method itself is straightforward, there are some important elements which make it effective:
1. Pleasure:
You can work on what you like. If you always have problems, perhaps you ought to do something different.
2. Body Health:
A healthy body is the home of a healthy, focused mind.
Drink plenty of water, take multivitamins, and exercise regularly, preferably outdoors to soak up a little sun.
3. Flexibility:
This isn’t going to be based on ‘one size fits all.’ Experiment with the time and duration for yourself.
4. Focus on flow, not time:
Although this is called a 4-hour phase, the key is to enter and then stay in a state of flow.
Not worrying about the clock, focus on the job at hand for those hours.
The Main Motive Behind 4 Hours Method
This is not something to shorten your workday to only 4 hours.
Rather, this is how you can get the most out of those hours when you are most productive.
Take the remaining hours for meetings, emailing, or other tasks that don’t require such high focus.
Try It Out
As we know, traditional productivity methods have failed you, give the 4-Hour Ultra High Focus Phase a go.
Of course, it will take a little adjustment, so don’t get frustrated while getting into this new style of working.
Do any of you practice similar techniques? How do you keep focused on long coding sessions?
Please share your experience so we all learn something!
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