> I’ve spoken with a lot of folks recently about a challenge i | on product

> I’ve spoken with a lot of folks recently about a challenge imposed on us by increased remote work: losing time to think. Because of an increased need to communicate and align with peers and teammates—and few, ineffective tools for doing so (video-conferencing meetings and documents)—we find ourselves spending more time communicating than executing and, more critically, thinking.

> When we can co-locate phases of work—thinking, execution, and communication happening all at once—it dramatically improves our efficiency and morale. (...) Practically speaking, this has meant having a 45-minute meeting once a week where our design team meets with key partner designers and works cooperatively in a Figma file on a shared problem.

> After 10 consecutive days of just 7 hours of sleep a night, we suffer a similar loss of brain function as individuals who stay awake for 24 hours straight. Even taking a short nap in the afternoon can help the brain. (...) Even performing menial errands like putting on a load of laundry (...) can grant the away-from-screen time we need to limit distractions and process information.

> Remember that thinking is work. Try to let go of the guilt associated with not being tethered to a screen and recognise that in many modern workplaces, knowledge is the primary capital, and processing that knowledge can only be done by one tool: your brain. Give your brain the time it needs to do the thing that Mother Nature spent billions of years designing it for: thinking.

> It is entirely reasonable to set a schedule so that in 24 hours, 8 hours are spent sleeping, 8 hours are spent working, and 8 hours are spent living. Any work that can’t be achieved in 8 hours can—must—wait until the next day.

https://daneden.me/blog/2021/thinking-is-work