I’ve written three blog posts today.
My quota for myself is one post per day. I’ve just written 3 over two hours.
It wasn’t by sitting at a cafe for four hours. It wasn’t by playing Lofi while locked in my room. It wasn’t from any deep work.
It was from captivating the small pockets of time throughout my day.
My Journey to Work
As I write this, I’m standing on the northbound platform at London Bridge to go to work via the northern line. During my 20-minute train journey to London Bridge, I wrote, “Is this Who I want to be?”. This is my second post. And my third, I’ll write on my way home after work.
Usually, I just listen to music or scroll on Instagram while on the train. But this morning, I was feeling extra good. I had a full breakfast, didn’t have to rush and was excited to work on a new project. In my good mood, I thought: “Why not write while on the train?”
I was shocked by how much I would get done.
There's Value in the Small Pockets of Time
We never realise or think about how we spend our time. Many of us may complain that we haven’t enough time or are too busy. Still, we throw away countless minutes and hours into meaningless activities, which could have gone into the work we complain we haven’t got enough time for.
These pockets of time are opportunities to maximise our day and tick off the last few boxes.
Work isn’t exclusive to the desk and laptop or cafe. Work isn’t confined within the time and parameters you give it. It might not be deep work, but it’s work nonetheless. Would you rather have no work or little work?
Because that little work adds up. It’s using the resources available to the best of their capacity.
Too often, we throw away these opportunities to achieve something because the opportunity is too small. We write off that there’s hardly any point in working because “what can I possibly do that’s worth the effort in 30 minutes?” or “I’m on the train.”
Say your journey to work is one hour each way. That’s twice a day, 5 days a week. Over the year, that’s over 20 days.
So, depending on how we spend these little pockets of time during our journey to university or work determines whether or not we have almost one extra month in the year compared to everyone else.
The small moments and accumulation of them make the biggest differences.
It's better to do a little of something than a lot of nothing. Those little somethings add up to a big thing.
I had nothing more than my phone while I sat on the train with my bag in my lap and my thumbs typing away on the keyboard. Was it ideal? Or the perfect conditions? No. But was it enough? Yes.
Enough is all you need when you haven’t much else.
Captivate Your Pockets of Time
The point I’m making is this: there are many more opportunities in the day to be productive than we think. Those small pockets of time add up over days, weeks, months and years.
I might not be able to write code on my phone, but I sure can outline and structure how my code will run and the different layers. It might not be ideal for me to type out a post while squashed on the train going to work, but that’s 1000 words that wouldn’t have been there otherwise.
You don’t need the hardcore setup.
You don’t need the perfect lighting.
You don’t even need to be at home or in the cafe.
They all would be nice. But they are not necessary. Don’t let not having them stop you from doing anything at all.
Our work doesn't depend on the right conditions, setup and environment. Our work depends on you doing the work - wherever, however, that may be.
If you have an exam coming up, then go over a practice paper while you eat your breakfast. While on the train, note the tasks to do that day. Make an outline of the topics you don’t understand and the questions you have while sitting on the toilet.
As long as you are producing something, you’re doing the right thing – even if it’s squashed up on the platform at London Bridge.
