Remember how when you were working at a full-time job, you’d do research in your lunch hour, rush home, start tapping away at the computer, and write two articles a week, because you knew that you didn’t have time to get tired, think about how much needed to get done, or procrastinate. You had to do it. Because if you didn’t get it done in the evening, you’d never get it done.

You thought, oh, I’m so productive now. If only I could do this full-time. I’d be able to do ten times this amount of work. I’d totally be able to support myself with my freelancing work.

Then, that day finally arrived. You said good-bye to your co-workers, you went home, you sat at your computer, you were productive for a few days. And then… you procrastinated.

It’s not an uncommon scenario. I’ve often looked back and wondered how I managed to produce over a hundred articles in my first year of freelancing, while I held a job and was going to college. I’ve doubted that I could ever repeat that—I was younger, I was doing simple pieces, there was a lot of desperation involved, I had to make it. Now, I’m older, I have other roles and responsibilities, I do more thorough work, and I have, in one sense of the term, “made it.” I have a career and a reputation. I’m not as desperate.

And then, this week, I wrote seven articles in four days. I went to school, I hung out with friends, I went to lunch, I took a long walk along the marina with my landlady, and I finished reading a novel.

Once again, I simply didn’t have time to get tired, think about how much needed to be done, or procrastinate. I had to do it. Because if I didn’t get it done every evening, I’d never get it done.

I’ve often said it’s highly unlikely that I’ll ever go back to full-time work. I haven’t ruled it out—if the folks at Time asked me to be bureau chief, I’d certainly consider it—but it’s not something I’ve ever seriously thought about. However, taking small detours like this—a few months to pursue study or travel—seems to be the perfect way to boost productivity, at least in the short term.

Maybe there’s something to that 9-5 thing after all.