Time-box work by energy levels—deep work in high-energy windows, light work in low-energy windows
Structure your limited side-project time based on your natural energy patterns, not just available hours. Do deep-focus tasks (coding, complex problem-solving) during your peak energy windows. Do lower-intensity tasks (marketing, admin, email) during lower-energy periods. This maximizes output from limited time by matching task complexity to mental state.
When to use
When building a side project while working full-time and you have limited hours each day. Especially valuable if you have clear high-energy and low-energy periods.
Don't do this
Working whenever you have free time regardless of energy levels, leading to wasted deep-work hours on shallow tasks or failed attempts at complex tasks when exhausted.
1 Founder Who Did This
Woke up at 5:30am-8:30am for development and deep-focus tasks, used evening hours after full-time job for marketing tasks that didn't require hyperfocus