Did you try tracking your time? Did you surprise yourself in the amount of work you were actually doing? Was it more or less than what you expected?

Call me crazy, but I am utterly confident–UTTERLY (haha, I just like saying that word sometimes)–that four hours of deep work is the most that we can do each day in a consistent and sustainable manner. That is, we can pull a 12-hour shift of deep work–and I’m talking intense intellectual labor here–every once in a while, but if we are to put ourselves on a path of sustainable productivity, we can expect an output of 4 hours a day maximum of creative and intellectual output.

I am convinced that the 8-hour work day is a myth of capitalist control where we are kept just busy enough to be exhausted–too exhausted to rebel against our bosses and CEOs who are the only ones really making any real money. But at the same time, we are just free enough on the evenings and weekends to spend all our money on tools and toys for relaxation and “self-care” to re-boot ourselves for the next Monday. (Lots of theories support this idea of “Fordism” where companies realized that if they could get their employees just rich enough with just enough free time, they could expand their consumer base that much more and ultimately glean higher profit margins.)

I digress.

Despite the rigid coherence to a 40-hour work week due to laws of “overtime,” the stark reality for those of us privileged enough to be in professions that require deep intellectual or creative output from our brains (don’t get me started on modern day slavery of physical labor… that is a post for another day), four hours a day is the maximum we can expect from our little tired brains.

For those of you reading who are in academia, I want to note that checking email, completing administrative tasks, and reading are not considered deep analytical work (IMHO) and should not be included in the four-hour productivity block. For academics, I’m talking about teaching, brainstorming, analyzing data, writing, or revising articles, manuscripts, or proposals, but this will vary by profession.

The key is to be able to be more efficient with those four hours each day, so that you can devote more time to the things that actually do matter: family, health, and RESISTING the capitalist system that is determined to keep all of us in chains.

That being said, I recognize that this will only work for people who are privileged to have salaried (not hourly) positions that rely on them getting their work done and are not required to be in an office during a set period of time each day. This is often a unique subset of the population called academics, a rare breed for whom I write and work for. Because academics are the primary audience of this blog, I shall continue, but I recognize these tips will not be relevant for everyone.

Here are my four favorite tips for getting the most bang for your buck out of any given work day:

• Choose the time of day when you are at your strongest. Are you most energetic in the morning, afternoon or night? Work your four hours during that time.

• Turn off all your notifications. Regardless of the actual circumstances, tell your contacts that your “boss” doesn’t allow you to answer your phone at work. Turn off all notifications, put your phone on silent and Set up Do Not Disturb settings so that if there is an actual emergency, a few select contacts can still get through if they call. It can take 20 to 30 minutes to get back to where you were before you looked at your phone. NOTE: I recommend reading the book read the book “How to Break Up With Your Phone” by Catherine Price. It changed my life for the better in many ways, and I sleep and focus better now with good phone boundaries.

• Try the Pomodoro technique, which involves working in sets of 25- or 50-minute bursts with 5- or 10-minute breaks. This allows for increased focus and concentration for short amounts of time. Rather than sitting down and focusing for four hours straight, this technique works with the natural chemical cycles of dopamine in your brain to work your tasks in sprints rather than marathons.

• Take breaks to go outside and spend time in nature and the sunlight, even if it’s just a patch of grass. Don’t bring your phone with you. Give your brain a break and spend time doing nothing to get refreshed. When you get back to it, you’ll be ready to work efficiently and off work earlier. It might seem counter-intuitive at first, but the more breaks you take, the faster you will work.

And remember, always reward yourself for your hard work. Take a bubble bath or hot shower, polish your nails, watch a movie, take a walk or go for a run, listen to a podcast, read a novel, hold a cup of hot tea in both hands or wrap yourself in a soft blanket.

Rest is resistance. Let us take back our lives so that the system stops stealing half of our waking hours each day. Let us start living our lives for a majority of our waking hours, for we only have one wild and precious life.