By nature, we all want a simple way to improve what we do. Something that will give us maximum benefit instantly, with minimal effort. This also applies to work, where the discussion often goes towards productivity hacks to save a few minutes or get that small improvement. Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts, and it requires a lot of discipline to get the most out of your work time.

In my view, there are two pillars of work productivity:

1. How long are your work blocks?
   
   

2. What time of day do you do these blocks?

By work block, I mean a dedicated work session where you sit down and work in an uninterrupted manner.

To answer these questions, we can look at the science and what has worked for others, and we must also include what is practical for you.

The science has surprisingly limited specific research. Plenty of research shows that performance decreases with extended time on the task associated with mental fatigue. But this varies by individual and task, although 90-120 minutes is generally considered right for most people.

While science isn't specific, we can gauge a good idea of what might work for us if we look at what has worked for others. Through blogs, Twitter and books, we could say that most people find that the length of each work block is ideally between two and four hours.

The daily routines of creative people show the common theme of short creative work periods.

The other factor in making your work structure successful is ensuring it suits your lifestyle. You may have a family or other commitments, meaning only a specific structure works for you. That is fine. This is about finding what is ideal for your situation.

Personally, I prefer to work in two-hour work blocks, making these intense and uninterrupted. My ideal work day looks something like this:

• 7 - 9am - Work block 1

• Go and do some exercise

• 11am - 1pm - Work block 2

• Lunch break

• 1:30p - 3:30p - Work block 3

• Get outside and move around for a while

• I would then finish off any tasks or catch up on work-related communication in the later afternoon or evening

This isn't a huge volume of work.— six focused hours. But I have found that if I want to achieve high-priority tasks, 4-6 hours of deep uninterrupted work is ideal for me each day. But this must be uninterrupted. No phone. No browsing the web. No emails. This time is dedicated to the task at hand and only that. During these work blocks, I have periods where I need to take a step back and think through something. I find it best to do this by walking over to the window and looking out as I think through my challenge.

I have had periods of my life where I averaged ten-hour days, week after week. Sometimes these are necessary, but they are often busy rather than creative work. If your job success is based on the quality of your output, I strongly advocate for short, intense work blocks. This may not be possible for those in management roles whose work focuses on communication (meetings, emails, etc.), but for those of us trying to create something, your most productive days won't be an 8-hour grind.