Pro tip: a client in Lisbon told me my work hours were killing my focus

I was working from a cafe in Lisbon last month, showing a regular client my usual 9-5 Lisbon time schedule. He looked at it and said, 'You're online for eight hours, but you only bill for four. Your brain is fried by 2 PM, and your afternoon work is sloppy.' It hit me hard because he was right. I was trying to match a local office day while also handling calls with my US team at night. I switched to a four-hour deep work block in the morning, a long midday break to actually see the city, and then a two-hour admin block later. My output is better and I'm not burned out by Wednesday. Has anyone else had a client call them out on a bad work habit that you didn't even see?

2 comments

2 Comments

hannaht295d ago

That part about your brain being fried by 2pm is so real. I read something a while back about how most people's best focus only lasts like 3 or 4 hours a day. Trying to push past that just makes everything take longer and the work gets worse. Your new schedule with the long break in the middle makes total sense. You're using your good hours for the hard stuff instead of wasting them on emails.

knight.drew4d ago

Only 3 hours of good focus a day?